Morris County Introduces 2025 Budget with No Tax Rate Increase for Sixth Consecutive Year

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The Morris County Board of County Commissioners has introduced its 2025 budget, maintaining a zero tax rate increase for the sixth consecutive year while prioritizing investments in public safety, human services, education, and infrastructure.

The $376.6 million spending plan, presented during the board’s public meeting, was developed by the Budget Committee, which includes Commissioners Deborah Smith, Doug Cabana, and John Krickus. The proposal is designed to be fiscally responsible, structurally balanced, and compliant with state spending caps despite external cost pressures.

“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.

Key Budget Highlights

The proposed budget allocates funding to critical county services and capital improvements, including:

• $83 million for public safety, covering law enforcement technology, emergency response services, and countywide interoperable communications.
• $25 million for education, including additional funding for the County College of Morris (CCM) and Morris County Vocational School District.
• $900,000 investment in Economic Development and Tourism, including $100,000 for planning Morris County’s 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
• $9.4 million to support the Morris County Park Commission, which oversees New Jersey’s largest county park system (20,455 acres).
• $39.7 million for Human Services and Health Services, expanding homeless prevention services and adding staff to the Office on Aging and the Office of Temporary Assistance.

Public Safety Investments

Public safety remains a major focus of the budget, with enhanced funding for law enforcement, emergency response, and modern technology.

“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 storge 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.”

Additional safety-related allocations include:

• Support for Basic Life Support and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Units, which handled over 3,764 calls last year.
• Increased recruitment for the Morris County Communications Center, which provides critical emergency support for all 39 towns in the county.

Support for Vulnerable Residents

The budget strengthens the county’s commitment to homeless prevention and social services, continuing last year’s boost in emergency assistance funding and increasing allocations for food aid and caregiving services.

• Emergency shelter funding remains at $300,000, with an additional $150,000 dedicated to homelessness prevention.
• Staff expansion in social services to expedite food assistance applications and support families with aging relatives in need of care.

Education & Workforce Development

The county continues to prioritize higher education and vocational training through increased funding for CCM and Vo-Tech programs.

“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 we are 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.”

Key investments include:

• $250,000 increase in funding for CCM, supporting campus operations and workforce training.
• $4.5 million allocated in the capital budget for the new Center for Health Professions Building at CCM.
• $175,000 increase in funding for Morris County Vocational School District, bringing total funding growth over the past four years to $400,000 to support operations in the new Career Training Center opening this fall at CCM.

Infrastructure & Capital Investments

The 2025 budget integrates the Capital Spending Plan, which was initially introduced in December 2024.

• $36 million for capital improvements, including road resurfacing, bridge replacements, and intersection upgrades.
• Funds allocated to maintain county buildings and critical infrastructure.

Next Steps

The Morris County Board of County Commissioners will hold a public meeting on March 26 to consider the final adoption of the 2025 budget.

Residents can review the full budget presentation on the Morris County website and are encouraged to attend the meeting for further discussion.

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