When we initially reported on Cranford’s budget we were limited to top line numbers in the analysis – we received the ’26 Introductory budget yesterday as a result of our OPRA request which allows for a more complete picture.
Cranford Budget Growth
The budget climbs by ~$3.1M between the ’25 adopted and ’26 intro with the pool fund dropping from ~$1.4M to ~$1.2M.
The tax side shows the impact more clearly.
Municipal Purpose Tax Levy rises by ~$3.2M, the min. library tax climbs by about 238k to ~2.17M and combined that comes to a tax ask that increase by almost $3.5M to ~$34.4M.
There’s less support coming from surplus this year as the anticipated drops by about $600k which means less cushion for tax payer and greater reliance on recurring revenue.
The same buckets every resident in every municipality need to watch come up in Cranford – ~$36.2M within CAPS (~$34.9M in 2025), ~$14M excluded (~$12.1M in 2025) and a flat reserve for uncollected taxes at $1.2M.
So the year-over-year growth isn’t just concentrated in just one corner and it’s important to keep in mind that excluded items usually includes expenses towns have less flexibility (debt, pensions etc).
The 2024 ACFR is useful when looking at the cost side of this picture as it shows the spots the money was pooling into and, as we are seeing from one municipality to the next – Police Salaries are a vacuum at ~$7.2M with Employee Group Health right behind it at ~$5.2M.
Then there’s the debt which moves to ~$5.1M from ~$4.9M between the ’25 adopted and ’26 Intro.
The revenue side isn’t showing much help either as misc. revenues barely come up between the same years (+31k) and other streams drop.
Revenue Side: Limited Relief
Offsets
- $750,000 NJ DCA Upgrades to Cranford Pools
- $513,409 750 Walnut PILOT
- $18,623 750 Walnut admin fee
There are a few offsets offsets as you can see but everything still points toward taxes carrying more of the load.
Putting the whole picture together using the ’24 ACFR, ’25 Adopted and ”26 Intro:
| Category | 2024 ACFR actual / base | 2025 adopted | 2026 introduced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Year Flow | |||
| Within CAPS | $34,122,232 | $34,889,461 | $36,178,179 |
| Excluded from CAPS | $11,413,537 | $12,153,922 | $13,937,800 |
| Reserve for Uncollected Taxes | $1,200,000 | $1,200,000 | $1,200,000 |
| Total General Appropriations | $46,735,769 | $48,243,383 | $51,315,979 |
| Indicators | |||
| Police salaries | $7,206,703 | $7,643,695 | $7,503,189 |
| Police other expenses | $257,855 | $303,500 | $330,500 |
| Fire salaries | $4,082,573 | $4,212,710 | $4,338,718 |
| Fire other expenses | $579,236 | $619,000 | $629,500 |
| Communications other expenses | $154,468 | $174,033 | $176,350 |
| Road repairs and maintenance salaries | $1,685,211 | $1,830,000 | $1,917,000 |
| Road repairs and maintenance other expenses | $420,995 | $433,000 | $433,000 |
| Public Buildings & Grounds other expenses | $581,764 | $557,200 | $593,700 |
| Employee group health insurance | $5,240,099 | $5,910,000 | $7,693,249 |
| Debt service total | $5,106,025 | $4,917,557 | $5,087,831 |
Our Full Municipal Budget Series
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