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Empowering Civics
CivicParent is a fiscal literacy platform that follows the public money in NJ.
Written by Brigid D'Souza, a licensed CPA and accounting professor.
NEW JERSEY: BY THE NUMBERS
While we are one Garden State, we are fragmented by county, town, and school district. This has implications with property tax, including school & city taxes.
1
State
21
Counties
565
Municipalities
650+
School Districts
CivicParent Topics
Learn about local public finance in the Garden State
LEARN BUDGETS
Learn the basics about local government budgets.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Since 2018 I have been closely following the school budget process in Jersey City, one of hundreds of districts in the state. My articles use Jersey City Public Schools as a case study but point to major trends and themes for many districts.
MUNICIPAL BUDGETS
This series shows how the 'User Friendly Budget' offers 10+ unique lenses to explore your local municipal budget.
TAX APPEAL MATH
Learn about the local property tax topics including tax appeal math.
PROPERTY REVALUATION
Learn the who/what/when/where/why of property revaluation through a series that uses Jersey City as a case study. In 2018, Jersey City conducted its first revaluation in 30 years.
Abatements (aka PILOTs)
A full series unpacks the topic of tax abatements including the intersection of city and school funding. Jersey City, the largest grantor of tax abatements in NJ, is used as a case study.