How Dumont is run
Who runs Dumont, 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 Dumont's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Dumont
Dumont operates under a Mayor and Council form of government. The mayor is the chief executive, presides over meetings and makes appointments the council confirms. The council adopts the budget and appoints a Borough Administrator, who runs day-to-day operations.
What they are paid
Dumont city staff
The salary ordinance sets pay ranges by position, and the budget gives salaries by department. We found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Dumont 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: $2.7M (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. Dumont's was $2.70M on December 31, 2025. The 2026 budget uses $1.8M of it as revenue, 67% of the balance. Borough of Dumont · Jul 13, 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$24.4M · 77%
- Miscellaneous revenues (fees, fines, interest, reserves and a trust fund transfer)$2.5M · 8%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$1.8M · 6%
- State aid$1.4M · 4%
- Library property tax$1.1M · 3%
- Other (delinquent taxes and grants)$412,071 · 1%
Goes to (2026)
- Public safety$7.2M · 23%
- Public works$5.5M · 18%
- Insurance, including employee health$5M · 16%
- Debt service and capital improvements$3.6M · 11%
- Utilities and Bergen County Utilities Authority$2.9M · 9%
- Pensions, statutory and deferred charges$2.7M · 8%
- General government$1.8M · 6%
- Other (recreation, health, library and reserve for uncollected taxes)$2.9M · 9%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Dumont collects one property tax bill and passes most of it on. Of the 2025 rate, about 56% went to the local schools and about 10% to Bergen County. The borough's own share, including the library, was about 34%.
34¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Dumont
- Dumont Board of Education (local schools)1.304 · 56%
- Borough of Dumont (municipal purposes)0.77 · 33%
- Bergen County0.233 · 10%
- Dumont Public Library0.033 · 1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)2.34
2025 tax rates for a property in the Borough of Dumont (Bergen County). Borough of Dumont · Jul 13, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Dumont is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityDumont Police DepartmentBorough of Dumont · May 19, 2026
- FireThe cityDumont volunteer fire departmentThe 2026 budget gives $60,000 of aid to volunteer fire companies.Borough of Dumont · Jul 13, 2026
- StreetsThe cityBorough of DumontBorough of Dumont · May 19, 2026
- Trash and recyclingThe cityBorough of DumontBorough of Dumont · May 19, 2026
- LibraryThe cityDumont Free Public LibraryBorough of Dumont · May 19, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityBorough of DumontBorough of Dumont · Jul 13, 2026
- Municipal courtThe cityDumont Municipal CourtBorough of Dumont · May 19, 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 | North ArlingtonNJ | New MilfordNJ | DumontNJ | Point PleasantNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 16,601 | 17,133 | 18,501 | 19,712 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $12,193 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,923 | $1,631 | $1,706 | $1,328 |
| Debt per resident | $671 | $937 | $2,192 | $1,387 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,013 | $993 | $842 | $878 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.2 | 4.6 | — | — |
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 Dumont publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe salary ordinance sets only a $75,000 to $180,000 range for the Borough Administrator. We found no contract or resolution stating the pay. Borough of Dumont · May 19, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes record roll call votes naming each member, posted as scanned PDFs. Borough of Dumont · Apr 14, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineCouncil minutes are posted as PDFs, and the borough website has a Mayor and Council meeting video library page. Borough of Dumont · Apr 14, 2026
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe 2026 budget sets $29,000 of salaries for the mayor and council together, without a per-member figure. Borough of Dumont · May 19, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe salary ordinance sets pay ranges by position, and the budget lists salaries by department. We found no list of individual employee pay. Borough of Dumont · May 19, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The Current Fund balance fell from $3.81 million to $2.70 million in 2025, and the 2026 budget uses $1.8 million of it. How long can the borough keep using surplus at that level?
- Dumont's share of state pension liabilities was $15.6 million at June 30, 2025. How will rising pension contributions fit into future budgets?
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Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
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