Understanding Montclair’s Municipal Budget: A Webinar & Teaching to Empower Taxpayers to “Follow the Public Money”

Understanding Montclair's Municipal Budget: A Webinar & Teaching to Empower Taxpayers to "Follow the Public Money"

On January 26th, 2022 I joined Montclair Councilor-at-large Peter Yacobellis for a zoom webinar about the Montclair municipal (aka town) ...
Read More
Montclair, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Taxes

Montclair City Budgets: high-level, 6-year review

Montclair City Budgets: high-level, 6-year review

For the past few months I’ve been working with a fantastic group of advocates in Montclair to learn more about ...
Read More
Montclair, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Taxes

What is the mix of residential vs. business property in my town? (UFB-5)

What is the mix of residential vs. business property in my town? (UFB-5)

This is an update to my “User Friendly Budget” series with a focus on Montclair.  Your town’s user friendly budget ...
Read More
Montclair, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Taxes

What drives my property tax bill? (UFB, Page 1)

What drives my property tax bill? (UFB, Page 1)

This is an update to my “User Friendly Budget” series with a focus on Montclair.  Your town’s user friendly budget must be ...
Read More
Montclair, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Taxes

Jersey City’s 2021 Municipal Budget — A postscript…and some closing notes around transparency & process improvement

Jersey City's 2021 Municipal Budget -- A postscript...and some closing notes around transparency & process improvement

This is a quick update to my 2021 municipal budget series which I wrote this summer based on the budget ...
Read More
2021 Jersey City Budget, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context

Jersey City 2021 Budget: Dig into budget using keyword search

Jersey City 2021 Budget: Dig into budget using keyword search

This is part of a series on the 2021 city budget. See the full series here. The 2021 budget documents ...
Read More
2021 Jersey City Budget, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context

Abatements 701 & The “User Friendly Budget”, part 5 – Abatements (with a Jersey City Focus)

Abatements 701 & The "User Friendly Budget", part 5 - Abatements (with a Jersey City Focus)

Note: the visualizations below are best viewed on a computer or tablet (vs a phone). Jersey City recently announced it ...
Read More
NJ UFB - Series, Tax Abatement Series

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 4b: Public Health & Public Safety (with Focus on Police) Spending in the Garden State

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 4b: Public Health & Public Safety (with Focus on Police) Spending in the Garden State

This is a post in a series about NJ's User Friendly Budget. My intent is to share basic analysis and ...
Read More
2020 Jersey City Budget, NJ UFB - Series

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 4a: View Your Town’s Structural Spending with the “UFB-3 Appropriations Summary” Data

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 4a: View Your Town’s Structural Spending with the “UFB-3 Appropriations Summary” Data

This is a post in a series about NJ's User Friendly Budget. My intent is to share basic analysis and ...
Read More
2020 Jersey City Budget, Data Visualizations, NJ UFB - Series

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 3: the “Cover Page”, an Inventory of NJ’s 565 Municipalities, & An Overview of How UFB Data was Compiled

The "User Friendly Budget", Part 3: the "Cover Page", an Inventory of NJ's 565 Municipalities, & An Overview of How UFB Data was Compiled

This is a post in a series about NJ’s User Friendly Budget. My intent is to share basic analysis and ...
Read More
#JCCityBudget, 2020 Jersey City Budget, Data Visualizations, NJ UFB - Series

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 2: What’s in the User Friendly Budget?

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 2: What's in the User Friendly Budget?

This is part of a series about the User Friendly Budget.  This is a relatively short post to lay out ...
Read More
#JCCityBudget, 2020 Jersey City Budget, NJ UFB - Series

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 1: Intro to the Series & How to Access the UFB

The "User Friendly Budget", Part 1: Intro to the Series & How to Access the UFB

Five years ago, New Jersey began mandating that every municipality* in New Jersey file a “User Friendly Budget (UFB)” as ...
Read More
#JCCityBudget, 2020 Jersey City Budget, Data Visualizations, NJ UFB - Series

