How Elmwood Park is run
Who runs Elmwood 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 Elmwood Park's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Elmwood Park
Elmwood Park has an elected mayor and a six-member borough council. A Borough Administrator appointed by the council runs day-to-day operations. The council adopts the budget and bond ordinances and confirms the mayor's appointments.
What they are paid
Elmwood Park city staff
Neither the 2026 budget nor the 2024 audit states a total head count. The yearly salary ordinance lists pay ranges by position; we found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Elmwood 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
Unassigned general fund balance: $7.7M (2024-12-31). Borough of Elmwood Park · Aug 18, 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$27.6M · 67%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$4.7M · 11%
- Water utility surplus from the prior year$1.6M · 4%
- State aid (energy receipts tax)$1.5M · 4%
- Trunk sewer revenue$1.4M · 4%
- Local revenues (fees, permits, court fines, interest)$1.2M · 3%
- Library property tax$1.2M · 3%
- Other (delinquent taxes, construction fees, EMS billing, shared services, grants)$2.3M · 6%
Goes to (2026)
- Police$8.6M · 21%
- Employee health insurance$5.8M · 14%
- State pension and Social Security contributions$3.7M · 9%
- Sewage treatment (Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission)$3.3M · 8%
- Trash and recycling collection$2.5M · 6%
- Reserve for uncollected taxes$2.5M · 6%
- Debt service$2.3M · 6%
- Road repairs and maintenance$1.9M · 5%
- Other (administration, fire, library, recreation, utilities and others)$10.7M · 26%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Elmwood Park is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityElmwood Park Police DepartmentBorough of Elmwood Park · Apr 23, 2026
- 911 dispatchThe cityElmwood Park Police DispatchBorough of Elmwood Park · Apr 23, 2026
- FireThe cityElmwood Park Volunteer Fire DepartmentA volunteer department; the borough budgets a stipend program and rents the firehouse.Borough of Elmwood Park · Aug 18, 2025
- WaterThe cityBorough of Elmwood Park Water UtilityBorough of Elmwood Park · Aug 18, 2025
- Sewage treatmentSeparate districtPassaic Valley Sewerage CommissionBorough of Elmwood Park · Apr 23, 2026
- StreetsThe cityBorough of Elmwood Park Public WorksBorough of Elmwood Park · Apr 23, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityBorough of Elmwood ParkBorough of Elmwood Park · Aug 18, 2025
- Public health and animal controlThe countyCounty of Bergen (shared service)Borough of Elmwood Park · Apr 23, 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 | Point PleasantNJ | Elmwood ParkNJ | North PlainfieldNJ | SummitNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 19,712 | 21,534 | 22,879 | 23,314 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $41,724 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $12,360 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,328 | $1,923 | $1,568 | $2,721 |
| Debt per resident | $1,387 | $1,082 | $1,226 | $3,390 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $878 | $1,035 | $1,279 | $1,588 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | — | — |
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 Elmwood Park publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online Borough of Elmwood Park · May 21, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no employment contract for the Borough Administrator. The salary ordinance in the June 18, 2026 minutes lists the post's pay. Borough of Elmwood Park
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online Borough of Elmwood Park · May 21, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online Borough of Elmwood Park
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentSalary Ordinance 26-15 sets 2026 pay: mayor $14,420, council president $12,875, council members $12,360. Borough of Elmwood Park · Jun 18, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published Borough of Elmwood Park · Jun 18, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Employee health insurance is budgeted at $5,850,000 for 2026, second only to police. What options has the borough reviewed to control this cost?
- The borough's share of state pension liabilities was $22.3 million in June 2025, mostly for police and fire. How will rising pension bills be paid?
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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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