How Elizabeth is run
Who runs Elizabeth, 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 Elizabeth's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Elizabeth
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
Elizabeth city staff
1,344 full-time-equivalent positions. SFY2026. Total number of employees in the SFY2026 budget. City of Elizabeth · Nov 25, 2025
The budget states a total head count and salary totals. Ordinance 6060 sets pay for elected officials, the administrator and directors; we found no list of other employees' pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Elizabeth 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: $85.9M (2025-06-30). 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. Elizabeth's was $85.9M on June 30, 2025, and the SFY2026 budget uses $57.0M of it. City of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 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 SFY2026.
Comes from
- Local purpose property tax$209M · 60%
- Miscellaneous revenues (state aid, fees, licenses and other city income)$73.3M · 21%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$57M · 16%
- Library property tax$5M · 1%
- Delinquent taxes$4M · 1%
Goes to (SFY2026)
- Salaries and wages$151M · 43%
- Other operating expenses$118M · 34%
- Deferred charges and statutory costs, including state pension contributions$41.5M · 12%
- Debt service$19M · 5%
- Reserve for uncollected taxes$16.5M · 5%
- Capital improvements$2.5M · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Elizabeth collects one property tax bill and passes part of it on to the schools and Union County. The city's own share, including the library, is about 65%. The taxable value used for 2026 is $15.9 billion, against $940.7 million the year before, so these rates cannot be compared with earlier years.
65¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Elizabeth
- Elizabeth Public Schools (local school district)0.376 · 18%
- City of Elizabeth (local purpose)1.311 · 63%
- Union County0.337 · 16%
- Elizabeth Free Public Library0.032 · 2%
- Union County open space0.014 · <1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)2.069
2026 estimated tax rates for a property in the City of Elizabeth (Union County). City of Elizabeth · Nov 25, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Elizabeth is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityElizabeth Police DepartmentCity of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 2026
- FireThe cityElizabeth Fire DepartmentCity of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 2026
- Emergency medical services (ambulance)The cityCity of Elizabeth Emergency Medical ServicesCity of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 2026
- Streets, parks and treesThe cityCity of Elizabeth Department of Public WorksCity of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 2026
- RecreationThe cityCity of Elizabeth Recreation DepartmentCity of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 2026
- Public healthThe cityCity of Elizabeth Department of Health and Human ServicesCity of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 2026
- RecyclingThe cityCity of Elizabeth Department of Public Works, Recycling DivisionCity of Elizabeth
- WaterContractorLiberty Water Company, under a 40-year contract with the city, which owns the systemCity of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 2026
- SewerContractorCity-owned sewer system managed by E'Town Corporation, a New Jersey American Water subsidiaryCity of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 2026
- Sewage treatmentAnother agencyJoint Meeting of Essex and Union CountiesCity of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 2026
- LibraryAnother agencyElizabeth Free Public Library, run by its own boardCity of Elizabeth · Apr 29, 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 | PlainfieldNJ | CliftonNJ | TrentonNJ | ElizabethNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 57,141 | 91,127 | 91,506 | 141,675 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $145,000 | Not confirmed | $202,748 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $58,000 |
| General fund per resident | $2,094 | $1,573 | $3,261 | $2,455 |
| Debt per resident | $898 | $882 | $1,979 | $966 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,506 | $1,158 | $2,113 | $1,828 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | — | 9.5 |
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 Elizabeth publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineAdopted budgets for SFY2020 through SFY2026 are posted on the city's Financials page, with annual financial statements and audits. City of Elizabeth
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlinePosted ordinances list the recorded vote of each council member, as in Ordinance 6312 of July 2026. City of Elizabeth · Jul 28, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance 6060 sets council pay for each year from 2025 to 2028: $58,000 for members in 2026 and $63,000 for the council president. City of Elizabeth · Nov 12, 2024
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe budget shows total salaries and wages. Ordinance 6060 sets the salaries of the mayor, council, administrator and directors. We found no list of other employees' pay. City of Elizabeth · Nov 12, 2024
Questions to ask your council
- Elizabeth used $57.0 million of its Current Fund balance in SFY2025 and again in SFY2026, and the balance fell $5.3 million to $85.9 million on June 30, 2025. How long can the budget rely on surplus at that level?
- The city's share of the two state pension plans was $259.0 million at June 30, 2024. How will pension contributions fit into future budgets?
- The SFY2025 audit report is dated April 29, 2026, about ten months after the year ended. What would it take to finish the audit sooner?
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