Newark Council Adopts Budget

Council members in New Jersey's largest city have adopted a budget that lowers property taxes.

The property tax decrease is the first in Newark Mayor Cory Booker's seven years in office. Booker is running for U.S. Senate.

The Star-Ledger of Newark (http://bit.ly/1aBSbIM ) reports Booker issued a statement saying the $639.5 million spending plan allows the city to hire 50 new uniformed police officers.

Newark received $15 million less in state aid than it had anticipated. However, payroll tax collections were better than projected. The city also benefited from $3 million in a new car rental tax and proceeds from the sale of city properties.

Property taxes will decrease by nearly 14 percent from last year. The average homeowner will pay $5,215, down from $6,037.

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