By Barbara A. Preston for The Montgomery News | May 14, 2026
The 2026 Montgomery Township budget was presented and formally introduced by Chief Financial Officer Michael Pitts at the April 16 committee meeting. The public hearing and adoption of the budget is scheduled for May 14.
The total budget for 2026 is $34.7 M, compared to $35.6 M in 2025.
The Montgomery municipal budget accounts for 13.75% of each resident’s property tax bill.
Under the new budget, a Montgomery resident with an average assessed home of $505,749 will pay $2,534 in municipal taxes in 2026. This is a $98.74 increase over last year for the average resident. This does not include school taxes or Somerset County taxes.
Some may question how the average home in Montgomery is only assessed at $505,749. As of April 2026, the median home listing price in Montgomery Township, is about $888,000 to more than $1 million, reflecting a high-value market with significant appreciation, according to Realtor.com. The Montgomery market is competitive, with a substantial portion of homes valued above $750,000.
Keep in mind that a home’s market price can be significantly higher than the tax assessment, especially in Montgomery Township which has not had a townshipwide property re-evaluation since 1999 — that’s 27 years ago.
By contrast, the borough of Rocky Hill had a re-evaluation in 2025.
While annual adjustments occur for housing improvements (home additions, new kitchens, etc.), a comprehensive re-evaluation is currently underway with a planned completion date of 2028.
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Montgomery News columnist Ed Trzaska wrote in May, 2025 that “It has been ... years without any effort to keep assessed values aligned with the market. The county tries to keep municipalities within 20% of the market value. As of now the collective assessed value of Montgomery is about 40% lower.
“This would be okay if everyone in town was equally at this level and thus paying our relative fair share of taxes. Unfortunately, neighborhoods appreciate in value at different rates.
“So, after two decades of doing nothing, we have areas of town assessed at only 40% to 50% of market value while others are at 70% to 80%. This inconsistency means some property owners are currently paying too much or not enough in taxes.
“The revaluation process is long and expensive. The township needs to submit updated tax maps to the county and request bids from revaluation companies that are approved by the state.”
CFO Michael Pitts highlighted eight significant increases to this year’s budget: health insurance ($266,000); police salaries ($260,000); other salaries ($145,250); capital improvement ($143,000); debt expense ($100,368); utilities ($79,500); payroll taxes ($40,000); and pension contributions ($26,000).
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Pitts said Montgomery tax rates rank lower than most municipalities in Somerset County. The township’s general tax rate is 0.480, ranking #11 out of 21 municipalities in Somerset County.
Learn more about the 2026 proposed budget at the Township Committee Meeting on May 14 at 7 pm, and/ or visit: montgomerynj.gov/948/_2026.
