How North Plainfield is run
Who runs North Plainfield, 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 North Plainfield's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs North Plainfield
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
North Plainfield city staff
The 2025 user friendly budget lists 125 full-time and 56 part-time budgeted positions. Ordinance 26-01 sets pay ranges for non-union titles; we found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is North Plainfield 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 budget has no multi-year forecast. The 2025 user friendly budget lists surplus as a risk, since it may not be available in future years. The 2026 budget uses $3.0M of surplus, up from $2.8M, and stays $215,901 under the state levy cap. Borough of North Plainfield · Mar 9, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $5.9M (2025-12-31). Borough of North Plainfield · May 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$27.1M · 76%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$3M · 8%
- Local revenues (fees, fines, licenses and interest)$1.8M · 5%
- State aid$1.6M · 4%
- Other special items$987,110 · 3%
- Delinquent taxes$620,000 · 2%
- Other (construction code fees, shared services and grants)$777,420 · 2%
Goes to (2025)
- Police salaries$6.2M · 17%
- Fire salaries$4.7M · 13%
- Pension and Social Security$4.6M · 13%
- Debt service$3.2M · 9%
- Employee group insurance$2.4M · 7%
- Emergency spending (storm recovery and revaluation)$2.1M · 6%
- Streets and roads$2M · 6%
- Reserve for uncollected taxes$1.6M · 5%
- Other (administration, liability insurance, utilities, grants and others)$8.8M · 25%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About half of a North Plainfield property tax bill goes to the schools. The borough's own share is about 37%. A 2026 revaluation will change the rates.
37¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of North Plainfield
- North Plainfield School District2.192 · 50%
- Borough of North Plainfield1.606 · 37%
- Somerset County0.451 · 10%
- County library0.062 · 1%
- County open space0.047 · 1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)4.358
2024 rates for a home in the Borough of North Plainfield (Somerset County). Borough of North Plainfield · Jan 1, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in North Plainfield is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- FireThe cityNorth Plainfield Fire DepartmentNorth Plainfield Fire Department website
- Ambulance (EMS)The cityNorth Plainfield Fire DepartmentNorth Plainfield Fire Department website
- StreetsThe cityNorth Plainfield Department of Public WorksBorough of North Plainfield · May 13, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityBorough of North PlainfieldBorough of North Plainfield · May 13, 2026
- Public healthThe countySomerset County Department of HealthBorough of North Plainfield
- LibraryThe countySomerset County Library SystemBorough of North Plainfield
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 | Elmwood ParkNJ | North PlainfieldNJ | SummitNJ | GlassboroNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 21,534 | 22,879 | 23,314 | 24,483 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $41,724 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $12,360 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,923 | $1,568 | $2,721 | $1,401 |
| Debt per resident | $1,082 | $1,226 | $3,390 | $1,856 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,035 | $1,279 | $1,588 | $1,108 |
| 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 North Plainfield 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 or document stating the Business Administrator's pay. Ordinance 26-01 gives only a salary range. Borough of North Plainfield · Feb 9, 2026
- Partly: Council votes recorded member by member online Borough of North Plainfield · Apr 13, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentWe found no posted document stating the mayor's or council members' pay. Borough of North Plainfield · Feb 9, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedOrdinance 26-01 sets pay ranges for non-union titles. We found no list of individual employee pay. Borough of North Plainfield · Feb 9, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 budget uses $3.0 million of surplus, while the Current Fund balance was $5.85 million on December 31, 2025. How much surplus can future budgets rely on?
- The 2026 budget raises $27.15 million in property tax for municipal purposes and stays $215,901 under the state levy cap. Which costs drive the increase?
- North Plainfield owed $28.06 million at the end of 2025, much of it in short-term bond anticipation notes. How and when will those notes be paid off or refinanced?
- North Plainfield's share of state pension liabilities was $29.27 million at June 30, 2025. How will rising pension costs fit into future budgets?
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