Taxes and budget

The 2026 budget and your tax bill

Hillsborough's 2026 municipal budget raises $30,755,662.73 in property taxes, 8.20% more than in 2025, and the municipal tax rate went from 0.314 to 0.322 per $100. The Committee adopted it June 23 by a 4–1 vote. Tax bills also reflect the school and county levies and the township's annual reassessment.

Checked against the primary record on . Every figure on this page is sourced at the foot of the article.

2026 budget adopted June 23; 2027 budget not yet introduced Last moved

What happens next

The Committee's remaining 2026 meetings are November 10 (special, 6:30 pm), November 24 and December 15. Owners who think their assessment is too high can appeal to the Somerset County Board of Taxation; the state's deadline in a reassessment town is May 1 (the township's own guidance says April 1).

A Hillsborough tax bill pays for three budgets: the Board of Education’s, Somerset County’s and the township’s, plus the fire district and two open-space taxes. The Township Committee sets only the municipal budget. In 2026 the school rate was 1.530 of the general rate of 2.232 per $100 of assessed value, and the municipal rate was 0.322.

The 2026 municipal budget totals $43,065,948.77. It raises $30,755,662.73 in property taxes for municipal purposes, $2,330,780.63 or 8.20% more than in 2025. The introduced budget had shown 8.33%; a June amendment lowered the levy slightly. Because total assessed value also rose, the municipal rate went from 0.314 to 0.322. On the township’s figures, the municipal tax on the average home rose from $1,865.44 to $2,028.48.

How it passed. An emergency spending resolution failed on February 24, 3–2, because the law requires four votes; a revised version passed 4–0 on March 4. That night, the minutes record, the Mayor “clarified that the CFO has not yet started the 2026 budget but does not foresee a tax increase for the residents.” The Committee introduced the budget on April 28 by 4–1, adopted Ordinance 2026-05 letting appropriations rise 3.5% instead of 2% by 3–1 on May 26, and adopted the amended budget on June 23 by Resolution R-217-2026, 4–1 (Payne, Lipani, Britting and Gomez yes; Hand no, per the state budget filing). The minutes of June 23 are not yet posted. The budget replaced the township’s $31,000 contribution to the two senior citizen chapters with a $1 placeholder.

Other pieces of the bill. The township’s 2026 revenue includes $378,688 from the Hillsborough Municipal Utilities Authority, 5% of the authority’s budget, as state law allows. Hillsborough is one of 16 Somerset towns that reassess every property every year; the state approves the program annually, and 2026 assessments stood at 97.21% of market value on the county’s measure. The general tax rate rose from 2.160 to 2.232. In September the Committee asked the Legislature, 3–0 with one abstention, to change school funding and municipal aid.

Residents raised taxes at many Committee meetings in 2026. Residents can read the budget filings, comment at the Committee’s budget hearing each spring, and appeal an assessment to the county board. See the explainer for the figures, the votes and each side’s stated reasons.

The 2026 budget and your tax bill, explained

Timeline

Each dated event on this issue, oldest first, linked to the full sourced entry.

