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Follow the public money.
Civic Parent is a fiscal literacy platform focused on public finance in New Jersey.
NJ's User Friendly Budgets
This series explores municipal budget data using 565 individual User Friendly Budget files from across the Garden State.
Jersey City's City Budget
An archive of municipal budget data for #JerseyCity residents & taxpayers.
Property Revaluation
All taxpayers can endeavor to understand whether or not they are being fairly taxed by the local government.
Tax Abatements
In NJ, tax abatements are not required to pay school tax, creating a link between these contracts and the funding paradigm of the community's public schools.
Jersey City's School Funding Crisis
Jersey City Schools are *locally* underfunded. Get the facts.
Latest Posts:
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Summer Speaker Series: Data Visualizations
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Get the latest updates on NJ COVID19 Testing & Tracing. #COVID19NJTracing
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Safely Reopening Our Schools in NJ: Understanding the Constraints of Fragmentation in the Garden State
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The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 4b: Public Health & Public Safety (with Focus on Police) Spending in the Garden State
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The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 4a: View Your Town’s Structural Spending with the “UFB-3 Appropriations Summary” Data
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The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 3: the “Cover Page”, an Inventory of NJ’s 565 Municipalities, & An Overview of How UFB Data was Compiled
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Open Letter re: Police Reform to the Mayor, City Council, Chief of Police and Public Safety Director
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The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 2: What’s in the User Friendly Budget?
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The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 1: Intro to the Series & How to Access the UFB
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Jersey City School Tax Expense Calculator for 2020/21 School Funding Year
N.J. isn't ready to physically reopen its schools.
My latest post breaks it down:
NJ's "User Friendly Budget" - A Series
A New CivicParent Series diving into budget data across the Garden State
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The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 4b: Public Health & Public Safety (with Focus on Police) Spending in the Garden State
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The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 4a: View Your Town’s Structural Spending with the “UFB-3 Appropriations Summary” Data
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The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 3: the “Cover Page”, an Inventory of NJ’s 565 Municipalities, & An Overview of How UFB Data was Compiled
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The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 2: What’s in the User Friendly Budget?
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The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 1: Intro to the Series & How to Access the UFB
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Tax Abatements 601: Brighter Sunshine Mandated for NJ Abatements
Jersey City's Proposed 2020 Budget
A budget is moral document that reflects our public priorities. Dig in to learn more:
Dig into the Proposed 2020 City Budget:
Jersey City's Board of Education Unanimously Approves
Superintendent Walker's Full Budget for 2020/21 School Year.
Parents and advocates with NJ Together mobilized to help support the full budget. Learn & connect with NJ Together's Education Team at https://www.njtogether.org/education.
Jersey City's School Funding Crisis
A Closer Look at Jersey City’s School Tax Rate
A Four-Part CivicParent Series About Jersey City's School Funding Crisis
Part 1: The Public Data
Part 2: Statewide Comparisons & the Role of the Tax Base
Part 3: Let's Talk About the School Tax Levy
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Give #OpenData a Try
Tax data is rich "open data" available to the public.
We can learn much about community through the lens of taxes.
Use the Tableau visualization below to find your hometown's tax base value. Compare your town with others throughout your county and the state, to see how your town's taxable wealth measures up. The tax base values are published each year by the State Division of NJ. The tax base is a foundational concept to the topic of property taxes.
Featured Data Visualization: The Property Tax Split...
Find your town using the filters...see how your property tax dollars are used by Municipal, County, and Schools
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Learn
Learn at your own pace. Articles are written as knowledge building blocks and include key concepts, infographics, and links to additional resources.
NJ Public Schools
Learn the basics about school funding in NJ. Access public school data, analysis, and insight using customizable Tableau views. Dig into details about Jersey City's Public Schools funding crisis.
Learn moreProperty Taxes
Property tax basics, property revaluation, tax abatements, and more. Dig into property tax for your county and town. Learn ways to advocate for tax fairness.
Learn moreTax Abatements
Learn the basics about tax abatements: what they are, how they are granted, and the impact on the tax base, the public schools, and the funding paradigm for the local community.
Learn moreProperty Revaluation
Learn about property revaluation, including: the who/what/when/where/why of revaluation, how to compute if you are under or over taxed, and how to determine if your town or city is due for a revaluation.
Learn more-
Civic Parent Library - Take a Tour
Read about school funding, tax abatements, property revaluation, and more.
