How Wanaque is run
Who runs Wanaque, 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 Wanaque's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Wanaque
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
Wanaque city staff
60 full-time-equivalent positions. 2026. Borough of Wanaque · Jan 1, 2026
The user friendly budget lists budgeted positions and personnel costs by group. A 2025 salary resolution lists pay for some named officials and staff. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Wanaque 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 uses $995,000 of Current Fund surplus, leaving $1.01M of the surplus shown in the budget. The local tax for municipal purposes is $13.23M, up $307,455 (2.38%) from 2025. At the budget hearing, officials said employee and retiree health insurance costs had risen sharply. Borough of Wanaque · Jan 1, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $2M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: We found no written reserve target. New Jersey towns report a Current Fund balance (surplus) rather than an unassigned balance. Wanaque's audited balance was $1.96M on December 31, 2025. The 2026 budget uses $995,000 of surplus. Borough of Wanaque · Aug 12, 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$13.2M · 71%
- Fund balance (surplus) used$995,000 · 5%
- State aid (energy receipts tax)$913,118 · 5%
- Library property tax$682,827 · 4%
- Reserve for special housing$650,000 · 4%
- Delinquent tax collections$350,000 · 2%
- Annual payment from Tilcon NY$250,000 · 1%
- Other (interest, fees, court fines, cell tower lease, grants and others)$1.5M · 8%
Goes to (2026)
- Police salaries and wages$4M · 21%
- Debt service$2M · 11%
- Employee group insurance$2M · 11%
- Pensions (PFRS and PERS)$1.2M · 7%
- Garbage and trash removal$904,000 · 5%
- Reserve for uncollected taxes$800,000 · 4%
- Public library$764,827 · 4%
- Other (administration, roads, insurance, shared services and others)$6.9M · 37%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Wanaque collects one property tax bill and passes most of it on. In 2025 about 55% of the levy went to the local and regional schools and about 18% to Passaic County. The borough's own share, including the library and open space taxes, was about 27%.
27¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Wanaque
- Wanaque local schools1.617 · 36%
- Borough of Wanaque (municipal purposes)1.16 · 26%
- Regional high school district0.869 · 19%
- Passaic County0.811 · 18%
- Wanaque library0.057 · 1%
- County open space tax0.017 · <1%
- Borough open space tax0.01 · <1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)4.541
2025 tax rates for a property in the Borough of Wanaque (Passaic County). Borough of Wanaque · Jan 1, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Wanaque is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityWanaque Police DepartmentBorough of Wanaque · Jun 15, 2026
- 911 call answeringAnother agencyBorough of Pompton Lakes (shared service)Borough of Wanaque · Jan 1, 2026
- WaterThe cityBorough of Wanaque Water DepartmentBorough of Wanaque
- Streets and parksThe cityWanaque Road Department (DPW)Borough of Wanaque
- LibraryThe cityWanaque Free Public LibraryBorough of Wanaque · Jun 15, 2026
- Public health servicesThe countyPassaic County (shared service)Borough of Wanaque · Jan 1, 2026
- Animal controlAnother agencyBorough of Bloomingdale (shared service)Borough of Wanaque · Jan 1, 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 | WestwoodNJ | WanaqueNJ | RidgefieldNJ | BellmawrNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 11,365 | 11,418 | 11,547 | 11,874 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $5,970 | $4,500 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $2,038 | $1,626 | $2,462 | $1,623 |
| Debt per resident | $967 | $2,612 | $2,408 | $2,239 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,298 | $840 | $1,323 | $975 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 5.3 | 6.8 | 7.6 |
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 Wanaque publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe 2026 certified adopted budget, introduced budget and user friendly budget are posted on the Budgets page. Borough of Wanaque
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe council approved the administrator's employment agreement in May 2025. The agreement is not posted, and the minutes do not state his salary. Borough of Wanaque · May 12, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes record each roll call by name, including the June 15, 2026 budget adoption. Borough of Wanaque · Jun 15, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentResolution 2025-109, printed in the April 14, 2025 minutes, lists the 2025 salaries of the mayor and each council member. Borough of Wanaque · Apr 14, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay publishedResolution 2025-109 lists 2025 salaries for named officials and some staff. Borough of Wanaque · Apr 14, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 budget uses $995,000 of Current Fund surplus. The audited balance was $1.96 million at December 31, 2025. How much surplus does the borough aim to keep?
- Employee group insurance is budgeted at $1.97 million in 2026. How does the borough plan to manage health insurance costs in future budgets?
- Borough bonds, notes and loans issued totaled $29.8 million at the end of 2025, including short-term notes. When does the borough plan to replace its notes with long-term bonds?
- Wanaque's share of state pension liabilities was $9.6 million at June 30, 2025. How will pension contributions fit into future budgets?
The council approved the 2026 Budget and Tax Resolution on April 27, 2026 and held the public hearing on June 15, 2026. That night it amended the budget by Resolution 2026-159 A and adopted it by Resolution 2026-159. See who is running for council
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