  1. Resolved Mindel purchase note renewed at $13,055,443 and 3%The township renewed the one-year bond anticipation note that finances the 2022 Mindel purchase: $13,055,443 at 3.000%, due November 11, 2026. The prior note was $13,225,443 at 4%.
  2. Resolved Committee adopts the $13 million temporary budgetThe Committee adopted a 2026 temporary budget of $13,000,000 (R-14-2026) on its unanimous reorganization consent agenda, to run the township until the full budget was adopted.
  3. Resolved Emergency spending resolution fails, 3–2A resolution for $5,389,987.00 in emergency temporary appropriations (R-90-2026) failed 3–2: Payne, Lipani and Britting voted yes, Gomez and Hand no. State law requires four of the five members.
  4. Resolved Revised emergency appropriation passes 4–0At a special meeting the Committee passed a revised emergency temporary appropriation of $5,156,987.00, $233,000 less than the February version, bringing temporary spending to $18,156,987.00. The four members present voted yes; Hand was absent.
  5. Resolved Sewer authority approves $378,688 transfer to the townshipThe Hillsborough Municipal Utilities Authority approved transferring $378,688 to the township for 2026 (Res. #26-0325-01), after amending its budget on February 11 to add the payment. The township had asked by letter on January 21.
  6. Resolved 2026 budget and cap ordinance introduced, 4–1The Committee introduced the 2026 budget and Ordinance 2026-05, each 4–1 (Payne, Lipani, Britting and Gomez yes; Hand no). The introduced budget raised $30,792,776.73 in taxes, 8.33% more than in 2025.
  7. Resolved Cap ordinance adopted 3–1; budget adoption postponedThe Committee adopted Ordinance 2026-05, 3–1 (Payne, Lipani and Britting yes; Hand no; Gomez absent), letting 2026 appropriations rise 3.5% instead of 2%. It held the budget hearing but postponed adoption.
  8. Resolved Budget amendment introduced; senior line set at $1The Committee introduced an amendment to the 2026 budget, raising total appropriations from $43,063,062.77 to $43,065,948.77 and setting the senior-organizations line at a $1.00 placeholder. The hearing was set for June 23.
  9. Resolved 2026 budget adopted, 4–1The Committee adopted the amended 2026 budget by Resolution R-217-2026, 4–1: Payne, Lipani, Britting and Gomez yes; Hand no. It raises $30,755,662.73 in local taxes, up 8.20%, on total appropriations of $43,065,948.77.
  10. Milestone Residents press the Committee on tax bills and reassessmentAfter estimated tax bills went out in July, about a dozen speakers at the Committee's July 28 meeting raised tax increases, affordability and the township's annual reassessment program; one, Shansha Kur, asked to pause it.
  11. Milestone Township posts written answers on taxes and reassessmentThe township attached written answers to residents' July questions to the August 25 agenda, covering who sets each part of the bill, why assessments change every year and how to appeal. The Committee also acknowledged the 2025 audit.
  12. Resolved Committee approves the 2025 audit corrective action planOn its unanimous consent agenda the Committee approved the corrective action plan for the 2025 audit. One finding is that projects under Ordinances 2008-49 and 2009-15 were finished without the debt being fully issued; the plan says the costs will be raised in future budgets.
  13. Resolved Committee urges state school-funding and aid reform, 3–0–1R-300-2026 asks the Legislature to reform school funding and municipal aid, fund state mandates and allow development impact fees. A motion to table it got no second. It passed 3–0–1: Payne, Lipani and Britting yes; Gomez abstaining; Hand absent.
  14. Pending Mindel purchase note comes dueThe $13,055,443 bond anticipation note for the Mindel purchase matures. The township says the state's easement payment will offset the purchase debt; whether the note will be paid down, retired or renewed is not yet in the record.

Explainers

  • The Former Belle Mead Depot: A Solar Lease, a Settled Lawsuit and a Federal Cleanup

    The Army's former Belle Mead depot in Hillsborough is now owned by the Somerset County Improvement Authority; the township holds land there under a lease-purchase agreement. Hillsborough subleased part of that land to a solar developer in 2023. A lawsuit delayed the project until the Committee approved a settlement in February 2026, and the sublease deadlines were extended in March. The federal government is asking for $33,652,000 more to finish the cleanup.

  • Hillsborough's 2026 Budget and Your Tax Bill, Explained

    Who sets each part of a Hillsborough tax bill; what the 2026 municipal budget raises and spends; how it passed, vote by vote, with each side's stated reasons; the cap ordinance, the senior-chapter funding, the MUA payment, the annual reassessment, the school budget and state aid; and what is still not public.

  • The Mindel Tract: How Hillsborough's Largest Farm Purchase Is Being Preserved

    Hillsborough bought the roughly 440-acre Mindel tract for $14 million in January 2022. In 2026 the Township Committee voted to sell the land's development rights to the State Agriculture Development Committee at $30,600 an acre, and the state gave final approval on April 30 for 438.81 acres. The land will be farmland forever, not a public park. The closing has not been recorded.

Documents

The township's own records on this issue. Each links to the official copy.

Meetings

  • Township Committee — October 27, 2026

    The township's video shows the Committee introducing Ordinance 2026-10, which replaces the flood damage prevention chapter and adopts the new FEMA flood maps, 4–0, with a hearing at a November 10 special meeting. It also approved a 2027–2029 police (PBA Local 205) contract memorandum, 4–0, and discussed the state's Best Practices questionnaire with the departing CFO. The minutes are not yet posted.

  • Township Committee — September 22, 2026

    The Committee released the contractor's performance bond on the Route 206 pedestrian bridge and adopted the wrecker-fee ordinance. It passed R-300-2026, urging state school-funding and municipal-aid reform, 3–0 with one abstention, after a motion to table it got no second. The 2026 repaving program had begun. Residents raised Flock cameras, Iron Peak's operating hours and remote meetings.

  • Township Committee — September 8, 2026

    The consent agenda approved chip-surface treatment of Montgomery Road, not to exceed $186,392.70, and created a Community Partner Grant Advisory Committee. It approved the 2025 audit corrective action plan, and the Mayor set a Monday-noon deadline for members' questions so packets post earlier.

