Jersey City Municipal Council members voted 6-2 on Sept. 17, 2025, to adopt an amended municipal budget for calendar year 2025 following a public hearing and public comments. The council approved the amendment as Item 10.1; Councilperson Solomon and Councilperson Gilmore voted no.

The budget amendment increases the total budget by $5,500,000 from the version introduced earlier, bringing the city's total annual budget to about $750,000,000, city finance staff said during the meeting. The city's proposed municipal tax rate was reported as 0.819, with a 0.97% tax increase that the finance presenter said would amount to about $37.83 a year on the average assessed home (city average assessed value stated as $481,000).

The amendment was considered at a special meeting that was advertised under the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act (N.J. Stat. Laws 1975, ch. 231), and the legal notice appeared in the Bergen Record on Sept. 12, 2025, meeting the three-day publication requirement the council cited. The council also referenced Resolution 25-598 authorizing the budget amendment to be read by title into the record.

Public commenters urged the council to target more resources toward street safety, infrastructure staffing, and community mental-health outreach. Anthony Migliore, a Ward F resident and member of Traffic Reform Warriors speaking for Project Safe Turn, said he had identified more than 100 intersections citywide where required "no turn on red" signs are missing and that the barrier to installing them is staffing, not dollars: "These signs don't put themselves up," he said, adding that each sign costs about $300. Danielle DiDamo, a lifelong resident and public-school teacher, urged the council to audit the finance department, adopt multiyear budgeting and direct surplus dollars "to safe intersections, pedestrian improvements, and engineering upgrades."

Anne Marina Zarrow, speaking with Jersey City Together and Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, reviewed the budget's list of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreements and said she counted 91 market-rate/commercial pilots versus 56 affordable and mixed-income pilots in the materials she reviewed, asking the council what share of market-rate pilots is required to deliver affordable units. Bill Lillis, also with Jersey City Together, urged the council to use a $1,200,000 allocation he said has been proposed for mental-health outreach: "Let's spend it," he said, arguing for 24/7 mental-health outreach teams paired with police or as alternatives.

During council debate, Councilperson Soleil said the amendment resulted in a "marginal tax increase less than 1%" and defended the vote in part on timing and operational considerations, saying the Department of Infrastructure told the council that hiring and onboarding new engineers within the remaining three months of the year would have been a hindrance to ongoing projects. Councilperson Solomon said he would vote no, calling the budget short-term in approach: "This budget kicks the can down the road," he said, criticizing repeated use of one-time revenues, including land-sale proceeds, to cover recurring costs. Solomon and Gilmore both said the budget leaves several core services underfunded, including engineering, traffic enforcement, landlord-tenant services, sanitation and recreation.

The council closed the public hearing by motion; Councilperson Soleil moved to close the hearing, seconded by Councilperson Rivera, and the motion to close carried 8-0. After roll-call votes on Item 10.1, the council adopted the amended budget 6-2. The meeting adjourned at 6:34 p.m.

The record presented several points that the council and the public said warrant follow-up: how the city will replace one-time land-sale revenue used to plug gaps; the staffing plan and timeline for infrastructure engineering positions; the status and intended use of the cited $1.2 million for mental-health outreach; and the city's policy or oversight on PILOT agreements and their affordable-housing requirements. The council did not adopt additional amendments during the meeting; two council members registered formal objections in recorded votes.