2026 7-Municipality Budget Analysis
2026 Municipal Budget Introductions NJ21st has been reviewing 2026 municipal budget introductions across our coverage area to help residents see...
Police, Pensions, and Public Works: The Cost of Running Westfield in 2026
Westfield’s ’26 introductory budget, which was approved in late March, hits ~60M which is an increase from the ’25 adopted...
Westfield’s School Budget Looks Deliberate, But Not Beyond Scrutiny
Westfield is next, and unlike some of the other districts, it actually gave the public a little more to work...
7-District ACFR Budget Comparison: Berkeley Heights, Chatham, Madison, Millburn, New Providence, Summit, and Westfield
We are very happy to present our 2026–2027 7-District Budget Hub, which features budget profiles for each district on our...
Proposed 2026-27 School Aid: How Berkeley Heights, New Providence and Other Nearby Districts Fared in New Jersey’s Budget
-Written by an Educator in the District On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill delivered her first budget address, which...
7-Agency Dashboard: Municipal Use of Force Trends (2021–2025)
The report takes a look at 401 use of force incidents reported by the following police departments between 2021 through...
The ACFR Dashboard (Part 5): The True Cost of School Security
Up to this point in our series we took a hard look at using the ACFR to determine the trajectory...
What the 7-District ACFR Dashboard Shows About Special Education Costs (Part 4)
This is the fourth in a series intended to help families better understand how to hold their School District spending...
What We Covered in 2025 Part 5: Public Safety, Policing, and Institutional Risk
Three articles connected to police bureaucracy and the risks connected to failures of oversight and training, along with a response...
What We Covered in 2025 Part 2: Schools, Rankings, and What the Data Really Says
In 2025, our reporting on education metrics continued to explain school data in a way families and residents could actually...