How Roselle Park is run
Who runs Roselle Park, 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 Roselle Park's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Roselle Park
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
Roselle Park city staff
The 2026 budget does not state a total head count. The police department reports 34 sworn officers. Ordinance No. 2861 sets pay ranges by position; union contracts are posted, but we found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Roselle Park 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 does not include a multi-year forecast. The 2026 budget raises the municipal tax levy to $16.19M from $15.53M, staying $51,427 under the state's 2% levy cap. It uses $2.5M of surplus, up from $2.15M in 2025. Borough of Roselle Park · May 19, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $3.8M (2025-12-31). Borough of Roselle Park · Jun 9, 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$16.2M · 66%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$2.5M · 10%
- Payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs)$1.5M · 6%
- State aid (energy receipts tax)$1.1M · 4%
- Library property tax$675,306 · 3%
- Local revenues (fees, fines and licenses)$565,000 · 2%
- Construction code fees$475,000 · 2%
- Other (delinquent taxes, shared services, cable fees, sewer surplus and others)$1.4M · 6%
Goes to (2026)
- Police$5M · 21%
- Debt service$2.3M · 9%
- Trash and recycling$2.2M · 9%
- Employee health insurance$2M · 8%
- State pension contributions (PFRS and PERS)$1.9M · 8%
- Public works shared service with the Borough of Kenilworth$1.4M · 6%
- Reserve for uncollected taxes$1.1M · 5%
- Other insurance premiums$836,000 · 3%
- Other (administration, courts, fire, utilities, recreation and others)$7.6M · 31%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Rates are per $100 of assessed value. The schools take just over half of each tax dollar; the borough, including its library tax, takes about a third.
34¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Roselle Park
- Local school district2.324 · 52%
- Borough of Roselle Park1.479 · 33%
- Union County (general and open space)0.643 · 14%
- Borough library tax0.06 · 1%
- Total (dollars per $100 of assessed value)4.506
2025 property tax rates for a home in Roselle Park (Union County). Borough of Roselle Park · Jun 9, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Roselle Park is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityRoselle Park Police Department34 sworn officers.Borough of Roselle Park
- StreetsThe cityRoselle Park Department of Public WorksBorough of Roselle Park
- Trash and recyclingThe cityRoselle Park Department of Public WorksBorough of Roselle Park
- ParksThe cityRoselle Park Department of Public WorksBorough of Roselle Park
- LibraryThe cityRoselle Park Free Public LibraryBorough of Roselle Park · May 19, 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 | RamseyNJ | EdgewaterNJ | Roselle ParkNJ | Asbury ParkNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 14,925 | 15,499 | 15,603 | 15,632 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $2,148 | $2,645 | $1,563 | $4,036 |
| Debt per resident | $1,191 | $2,648 | $1,097 | $3,315 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,224 | $1,268 | $882 | $3,383 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | — | 15.7 |
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 Roselle Park publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online Borough of Roselle Park
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no contract or resolution stating the Business Administrator's pay. The salary ordinance gives only a range. Borough of Roselle Park · Jun 5, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes include a vote record table showing each member's vote on ordinances. Borough of Roselle Park · Sep 3, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe borough posts past council agendas and minutes along with video recordings of meetings. Borough of Roselle Park
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe salary ordinance sets ranges: $10,000 to $20,000 for the mayor and $5,000 to $15,000 per councilmember. No document states actual pay. Borough of Roselle Park · Jun 5, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published Borough of Roselle Park · Jun 5, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 budget uses $2.5 million of surplus, while the Current Fund balance was $3.80 million on December 31, 2025. How will future budgets be balanced if surplus keeps being drawn at this level?
- The 2026 budget pays the Borough of Kenilworth $1.42 million for public works services. What savings has this shared service produced compared with running the department directly?
- Roselle Park's share of state pension liabilities was $13.8 million at June 30, 2025, and the 2026 budget sets $1.86 million of pension contributions. How will those costs fit into future budgets?
- The borough has $6.4 million of bonds and notes authorized but not yet issued, on top of $17.1 million of debt outstanding. How will that borrowing affect debt service, which is $2.28 million in 2026?
The fiscal year is the calendar year. The council approved the 2026 budget on April 16, 2026, held the public hearing on May 19, 2026, and adopted it that day by Resolution 114-26. See who is running for council
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