WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—A unanimous Borough Council on May 21 approved a $17.26 million municipal budget, increasing spending by $664,312 over last year’s plan.
The adopted budget will raise the average homeowner’s municipal property tax bill by $235. That figure is based on a home assessed at $944,047—the borough’s new average, up nearly 4% from $908,212 in 2024. The municipal portion of the tax bill does not include school or county taxes..
Budget breakdown
Following a half-hour presentation led by Borough Auditor Paul Lerch, which drew mostly positive comments from the public, the council approved the $17,259,347 budget. A chart presented during the session showed a local tax dollar distribution of 25 cents for municipal costs, 64 cents for schools, and 11 cents for county taxes.
The 2025 municipal tax levy totals $12,882,756—up $402,891, or 3.2%, from last year.
A spending breakdown showed salaries and wages accounting for $5,609,800, a 1.2% increase, or $68,000 over 2024. “Other expenditures”—including benefits, insurance, legal and engineering fees, utilities, and events—rose to $6,049,985, up $264,575 from last year. Together, these two categories make up nearly 67% of the budget. The next largest line item is debt service for ordinance paydowns, representing 10% of the budget.
Cost drivers identified
Member Joshua Stern, who chairs the Finance Committee, thanked colleagues Benjamin Pollack and Christopher Bonano, along with borough admin Tom Padilla, for their help crafting the budget.
“As a Finance Committee, we went through this budget line by line over many hours,” Stern said. “We really did try to cut whatever waste we could in a reasonable way. No one took out a chainsaw and pretended they were anybody else—but we did try to be thoughtful about it.”
Stern cited five key factors driving the tax increase: approximately $300,000 in debt service; $168,000 in insurance liability; $145,000 in police salaries; $30,000 in utilities; and $45,000 in pension costs.
“That’s about $700,000,” he said. “With the levy increase around $400,000, we were able to find sufficient cuts to offset most of that and keep it reasonable for taxpayers.”
Public feedback
Resident Burt Taylor praised the budget process and suggested forming a committee to revitalize the borough’s business base. He referenced Montvale’s focus on medical industry growth and urged similar efforts in Woodcliff Lake. The borough has a committee focused on the future of Broadway and the Tice Center.
Former mayor and councilwoman Josephine Higgins said she was pleased to live in Woodcliff Lake, noting that other towns were being “hit really hard” by tax increases.
Resident Bob Nathan questioned whether $900,000 budgeted for 2025 was sufficient to cover pending commercial tax appeals. Officials said they try to anticipate such liabilities, but outcomes vary and some appeals cover multiple tax years.
Bond ordinance, floodplain measure introduced
Also on May 21, the council introduced two ordinances: Ordinance 25-06, addressing floodplain management, and Ordinance 25-07, a $2.325 million bond ordinance to fund various public improvements.
Items funded by the bond ordinance include:
- $785,000 for a road improvement program
- $295,000 for Broadway Streetscape enhancements
- $395,000 for upgrades to the train station parking lot
- $130,000 for a new police vehicle
- $125,000 for Fire Department self-contained breathing apparatus equipment
A public hearing on both ordinances is scheduled for the council’s June 16 meeting at 7 p.m.