For the first time in five years, municipal taxes are going up in Jersey City.

The City Council approved a $598 million budget Monday night that includes a 2.18 percent municipal tax hike, meaning the owner of an average property valued at about $440,000 will see their tax bill go up approximately $66 this year.

Mayor Steve Fulop said the budget includes investments in public safety, including the hiring of 75 police recruits and 20 new firefighters, as well as funding for an intra-city transit system between Greenville and the Heights. The tax hike will also help offset an anticipated $18 million reduction in tax abatement revenue, as the city looks to become less reliant on money generated through tax breaks for developers.

“For five years our administration was able to deliver flat taxes to residents, an accomplishment that no other city in New Jersey has had,” Fulop said in a statement. “So, after five years of flat taxes, we thought a modest 2-percent increase to fund enhanced services for residents is reasonable.”

The municipal tax is one of three components of a homeowner’s property tax bill. The others are school taxes and county taxes.

In June, the Hudson County Freeholders approved a $374 million budget that carried tax hikes for nine of Hudson’s 12 municipalities, including Jersey City. The owner of an average Jersey City home assessed at about $440,000 will have to shell out $57 more than he or she did a year ago.

City taxpayers will also face a potential school tax hike of 10 percent, which could cost an average property owner another $155. In total, the owner of a property assessed at approximately $440,000 will have to fork over an extra $278 this year.

The budget passed by a 7-2 vote with Council President Rolando Lavarro and Ward E Councilman James Solomon voting against the budget because it didn’t include additional funding for the school district, which had to plug a multi-million-dollar hole in its own budget this year.

“I do fundamentally believe there is money in this budget potentially for the schools,” said Solomon, who acknowledged the district did not ask for the extra money, but said including the additional funds in the municipal budget could address possible school funding issues in the future.

“Now we have to sit down and figure out where to get the money from and how we can ensure next year’s school budget is fully funded," Soloman added.

The school district announced in early June that it planned to fill a $40 million funding shortfall with the anticipated $6 million sale and lease-back of its administrative offices, $7 million from the school district’s self-funded unemployment insurance program, and the infusion of $27 million from a new city payroll tax.

Parents and advocates from the group Jersey City Together protested at a council meeting on June 26 for the City Council to help make up the difference instead of the school district selling the central office.

Joshua Rosario may be reached at JRosario@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JRyRosario.