Tax Abatements 601: Brighter Sunshine Mandated for NJ Abatements

Tax Abatements 601: Brighter Sunshine Mandated for NJ Abatements

Tax abatement reporting in Jersey City is finally getting more transparent.  Two distinct authoritative bodies have mandated changes that require Jersey City (and other cities) ...
Read More
#FundOurSchools, City Council, GASB Statement No. 77, Jersey City Public Schools, Jersey City Public Schools Funding Crisis, NJ UFB - Series, Public Budget, Tax Abatement Series, tax abatements

Jersey City PILOTs Rob Funding from the School System

Jersey City PILOTs Rob Funding from the School System

A strong public school system is essential bedrock to a healthy community. Yet in Jersey City, our bedrock is threatened by a fiscal ...
Read More
/ #FundOurSchools, City Council, Jersey City Public Schools, Jersey City Public Schools Funding Crisis, Jersey City School Funding Crisis, NJ UFB-In Context, Public Budget, Public Schools, Steven Fulop, tax abatements, Tax Abatements

Updated: Jersey City Abatements from 2016 User Friendly Budget. Mapped by Project Type & Ward.

Updated: Jersey City Abatements from 2016 User Friendly Budget. Mapped by Project Type & Ward.

If you are new to the topic of abatements, I recommend my tax abatement series here including my 2015 article,”Jersey City PILOTs ...
Read More
/ #DataViz, #openData, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Tax, Public Schools, tax abatements, Tax Abatements, User Friendly Budget

How does Jersey City Spend Its Money? A Data Visualization of Budgets from 2015-2018

How does Jersey City Spend Its Money? A Data Visualization of Budgets from 2015-2018

As we look towards the coming weeks and months, two local governing bodies are undergoing a public budgeting process: The ...
Read More
/ #DataViz, #FundOurSchools, #GetCivic, #JCCityBudget, #openData, 2019 Jersey City Budget, Board of Education, Data Visualizations, Jersey City Public Schools, Jersey City Public Schools Funding Crisis, NJ UFB-In Context, Public Budget, School Funding Advocacy, School Tax Levy

Abatements 801: We need better abatement disclosures in NJ to show impact on public schools

Abatements 801: We need better abatement disclosures in NJ to show impact on public schools

This is post included in both my abatement series and a series about the User Friendly Budget in NJ.  We ...
Read More
/ Jersey City School Funding Crisis, NJ UFB-In Context, Public Schools, Tax Abatement Series

Jersey City 2021 Budget: Dig into budget using keyword search

Jersey City 2021 Budget: Dig into budget using keyword search

This is part of a series on the 2021 city budget. See the full series here. The 2021 budget documents ...
Read More
/ 2021 Jersey City Budget, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context

Jersey City’s 2021 Municipal Budget — A postscript…and some closing notes around transparency & process improvement

Jersey City's 2021 Municipal Budget -- A postscript...and some closing notes around transparency & process improvement

This is a quick update to my 2021 municipal budget series which I wrote this summer based on the budget ...
Read More
/ 2021 Jersey City Budget, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context

Let’s get civic, Montclair!

Let's get civic, Montclair!

I’m excited to share that I’m currently working with a team of civic advocates in Montclair to help grow awareness ...
Read More
/ Montclair, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Taxes

What drives my property tax bill? (UFB, Page 1)

What drives my property tax bill? (UFB, Page 1)

This is an update to my “User Friendly Budget” series with a focus on Montclair.  Your town’s user friendly budget must be ...
Read More
/ Montclair, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Taxes

What is the mix of residential vs. business property in my town? (UFB-5)

What is the mix of residential vs. business property in my town? (UFB-5)

This is an update to my “User Friendly Budget” series with a focus on Montclair.  Your town’s user friendly budget ...
Read More
/ Montclair, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Taxes

Montclair City Budgets: high-level, 6-year review

Montclair City Budgets: high-level, 6-year review

For the past few months I’ve been working with a fantastic group of advocates in Montclair to learn more about ...
Read More
/ Montclair, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Taxes

Understanding Montclair’s Municipal Budget: A Webinar & Teaching to Empower Taxpayers to “Follow the Public Money”

Understanding Montclair's Municipal Budget: A Webinar & Teaching to Empower Taxpayers to "Follow the Public Money"

On January 26th, 2022 I joined Montclair Councilor-at-large Peter Yacobellis for a zoom webinar about the Montclair municipal (aka town) ...
Read More
/ Montclair, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Taxes