  • Township Committee — August 25, 2026

    The consent agenda covered rail quiet-zone recertification, county road striping and materials for Montgomery Road. The Committee adopted the $43,000 phone-system ordinance and introduced new wrecker fees. Engineering reminded residents about sump pumps and stormwater certification.

  • Township Committee — July 28, 2026

    A 27-item consent agenda passed unanimously: $695,616.65 for the 2026 road paving program, $253,070 for Flemming Drive sidewalks, and $78,967.50 to demolish the old municipal building. About 24 residents spoke, including opposition to chip-sealing roads.

  • Township Committee — June 23, 2026

    The longest meeting of the year. The state budget filing shows the Committee adopted the amended 2026 budget here, 4–1. The agenda also carried the hearings on Ordinance 2026-07, the Sunnymead Landfill Redevelopment Plan, and Ordinance 2026-06, plus a $41,600 contract for the Fox Chase Pond shoreline restoration. The minutes are not yet posted, so outcomes are not confirmed here.

  • Township Committee — June 9, 2026

    The Committee introduced an amendment to the 2026 budget, setting the senior-organizations line at a $1 placeholder, and adopted the 2026–27 Wildlife Management Plan, covering 19 properties and continuing a coyote-culling pilot, and applied for FY27 NJDOT Municipal Aid for Bloomingdale Drive. Members disagreed on the record over the budget and the senior-club funding.

  • Township Committee — May 26, 2026

    The Committee adopted the 3.5% cap ordinance, 3–1, and held the 2026 budget hearing but postponed adoption. Members of Senior Chapters A and B objected to losing their township funding. Ordinance 2026-07, the Sunnymead Landfill Redevelopment Plan, was introduced unanimously, along with an engineering-fees ordinance. The consent agenda renewed police body-camera service and approved a stormwater maintenance agreement.

  • Township Committee — May 12, 2026

    A short meeting with a four-item consent agenda, passed unanimously. Judy Haas questioned items on the claims list and the size of the legal bills. In public comment Susan Gulliford said the money for restoring Fox Chase Pond must be spent by December 31, 2026.

  • Township Committee — April 28, 2026

    The Committee introduced the 2026 budget and the cap ordinance, each 4–1, and a motion to take public questions on the budget presentation failed 2–3. It adopted Ordinance 2026-04, limiting parking on Dickerson Road around events at the Performance Sports Center. The consent agenda covered an escrow waiver for the county's street-sweeping facility and network cabling for the police expansion.

  • Township Committee — March 4, 2026 (special meeting)

    A 5 pm special meeting called after the February 24 vote. The four members present passed a revised emergency temporary appropriation, 4–0, and residents raised packet timing and remote participation.

  • Township Committee — February 24, 2026

    The Committee awarded the $593,000 police department renovation, bought two police drones, settled the Volkert lawsuit tied to the former Belle Mead depot solar project, and adopted Ordinance 2026-01 on industrial-district uses after six residents spoke. An emergency budget appropriation failed 3–2 for lack of the four votes the law requires.

  • Township Committee — February 10, 2026

    The township announced $1 million in FY2026 federal appropriations for the Hillsborough Recreation Center at Merdinger Park. The Committee appointed a Health Officer, approved the AFSCME contract and 2026 salaries after members debated the budget, and ratified farm leases for 2026–2030.

  • Township Committee — January 6, 2026 (reorganization)

    The 2026 reorganization meeting. A new member was sworn in, the Committee chose the mayor and deputy mayor from among its members, and it adopted the year's meeting schedule, official newspapers and professional appointments. No video was found.

Sources for this overview

  1. Hillsborough 2026 adopted municipal budget (state budget filing, R-217-2026 and recorded vote)
  2. Hillsborough 2026 user-friendly budget
  3. Somerset County Board of Taxation, 2026 tax rates
  4. Township Committee minutes, February 24, 2026 (emergency appropriation fails)
  5. Township Committee minutes, March 4, 2026 (revised emergency appropriation)
  6. Township Committee minutes, April 28, 2026 (budget and Ordinance 2026-05 introduced)
  7. Township Committee minutes, May 26, 2026 (Ordinance 2026-05 adopted; budget hearing)
  8. Township Committee minutes, June 9, 2026 (budget amendment)
  9. NJ Division of Taxation, 2026 approved revaluations and reassessments
  10. Hillsborough MUA minutes, March 25, 2026 (Res. #26-0325-01, $378,688 transfer)
All issues The full timeline