How Summit is run
Who runs Summit, 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 Summit's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Summit
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
Summit city staff
The 2026 budget lists 185 full-time and 27 part-time municipal employees, with $18.9M of salaries and wages. Union salaries are listed by name in a January 2026 council resolution. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Summit 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 $1,217,474 to $33.09M, which is $476,039 under the state levy cap. It uses $8.5M of the $10.62M fund balance left at the end of 2025, or 80%, up from 71% in 2025. The municipal part of the average home's tax bill rises $162. We found no multi-year forecast. City of Summit · Apr 7, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $10.6M (2025-12-31). City of Summit · Jan 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
- Municipal property tax levy$33.1M · 52%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$8.5M · 13%
- School district debt obligation$5.7M · 9%
- Local revenues (fees, fines, interest)$3.8M · 6%
- State aid$3.7M · 6%
- Library tax levy$3.7M · 6%
- Contributions from the sewer and parking utilities$3.2M · 5%
- Other (grants, prior year tax receipts)$1.8M · 3%
Goes to (2026)
- Public safety (police and fire)$12.2M · 19%
- Community services (public works, sanitation, engineering)$8.6M · 13%
- Municipal debt service$6.4M · 10%
- School debt service$5.7M · 9%
- Insurance$5.4M · 9%
- Pension and Social Security$5.4M · 9%
- Reserve for uncollected taxes$5M · 8%
- Public library$3.7M · 6%
- Other (administration, finance, recreation, dispatch, grants and others)$11M · 17%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Summit collects one property tax bill and passes most of it on. The city says it keeps about $0.21 of every property tax dollar for its own budget, including the library. The rest goes to the schools and Union County.
23¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Summit
- Summit Public Schools (local school district)2.21 · 49%
- Union County (including open space)1.092 · 24%
- City of Summit (municipal purposes)0.943 · 21%
- Summit Public Schools debt service0.126 · 3%
- Summit Free Public Library0.1 · 2%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)4.471
2025 tax rates for a property in the City of Summit (Union County). City of Summit · Apr 7, 2026
See what a Summit house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Summit is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySummit Police DepartmentCity of Summit
- FireThe citySummit Fire DepartmentThe department also handles 911 telecommunications and first-responder medical calls.City of Summit
- Trash and recyclingThe cityCity of SummitThe city also runs a transfer station.City of Summit
- SewerThe cityCity of Summit sewer utilityThe sewer utility has its own $6.54M operating budget for 2026.City of Summit · Apr 7, 2026
- ParkingThe cityCity of Summit Parking Services utilityCity of Summit · Apr 7, 2026
- Public healthAnother agencyWestfield Regional Health DepartmentShared service with Westfield since 2006.City of Summit · Jan 1, 2025
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 Summit publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of Summit
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe Administration page and the budget documents do not state the City Administrator's pay. We found no contract or salary resolution. City of Summit
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's vote, including on the 2026 budget on May 5, 2026. City of Summit · May 5, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Summit · May 5, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe 2025 user friendly budget lists $0 of pay for the governing body. City of Summit · Jan 1, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Summit · Jan 6, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 budget uses $8.5 million of the $10.62 million fund balance left at December 31, 2025, or 80%, up from 71% in 2025. How much surplus does the city plan to keep?
- The municipal tax levy rises $1,217,474 to $33.09 million in 2026. Which costs drive the increase?
- Summit's share of state pension liabilities was $37.0 million at June 30, 2025. How will PFRS and PERS contributions fit into future budgets?
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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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