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JerseyCity Revaluation Update: Society Hill Highlighted
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Quick Analysis: Tax Expense Change on the West Side, south of Lincoln Park
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JC BOE Used Incorrect Tax Base Value in Its 2019/20 Budget: Explaining the Tax Math
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Why Property Revaluation is a Social Justice Imperative in Jersey City
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Jersey City Property Tax Appeals: A Civic Step-by-Step Overview
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2019/20 *Proposed* Advertised Appropriations (JCPS Spending for 2019/20 School Year)
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Property Revaluation 501: Mapping & Color Coding Jersey City Home Sales by Assessment-Sales Ratio
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Demand Fair Property Taxation: Using the Equalization Ratio as a Civic Tool
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Who/What/When/Where/Why of Property Revaluation
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City Council Can Allocate Surplus Funds to the Public Schools.
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Property Revaluation Update: 202 out of 206 Homes on Neptune Ave in Greenville #JerseyCity were Over-Taxed.
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Mapping Abatements in Jersey City
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Jersey City 2017 Sales for Class “2” (1-4 Family) Properties, Mapped
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Jersey City: Who in City Council & the NJ State Legislature Represents Your School?
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Quick Analysis: Tax Expense Change on the West Side, south of Lincoln Park
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Property Revaluation 501: Mapping & Color Coding Jersey City Home Sales by Assessment-Sales Ratio
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Fulop Era Abatements Approved from 2013 to 2016
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Updated: Jersey City Abatements from 2016 User Friendly Budget. Mapped by Project Type & Ward.
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Country Village Revaluation Update: $3+ Million Estimated Tax Expense Reduction (and counting…)
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Mapping Jersey City’s Abatements by Project Type and Ward
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A Closer Look at Jersey City’s School Tax Rate, Part 1: the Public Data
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Approve the 2020/21 #JerseyCity Schools Budget: Invest in Jersey City’s Kids
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JC BOE Used Incorrect Tax Base Value in Its 2019/20 Budget: Explaining the Tax Math
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JCPS 2-Volume Demographic Study (Published in 2014)
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2018/19 Advertised Appropriations (What JCPS Spends Money On)
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PS #5 Advocacy Campaign -Jersey City’s school funding crisis is NOT resolved. City Council — #FundOurSchools!!
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News Flash: JCPS is now on Twitter! (@jcps_district)
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Civic Questions for the Board of Education Upon Passing of their 2019/20 Budget
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Sustainability, Community, and that Beautiful Sign at PS #3
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Jersey City Public Schools: Year in Review, 2013
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JC BOE Used Incorrect Tax Base Value in Its 2019/20 Budget: Explaining the Tax Math
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A Closer Look at Jersey City’s School Tax Rate, Part 1: the Public Data
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Jersey Journal Op-Ed Highlights PILOT vs. Public Schools Tension in Jersey City
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Infographic: Jersey City: the Municipality’s Role in School Underfunding
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A Closer Look at Jersey City’s School Tax Rate. Part 2: Statewide Comparisons & the Role of the Tax Base
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JCPS Funding: Why Possible State Aid Cuts = “Major Hardship”
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#PayrollTax Ordinance: Public Testimonials About Our Public Schools
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Tax Abatements 601: Brighter Sunshine Mandated for NJ Abatements
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Let’s Get Civic
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JCPS Demographic Study: Pertinent Facts re: Classroom Space
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Tax Abatements 301: Two Sides of the Same PILOT
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Why the School Tax Levy is Key to Funding JCPS (and why seeking abatement funds is not a concrete solution).
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Fulop Era Abatements Approved from 2013 to 2016
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Jersey Journal Op-Ed Highlights PILOT vs. Public Schools Tension in Jersey City
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Tax Abatements 101: A Basic Overview
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Tax Abatements 601: Brighter Sunshine Mandated for NJ Abatements
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Mapping Abatements in Jersey City
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Let’s Get Civic
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Mapping Jersey City’s Abatements by Project Type and Ward
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Tax Abatements 401: The Transparency Issue
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Property Revaluation Update: 202 out of 206 Homes on Neptune Ave in Greenville #JerseyCity were Over-Taxed.
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Why Property Revaluation is a Social Justice Imperative in Jersey City
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Jersey City Revaluation: Interactive Map Now Available from ASI, Inc.
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Country Village Revaluation Update: $3+ Million Estimated Tax Expense Reduction (and counting…)
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Property Tax Rate Math: A Quick Breakdown
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Jersey City Revaluation: Intro from ASI Inc, the firm doing the Revaluation
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Demand Fair Property Taxation: Using the Equalization Ratio as a Civic Tool
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Making Sense of Your New Tax Post Card
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Jersey City Together Helped Homeowners Save $40,000+ via Tax Appeal Workshops
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Quick Analysis: Tax Expense Change on the West Side, south of Lincoln Park