How Point Pleasant is run
Who runs Point Pleasant, 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 Point Pleasant's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Point Pleasant
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
Point Pleasant city staff
The 2026 budget does not state a total head count. It gives salary totals by department; the last posted list of gross salaries is for 2015. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Point Pleasant 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
We found no multi-year forecast. The 2026 budget of $26.17M is below 2025's $26.50M. The municipal tax levy rises to $18.06M from $17.35M, and a council member described a 3.54 increase, about $81 a year on an average assessed home, driven by health care, pension and snow costs. The budget uses $3.575M of surplus, up from $3.375M. Borough of Point Pleasant · May 18, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $5M (2025-12-31). Borough of Point Pleasant · May 1, 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$18.1M · 69%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$3.6M · 14%
- State aid$1.2M · 5%
- Local revenues (fees, fines and charges)$795,000 · 3%
- Grants (public and private revenues)$695,028 · 3%
- Construction code fees$595,000 · 2%
- Shared service agreements with other towns$588,000 · 2%
- Other (delinquent taxes and special items)$618,043 · 2%
Goes to (2026)
- Salaries and wages$10.1M · 39%
- Other operating expenses$9.1M · 35%
- Deferred charges and statutory costs$3M · 11%
- Debt service$2.3M · 9%
- Reserve for uncollected taxes$1.5M · 6%
- Capital improvements$150,000 · 1%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Point Pleasant is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityPoint Pleasant Police DepartmentThe 2026 budget sets $6.02M for police salaries.Borough of Point Pleasant · May 18, 2026
- WaterThe cityBorough Water & Sewer UtilityBorough of Point Pleasant · May 18, 2026
- SewerThe cityBorough Water & Sewer UtilityBorough of Point Pleasant · May 18, 2026
- StreetsThe cityBorough Public Works DepartmentBorough of Point Pleasant · May 18, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityBorough Recreation ProgramsBorough of Point Pleasant · May 18, 2026
- Municipal courtThe cityPoint Pleasant Municipal CourtBorough of Point Pleasant · May 18, 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 MilfordNJ | DumontNJ | Point PleasantNJ | Elmwood ParkNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 17,133 | 18,501 | 19,712 | 21,534 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $41,724 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $12,360 |
| General fund per resident | $1,631 | $1,706 | $1,328 | $1,923 |
| Debt per resident | $937 | $2,192 | $1,387 | $1,082 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $993 | $842 | $878 | $1,035 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 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 Point Pleasant 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 Point Pleasant
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no contract or posted document stating the Business Administrator's pay. Borough of Point Pleasant
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes record roll call votes by name, including the 6-0 vote adopting the 2026 budget. Borough of Point Pleasant · May 18, 2026
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe 2026 budget sets $46,680 for mayor and council salaries combined. We found no document stating each member's pay. Borough of Point Pleasant · May 18, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published Borough of Point Pleasant
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 budget uses $3.575 million of the $5.04 million Current Fund balance left at December 31, 2025. How will the borough rebuild surplus for 2027?
- Point Pleasant's share of state pension liabilities was $17.3 million at June 30, 2025. How will rising required contributions be covered?
- The borough had $27.3 million of bonds, loans and notes at December 31, 2025, and the 2026 budget sets $2.32 million for debt service. What borrowing is planned next?
- The 2026 budget sets $46,680 for mayor and council salaries combined. Will the borough post each official's pay?
Help decide what comes 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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