Inside Bernards Township Finances: What You Need to Know

At the September 30th, 2024 “Understanding Bernards” event, Mayor Jennifer Asay and the township’s finance leadership team offered residents a transparent, in-depth look into how township finances work. (Read more below)

From how your home is assessed to where your tax dollars go, this session broke it all down.

Residents learned about the annual reassessment process, the breakdown of tax bills (with 66% going to schools and only 15% funding municipal services), and how Bernards Township remains one of the few municipalities in New Jersey with zero debt—a result of careful planning and a pay-as-you-go capital budget philosophy.

With home values up nearly 20% since 2021 and Bernards ranked as the 4th hottest housing market in the country by Realtor.com, this session helped clarify the relationship between market trends, assessments, and tax rates.

As the committee emphasized: an increased assessment doesn’t automatically mean higher taxes—what matters is the township-wide budget and tax rate calculation.

All financial documents—including budgets and audits—are publicly available on the Bernards Township website.

Transparency like this is why Bernards Township

continues to be a model of fiscal responsibility.