This site provides transparency into hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars within the NJ state budget awarded to local governments and nonprofit organizations without any public process or merit-based criteria. These “extra” line items are presented by the Governor each February and then adjusted without a public or competitive bid process by the legislature.
NOTE: Budget line items and allocations are listed by municipality unless the project/organization clearly serves all residents of a specific county. In such instances the county is listed. In instances where the project/organization clearly serves all residents of the state, it is identified as “statewide.”
This project was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium.
Definitions
Appropriated Funds is the amount of funding formally authorized by the State Legislature in the Annual Appropriations Act.
Appropriations Act is a law passed each fiscal year by both houses of the State Legislature and signed by the Governor no later than June 30 to provide funding for all of the State’s financial obligations for the following year commencing on July 1.
Budget Resolution is a written agreement, voted on by both houses of the legislature that establishes level of fundings or parameters around which appropriated funds can be expended. In Fiscal 2025 there were 490 budget resolutions associated with the Fiscal 2025 Appropriations Act. Of these, nearly 50 were budget neutral and administrative in nature added at the request of the Executive Branch to clarify language in the annual Appropriations Act or other enabling legislation. These administrative resolutions are not included in this site.
Governor’s Recommendation is the amount of funding the Governor, as the chief executive officer of the state formally requests, typically in February for funding from the State Legislature each year.