Mercer County 2024 Budget Approved

Benson Administration Rights County Fiscal Ship While Maintaining Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, July 11th, 2024

Trenton, NJ – The Mercer County Board of Commissioners has adopted the Mercer County budget for 2024. This is the first budget passed under Mercer County Executive Dan Benson, who took office in January. By completing the budget months earlier than last year’s, the Benson Administration and Commissioners have ensured that Mercer County will return to a regular budget process timeline next year.

“In spite of the previous administration’s financial mismanagement, which left the county with 11 million in deferred charges, we still made the critical investments that will empower us to continue building a county government that truly works for everyone,” said County Executive Benson.
In the 2024 budget, Mercer County is moving forward with several important initiatives which the County Executive discussed during his Budget Address in May.

In the 2024 budget, Mercer County is moving forward with several important initiatives which the County Executive discussed during his Budget Address in May.

• Formalizing the creation of the Public Health and Safety Department and the Community Services Department.
• Funding an Office of Travel and Tourism to build Mercer County’s brand as a tourism destination during the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations, and beyond
• Expanding staffing at the procurement office, allowing the county to seek more contracts through a fair-and-open process, and improving data management for the county set-aside to enhance opportunities for minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses.
• Creating an office of LGBTQIA+ services to assist the community with their needs and connect its members with key services
• Conducting a full audit of Mercer County’s IT systems and capabilities, to improve services and security
• Providing funding for a comprehensive facilities and 360° assessment of the Mercer County Corrections Center, the first step towards systematically updating the facility

The 2024 budget is $425,249,732.50 with the total amount to be raised by taxation of $322,506,708.34. This represents an equalized tax rate of 54.9 cents per 100 dollars of assessed value. This is a 1.3 cent or 2.89% increase in the equalized rate over last year and for the average home in Mercer of $286,000, this would amount to an increase of $48.49.

“I want to thank Chairman John Cimino, Vice-Chairwoman Kristin McLaughlin, and our entire Board of Commissioners for working closely with the administration to get this tough budget done right,” said County Executive Benson. “Even though we faced a condensed budget timeline, we were still able to be thorough and adopt a budget that reflects our values and, more importantly, the values of Mercer County residents.”

“The County Executive was clear that this first budget would be difficult. Despite the multitude of challenges, the administration led with transparency and responsiveness, allowing us to put together a financially responsible budget that meets our residents’ needs and allows us to pursue our economic development goals,” said Commissioner Chairman John A. Cimino.

“This budget lays important groundwork for rebuilding our airport, ballpark, and County Corrections Center. I have complete faith and confidence that the Administration and our Board will continue working together to achieve our shared vision for Mercer County,” said Vice Chairwoman Kristin McLaughlin.

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