How New Milford is run
Who runs New Milford, 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 New Milford's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs New Milford
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
New Milford city staff
78 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police officers 33. 2026 budget, full-time positions. The 2026 budget also counts 34 part-time positions. Borough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
The user friendly budget gives pay totals by employee group, 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 New Milford 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.
The city's own outlook
The 2026 budget raises the municipal tax levy by $1,033,296 (5.24%) to $20.74M and uses $2.0M of surplus, $125,000 less than in 2025. Insurance costs rise $530,278 (13.65%). The municipal tax on the average home goes up $439.87 (10.91%) to $4,472.49. Borough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $4M (2025-12-31). Borough of New Milford · May 7, 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$20.7M · 74%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$2M · 7%
- State aid$1.6M · 6%
- Library property tax$1.1M · 4%
- Other special items$639,251 · 2%
- Grants (public and private revenue)$635,907 · 2%
- Other (local fees, delinquent taxes and construction code fees)$1.2M · 4%
Goes to (2026)
- Public safety$7M · 25%
- Insurance, including employee health$4.4M · 16%
- Public works$4.4M · 16%
- Pensions and Social Security (statutory)$2.8M · 10%
- Debt service$2.1M · 8%
- Solid waste disposal$1.6M · 6%
- General government$1.3M · 5%
- Other (library, utilities, health, reserve for uncollected taxes and more)$4.3M · 15%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
New Milford collects one property tax bill and passes most of it on. Of the 2025 rate, about 59% went to the local schools and about 10% to Bergen County. The borough's own share, including the library and open space, was about 30%.
30¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of New Milford
- New Milford Board of Education (local schools)1.29 · 59%
- Borough of New Milford (municipal purposes)0.627 · 29%
- Bergen County0.216 · 10%
- New Milford Public Library0.03 · 1%
- Bergen County library0.01 · <1%
- Borough open space trust0.005 · <1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)2.178
2025 tax rates for a property in the Borough of New Milford (Bergen County). Borough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in New Milford is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityNew Milford Police DepartmentThe 2026 budget counts 33 police officers.Borough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
- FireThe cityBorough of New Milford (volunteer fire department)Borough of New Milford · May 7, 2026
- StreetsThe cityBorough of New MilfordBorough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
- Trash and recyclingThe cityBorough of New MilfordThe 2026 budget sets $1.25M for garbage and trash removal.Borough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
- LibraryThe cityNew Milford Public LibraryBorough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityBorough of New MilfordBorough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
- Public healthThe cityBorough of New Milford Board of HealthBorough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
- Municipal courtThe cityNew Milford Municipal CourtBorough of New Milford · May 11, 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 | Asbury ParkNJ | North ArlingtonNJ | New MilfordNJ | DumontNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 15,632 | 16,601 | 17,133 | 18,501 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $12,193 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $4,036 | $1,923 | $1,631 | $1,706 |
| Debt per resident | $3,315 | $671 | $937 | $2,192 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $3,383 | $1,013 | $993 | $842 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 15.7 | 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 New Milford publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe adopted 2026 budget, with its May 11, 2026 public hearing notice, is posted on the borough's website. Borough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no contract, resolution or salary ordinance stating the Borough Administrator's pay on the borough's budget and minutes pages. Borough of New Milford · Oct 11, 2026
- No: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes name who made and seconded each motion, but record votes only as all present in favor, without each member's vote. Borough of New Milford · Mar 30, 2026
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe 2026 budget sets $29,500 of salaries for the mayor and council together, without a per-member figure. Borough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
- No: Employee pay publishedThe user friendly budget gives only pay totals by employee group, $9.65M of base pay in all, not individual pay. Borough of New Milford · May 11, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The Current Fund balance fell from $4.33 million to $4.03 million in 2025, and the 2026 budget uses $2.0 million of it. How long can the borough keep using surplus at that level?
- Insurance costs rise $530,278 (13.65%) in the 2026 budget. What is driving the increase, and what options does the borough have?
- The municipal tax on the average home rises $439.87 in 2026, to $4,472.49. How does the council plan to manage future increases?
- New Milford's share of state pension liabilities was $17.0 million at June 30, 2025. How will rising pension contributions fit into future budgets?
The budget year ends December 31. The council approved the 2026 budget on April 6, 2026 and held the public hearing on May 11, 2026. See who is running for council
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