MIDDLETOWN, N.J. — Governor Phil Murphy’s decision to sign a $15 minimum wage hike bill on Monday isn’t only going to impact New Jersey’s private sector bottom line; local municipal and county leaders are bracing for dramatic, potentially budget-busting payroll expense increases which taxpayers will inevitably need to carry.
Millennial Middletown, New Jersey Mayor Tony Perry took to Twitter earlier Monday to highlight how $15 will impact his 66,000+ resident-strong Monmouth County suburb’s taxpayers:
In Middletown, the cost of increasing the minimum wage to $15 will cost taxpayers an additional $750,000 in our total municipal budget. Raising the minimum wage will undoubtedly cause property taxes to rise, only worsening NJ’s affordability crisis for all residents statewide.
— Mayor Tony Perry (@TonyPerryNJ) February 4, 2019
“In Middletown, the cost of increasing the minimum wage to $15 will cost taxpayers an additional $750,000 in our total municipal budget,” explained Perry. “Raising the minimum wage will undoubtedly cause property taxes to rise, only worsening NJ’s affordability crisis for all residents statewide.”
Some estimate that the new added combined cost for local and state government in the Garden State could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
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