PASSAIC — Since March of 2020, the city has been stalked by twin terrors: falling revenues and increased spending. And 2021 might have been equally glum, but Passaic, like many of its sister cities, is receiving cash infusions from both the federal and state governments.
That means no tax hikes and no layoffs of public safety workers, namely police and firefighters.
In presenting the 2021 budget to the City Council on Tuesday, officials said that a combination of federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) grants and the expected money from the American Rescue Plan will keep the city solvent and, perhaps most important to the local property tax payer, mean a zero tax increase.