How Asbury Park is run
Who runs Asbury Park, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Asbury Park's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Asbury Park
Asbury Park's Municipal Council appoints a City Manager to serve as the chief executive and administrative official. The manager prepares the budget, carries out laws and ordinances, and appoints department heads. The council has five members, including the mayor.
What they are paid
Asbury Park city staff
245 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police officers 94, Firefighters 51, Department heads and managers 13, Other union employees 83, Other non-union employees 4. 2026. City of Asbury Park · May 27, 2026
The budget gives head counts and pay totals by employee group. We found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Asbury Park in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $8.9M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: We found no written reserve target. New Jersey towns report a Current Fund balance (surplus) rather than an unassigned balance. Asbury Park's was $8.93M on December 31, 2025. The 2026 budget uses $6.34M of surplus as revenue. City of Asbury Park · Sep 8, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for 2026.
Comes from
- Property tax for municipal purposes$18.3M · 29%
- State aid (energy receipts tax)$13.7M · 22%
- Prior-year surplus of the city's utilities$9.5M · 15%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$6.3M · 10%
- Municipal court fines$2.2M · 3%
- Payments in lieu of taxes, redevelopment projects$1.8M · 3%
- Library property tax$1.1M · 2%
- Other (other PILOTs, hotel tax, fees, grants and others)$10.1M · 16%
Goes to (2026)
- Police$12.8M · 20%
- Fire and EMS$7.8M · 12%
- Employee health insurance$6.5M · 10%
- Police and fire pension contribution (PFRS)$6.2M · 10%
- Debt service$3.9M · 6%
- Streets and roads maintenance$2.7M · 4%
- Solid waste collection$2.7M · 4%
- Other (administration, insurance, other pensions, recreation, grants and others)$20.5M · 32%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Asbury Park collects one property tax bill and passes most of it on: more than half goes to the local schools and about an eighth to Monmouth County. The city's own share, including the library, is about a third.
32¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Asbury Park
- Asbury Park School District (local school)0.98 · 56%
- City of Asbury Park (municipal)0.528 · 30%
- Monmouth County0.212 · 12%
- Asbury Park Public Library0.032 · 2%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)1.752
2025 tax rates for a property in the City of Asbury Park (Monmouth County). City of Asbury Park · Sep 8, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Asbury Park is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityAsbury Park Police DepartmentCity of Asbury Park · May 27, 2026
- FireThe cityAsbury Park Fire DepartmentCity of Asbury Park · Jan 1, 2026
- EMS and ambulanceThe cityAsbury Park Fire DepartmentAmbulances are staffed by two firefighter/EMTs each.City of Asbury Park · Jan 1, 2026
- 911 dispatchThe countyMonmouth CountyCity of Asbury Park · May 27, 2026
- Trash collectionThe cityCity of Asbury Park Public WorksCity of Asbury Park · May 27, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Asbury Park Public WorksCity of Asbury Park · Jan 1, 2026
- Beaches and lifeguardsThe cityCity of Asbury Park beach utilityThe city sold 300,883 beach passes in 2025.City of Asbury Park · Jan 1, 2026
- RecreationThe cityCity of Asbury Park Recreation DepartmentCity of Asbury Park · Jan 1, 2026
- LibraryAnother agencyAsbury Park Public Library (separate library board)Run by a separate board and funded in part by the city's library tax.City of Asbury Park · Sep 8, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | RamseyNJ | EdgewaterNJ | Roselle ParkNJ | Asbury ParkNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 14,925 | 15,499 | 15,603 | 15,632 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $2,148 | $2,645 | $1,563 | $4,036 |
| Debt per resident | $1,191 | $2,648 | $1,097 | $3,315 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,224 | $1,268 | $882 | $3,383 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | — | 15.7 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how).
What Asbury Park publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe 2026 adopted budget, user friendly budget and budget presentation are posted on the city's finance page, with prior years. City of Asbury Park
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe manager's terms of employment are attached to Resolution 2025-254 in the May 28, 2025 council agenda packet. City of Asbury Park · May 28, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Asbury Park · May 27, 2026
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe 2026 budget states $41,040 of base pay for the five-member governing body combined, but not each member's pay. City of Asbury Park · May 27, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Asbury Park · May 27, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 budget counts $9.5 million of prior-year utility surpluses as revenue. How much of that can the utilities keep providing?
- Asbury Park's share of state pension liabilities was $52.9 million at June 30, 2025, and the 2026 budget sets $6.2 million for police and fire pensions. How will those costs fit into future budgets?
- The city had $58.7 million of borrowing authorized but not yet issued at December 31, 2025, including $41 million for the sewer utility. What will that add to yearly debt costs?
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