MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Board of County Commissioners tonight introduced their 2025 Budget, which does not increase the tax rate for a sixth consecutive year. The budget focuses allocations on expanding public safety, meeting growing human services needs, and investing in education, roads, bridges, and county infrastructure.
“While we continue to deal with cost increases beyond the county’s control, we have again minimized the impact on our budget, and there will be no county tax rate increase for a sixth consecutive year. Over the past 5 years, the average annual increase in inflation was 4.24 percent. Yet, we have kept our average annual budget growth to 2.89 percent,” said Commissioner Deborah Smith, chair of the Commissioners’ Budget Committee.
The proposed $376.6 million spending plan was presented to the full board by the Budget Committee, including Commissioners Doug Cabana and John Krickus. They underscored that the budget is fiscally responsible, structurally balanced, and compliant with state spending caps.
Click here to download the budget presentation.
Highlights in the budget include:
- A combined $83 million towards public safety.
- Nearly $25 million to support education programs, including increased allocations to the County College of Morris and the Morris County Vocational School District.
- Continues a record $900,000 investment in Economic Development and Tourism, with $100,000 again earmarked for planning Morris County’s 250th anniversary celebration of the American Revolution.
- $9.4 million to support the Morris County Park Commission, stewards of the largest county park system in New Jersey (20,455 acres of parkland)
- $39.7 million for Human Services and Health Services, with continued funding for enhanced homeless prevention services and adding crucial staff to the Office on Aging and the Office of Temporary Assistance
“We are broadening our commitment to law and public safety, including investments in the equipment, software and AI technology that allows our Prosecutor’s Office to meet growing state mandates on the processing and storage of digital evidence generated by modern law enforcement efforts,” said Commissioner Cabana. “We also will continue funding for our Basic Life Support and Emergency Medical Service Units, which responded to more than 3,764 calls last year, and we have increased staff recruitment at our Communications Center, where the countywide interoperable radio system serves all of Morris County’s 39 towns and provides a long list of additional emergency support services to our residents.”
The 2025 Budget reinforces the county’s commitment to assisting the most vulnerable residents, particularly those facing homelessness. This year, the county will continue last year’s boost to emergency assistance funding for shelter and support services, which had been doubled to $300,000, with an additional $150,000 dedicated to homelessness prevention. The 2025 Budget also expands staff to expedite food assistance applications and to support the increasing number of families seeking caregiving services for aging relatives.
“In 2025, our budget will continue our commitment to the County College of Morris and the Morris County Vocational School District. We are increasing our allocation to CCM by $250,000 and placing $4.5 million in our capital budget toward building the new Center for Health Professions Building,” said Commissioner Krickus. “We also are increasing our allocation to Vo-tech by $175,000 in this budget, bringing the total increase over the past four years to $400,000 to support operations inside the new Career Training Center slated to open on the campus at CCM this fall.”
The 2025 Budget introduced last night also includes the 2025 Capital Spending Plan initially presented in December, which allocates nearly $36 million to many projects, including resurfacing roads, improving intersections, replacing bridges throughout the county, and maintaining county facilities.
The Morris County Board of County Commissioners will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, March 26, to consider the final adoption of the 2025 budget.
