How Bellmawr is run
Who runs Bellmawr, 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 Bellmawr's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Bellmawr
The elected mayor heads the city government and appoints its top administrator and department heads. The council passes laws, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
Bellmawr city staff
90 full-time-equivalent positions. 2026 budget. Borough of Bellmawr · Jan 1, 2026
The 2026 user-friendly budget gives total pay by employee group. We found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Bellmawr 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.
The city's own outlook
The 2026 budget raises $10.68M in local tax for municipal purposes, up 4.15%. The municipal tax rate rises to 1.280 from 1.235 per $100 of assessed value. The budget flags $598,589 of declining cannabis tax revenue, a one-time $398,517 surplus waiver for legal fees, and $800,000 from a redevelopment PILOT expected by early 2027. Borough of Bellmawr · Jan 1, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $3.4M (2024-12-31). 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. Bellmawr's was $3.44M on December 31, 2024. The 2026 budget uses $2.83M of surplus as revenue. Borough of Bellmawr · Sep 23, 2025
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$10.7M · 55%
- Surplus (fund balance) used$2.8M · 15%
- Other special items$1.9M · 10%
- State aid$1.2M · 6%
- Local revenues (fees, licenses, interest)$1.1M · 6%
- Delinquent taxes$800,000 · 4%
- Shared services (EMS, sanitation and police for neighbors)$529,624 · 3%
- Other (construction code fees, grants)$219,738 · 1%
Goes to (2026)
- Public safety (police, fire, EMS)$5.3M · 28%
- Insurance (mainly employee health)$2.9M · 15%
- Public works$2.5M · 13%
- Pensions, Social Security and other statutory costs$2M · 10%
- Debt service$1.5M · 8%
- General government$1.1M · 6%
- Reserve for uncollected taxes$819,955 · 4%
- Parks and recreation$693,700 · 4%
- Other (utilities, shared services, court, construction code, other)$2.3M · 12%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Bellmawr sends one tax bill, but most of it goes to the schools and Camden County. The borough keeps about 32 cents of each dollar.
32¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Bellmawr
- Bellmawr local school district1.271 · 33%
- Borough of Bellmawr (municipal)1.235 · 32%
- Camden County0.729 · 19%
- Regional high school district0.536 · 14%
- Camden County Library0.047 · 1%
- Camden County Open Space0.027 · <1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)3.845
2025 rates for a home in the Borough of Bellmawr (Camden County). Borough of Bellmawr · Jan 1, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Bellmawr is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityBellmawr Police Department23 full-time officers patrol the borough around the clock.Borough of Bellmawr
- FireThe cityBellmawr Fire DepartmentBorough of Bellmawr · Jan 1, 2026
- WaterThe cityBellmawr water utilityBorough of Bellmawr
- SewerThe cityBellmawr sewer divisionBorough of Bellmawr
- Trash and recyclingThe cityBellmawr Public Works, Highway & Sanitation divisionBorough of Bellmawr
- StreetsThe cityBellmawr Public Works, Highway & Sanitation divisionBorough of Bellmawr
- LibraryThe countyCamden County Library System (Bellmawr Branch)Borough of Bellmawr
- Parks and recreationThe cityBellmawr Parks & RecreationBorough of Bellmawr
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 | WanaqueNJ | RidgefieldNJ | BellmawrNJ | WallingtonNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 11,418 | 11,547 | 11,874 | 12,092 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $5,970 | $4,500 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,626 | $2,462 | $1,623 | $1,442 |
| Debt per resident | $2,612 | $2,408 | $2,239 | $1,292 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $840 | $1,323 | $975 | $701 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.3 | 6.8 | 7.6 | — |
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 Bellmawr publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online Borough of Bellmawr
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineBellmawr's 2026 budget filing names no chief administrative officer. We found no contract or pay document for a top administrator. Borough of Bellmawr · Jan 1, 2026
- Partly: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list who moved and seconded each item and usually record all in favor. A June 9, 2026 budget vote lists members by name. Borough of Bellmawr
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public document Borough of Bellmawr · Jun 26, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe user-friendly budget gives total pay by employee group. We found no salary ordinance or list of individual pay. Borough of Bellmawr · Jan 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 budget uses $2.83 million of surplus, while the Current Fund balance was $3.44 million on December 31, 2024. How much surplus can future budgets rely on?
- The 2026 budget counts on $800,000 from a redevelopment PILOT expected by early 2027. How would the borough cover that amount if the project is delayed?
- Bellmawr had $26.59 million of bonds, loans and notes outstanding on December 31, 2024, $14.67 million of it for the water utility. How will water rates cover that debt?
- Bellmawr's share of state pension liabilities was $11.58 million at June 30, 2025. How will pension payments fit into future budgets?
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