How Freehold Borough is run
Who runs Freehold Borough, 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 Freehold Borough's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Freehold Borough
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
Freehold Borough city staff
The introduced 2026 budget lists 79 full-time and 47 part-time employees, with $14.67M in total personnel costs. A salary ordinance sets pay ranges by title. We found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Freehold Borough 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: $6.9M (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. Freehold's was $6.92M on December 31, 2025. The 2026 budget uses $3.55M of surplus as revenue. Borough of Freehold · Aug 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$13.1M · 61%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$3.5M · 16%
- Local revenues (fees, licenses and other local income)$2.2M · 10%
- State aid$1.3M · 6%
- Library tax$598,513 · 3%
- Delinquent taxes$483,000 · 2%
- Grants$352,023 · 2%
Goes to (2026)
- Other expenses (supplies, services, insurance, utilities, trash collection)$8.2M · 38%
- Salaries and wages$6.8M · 32%
- Capital and debt service$2.3M · 10%
- Statutory charges (pensions, Social Security)$1.9M · 9%
- Reserve for uncollected taxes$1.1M · 5%
- Library$598,513 · 3%
- Shared service agreements$458,639 · 2%
- State and federal grants$389,523 · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The borough's own levy, including the library, is about 38% of the total rate. Schools take about half and Monmouth County about a tenth.
38¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Freehold Borough
- Freehold Borough (municipal purposes)0.74 · 37%
- Freehold Borough public library0.031 · 2%
- Freehold Borough School District (K-8)0.67 · 33%
- Freehold Regional High School District0.367 · 18%
- Monmouth County0.17 · 8%
- Monmouth County open space0.026 · 1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)2.004
2025 rates for a home in Freehold Borough (Monmouth County). Borough of Freehold · Apr 20, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Freehold Borough is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityFreehold Borough Police DepartmentBorough of Freehold
- 911 dispatchThe countyMonmouth CountyShared service agreement for 2026.Borough of Freehold · Apr 20, 2026
- WaterThe cityBorough Water and Sewer DepartmentBorough of Freehold
- SewerThe cityBorough Water and Sewer DepartmentBorough of Freehold
- Streets and parksThe cityBorough Department of Public WorksBorough of Freehold
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 | WallingtonNJ | FreeholdNJ | OaklandNJ | Bound BrookNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 12,092 | 12,562 | 12,837 | 13,038 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $8,347 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,442 | $1,722 | $2,105 | $1,694 |
| Debt per resident | $1,292 | $2,293 | $2,286 | $2,040 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $701 | $1,021 | $1,123 | $752 |
| 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 Freehold Borough 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 onlineWe found no contract for the Business Administrator. The 2026 salary ordinance gives only a range for the title. Borough of Freehold · Jan 20, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes in posted agenda packets record roll-call votes by member name. Borough of Freehold · May 4, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document Borough of Freehold · Jan 20, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe salary ordinance lists pay ranges by job title. We found no list of individual employee pay. Borough of Freehold · Jan 20, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 budget uses $3.55 million of surplus, while the audited Current Fund balance was $6.92 million on December 31, 2025. How long can the borough keep using surplus at this level?
- Freehold owed $28.81 million in bonds and notes at the end of 2025, much of it short-term bond anticipation notes. When will those notes be turned into long-term bonds, and at what interest cost?
- Freehold's share of state pension liabilities was $12.83 million at June 30, 2025. How will rising pension costs fit into future budgets?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Freehold Borough next?
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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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