Brick Council Adopts Budget With $47 Tax Increase, Hears Criticism From Republicans

Brick Municipal Building / Photo: Daniel Nee

The Brick Township council this week voted to adopt Mayor Lisa Crate’s 2025 spending plan as proposed, with a mandatory hearing drawing some criticism from Republican candidates for office, but no objections from the public at large.

Crate’s plan calls for a $122,711,490 operating budget, up from $117,737,525 last year. The budget will be supported by a $86,061,664 property tax levy, up from $84,862,406 last year. The rate will rise by 1.9 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation, which translates to an increase of $47 per year for the owner of a home assessed at the township’s average.

Crate, a Democrat, is running for re-election as mayor this year, which would represent her first full term in office after being elected to fill the remainder of former Mayor John Ducey’s term. Ducey left office after being appointed as a Superior Court judge. Republicans have not occupied the mayor’s office nor a majority on the township council in more than a decade. GOP candidates for mayor and council attended the meeting and voiced opposition to the budget during the public hearing.

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“This budget is not just about taxes, but what Brick is becoming,” said Greg Cohen, running for council. “Yes, taxes are going up again … but we’re seeing more development, more traffic, more stress in our schools and more apartment complexes going up where trees and open spaces used to be.”

Cohen, as well as fellow council candidate Lisa Reina and mayoral candidate Madeline Colagiovanni Iannarone, centered their criticism on the amount of surplus funding being utilized by Crate toward the operating budget, accusing the mayor of using surplus funding to avoid a larger tax increase during an election year. The budget taps $14.6 million in surplus funding, up from $10.9 million in 2024 and $11 million the prior year.

“That’s not budgeting, that’s political damage control,” said Reina. “What happens when the surplus is gone and the tax rate spikes?”

The surplus will be replenished, however, said township Chief Financial Officer Maureen Laffey-Berg. The budget itself will replenish nearly $7.5 million worth of the surplus, with the remainder being generated by $4.9 million in FEMA reimbursement funds, $800,000 in administrative fees from police road jobs, and $2.3 million in appropriation reserves which will move into surplus. There are also additional sources of miscellaneous revenue. The surplus, after the 2025 budget is completed, is expected to stand at $17,371,000.

This year’s budget includes funding for rising salaries, benefits costs and state-mandated pension fund contributions, plus insurance costs. The township is expected to add EMTs and maintain a full police roster. Crate previously said the budget made Brick one of the “most efficiently managed and fiscally-conservative municipalities in Ocean County.”

“Both this administration and the council remain deeply mindful of the impact of every dollar on our residents,” said Crate.

The township’s website has released a full copy of the 89-page budget.