Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Chester run?
Chester’s borough government spent $2.1 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, about $1,324 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Chester didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Chester is run
Read from the borough’s budget and official records.
West Morris Regional School District
Chester’s high school district, shared with Chester Township, Mendham, Mendham Township, Washington Township. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $27,126 per pupil, $16,322 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
New Jersey districts overall: 48% local, 46% state, 6% federal.
Chester Township School District · $27,852 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
About $1,324 per resident a year, or $3.63 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: police, at 36%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Revenue is well above spending. That usually means Chester collects property taxes for the school district and county and passes them on, so only its own spending is counted.
Chester didn’t report all of its 2022 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Chester yet
Every year of Chester’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the borough reported none of its dollars for 2022. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Typical bills top $10,000 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Chester’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Chester’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Chester →
Who’s in charge in Chester
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Chester’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The borough posts agendas and minutes on chesterborough.org ↗.
One full-time borough employee for every 180 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (1,620).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Chester.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: chesterborough.org ↗
- 2New Jersey General AssemblyState representatives
- 3New Jersey SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of New Jersey
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Chester’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Chester’s government
How much does Chester spend per resident?
About $1,324 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Chester didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $2.4 million.
Who runs Chester’s government?
See chesterborough.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Chester yet.
How many people work for Chester?
9 full-time and 15 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $62,440 (about $749,280 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Chester in the state legislature?
State Senate District 24 (Parker Space) and General Assembly District 24 (Dawn Fantasia and Mike Inganamort). The General Assembly district also covers 31 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Chester’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Chester, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →