How Middlesex is run
Who runs Middlesex, 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 Middlesex's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Middlesex
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
- Serves until either he or the borough decides the interim role is no longer needed.
Middlesex city staff
We found no total employee count in the budget. Ordinance 2157-25 sets pay ranges by job title, and appointment resolutions in council minutes state individual starting pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Middlesex 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: $3M (2025-12-31). Borough of Middlesex · May 28, 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 and the library$17.9M · 67%
- Special items (mostly PILOT payments from redevelopment projects)$2.2M · 8%
- Local revenues (fees, fines, licenses and other PILOTs)$2M · 7%
- State aid (energy receipts tax)$1.8M · 7%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$1.1M · 4%
- Grants offset by appropriations$694,334 · 3%
- Delinquent taxes$520,000 · 2%
- Other (construction code fees)$360,600 · 1%
Goes to (2026)
- Police$4.6M · 18%
- Employee health insurance$4.5M · 17%
- Pension, Social Security and other statutory costs$2.5M · 9%
- Sewage treatment (MCUA and Piscataway)$1.9M · 7%
- Debt service$1.5M · 6%
- Street Department$1.2M · 5%
- Public library$884,086 · 3%
- Reserve for uncollected taxes$775,000 · 3%
- Other (trash and recycling, parks, administration, insurance and others)$8.7M · 33%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Middlesex collects one property tax bill and passes most of it on: more than half goes to the local schools and about 15% to Middlesex County. The borough's own share, including the library, is about 31%.
31¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Middlesex
- Middlesex Borough schools (local school district)1.175 · 54%
- Borough of Middlesex (municipal)0.635 · 29%
- Middlesex County0.299 · 14%
- Middlesex Public Library0.033 · 2%
- Middlesex County open space0.03 · 1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)2.172
2026 tax rates for a property in the Borough of Middlesex (Middlesex County). Borough of Middlesex
Who provides your services
Not everything in Middlesex is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMiddlesex Borough Police DepartmentBorough of Middlesex · May 14, 2026
- FireThe cityMiddlesex Borough Fire Department (volunteer)An all-volunteer department with four fire companies.Borough of Middlesex
- First-responder EMSThe cityMiddlesex Borough Fire DepartmentBorough of Middlesex
- StreetsThe cityMiddlesex Department of Public WorksBorough of Middlesex
- Trash and recyclingThe cityMiddlesex Department of Public WorksBorough of Middlesex
- ParksThe cityMiddlesex Department of Public WorksBorough of Middlesex
- Local sewer lines and storm drainsThe cityMiddlesex Department of Public WorksBorough of Middlesex
- LibraryThe cityMiddlesex Public LibraryFunded by a dedicated library tax of $884,086 in 2026.Borough of Middlesex · May 14, 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 | New ProvidenceNJ | MiddlesexNJ | HopatcongNJ | RamseyNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 14,092 | 14,740 | 14,824 | 14,925 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $40,000 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,997 | $1,797 | $1,384 | $2,148 |
| Debt per resident | $1,868 | $1,018 | $1,535 | $1,191 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $940 | $1,026 | $791 | $1,224 |
| 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 Middlesex 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 Middlesex · May 14, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list the members voting yes, no or abstaining on each resolution and ordinance. Borough of Middlesex · Oct 14, 2025
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe 2026 budget sets $10,800 in total for mayor and council salaries. We found no document stating each official's pay. Borough of Middlesex · May 14, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published Borough of Middlesex · Oct 14, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The Current Fund balance was $3.00 million on December 31, 2025, and the 2026 budget uses $1.11 million of it. How much surplus does the borough aim to keep?
- Police Chief Matthew Geist has served as part-time interim Borough Administrator since October 14, 2025. When does the borough plan to fill the post permanently?
- Middlesex's share of state pension liabilities was $15.13 million at June 30, 2025. How will rising pension contributions fit into future budgets?
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