Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo presented a $916.3 million budget for 2026 Wednesday, as the county continues to grapple with rising healthcare costs, ever-increasing property taxes, and the affordability crisis that has impacted the entire country.
At the Leroy Smith Public Safety Building, surrounded by a who’s who of Essex County politicos that included Senate Majority leader and DiVincenzo’s deputy chief of staff Teresa Ruiz, Essex County Sheriff Amir Jones, Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens and Montclair Mayor Renee Baskerville, DiVincenzo unveiled the 2026 county budget, one day ahead of the statutory deadline.
The budget represents a substantial increase from 2025’s $874.1 million budget and includes a property tax levy increase of 1.74 percent, a drop from last year’s increase of 1.99 percent…