Surf City’s adopted budget includes tax rate increase despite influx of larger houses

When Surf City Council adopted its new $6,487,400 municipal budget at its monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 9, a member of the public said residents ought to be getting a rebate rather than paying more taxes since many small homes are being torn down and rebuilt into larger houses.

Photo via ReMax
The homes in Surf City continue to get bigger.

The amount to be raised locally by taxation is $4,190,500. The tax rate is an increase of 0.75 cents per $100

assessment over 2015, when it was 26 cents per $100 assessed valuation. One cent on the tax rate would raise about $156,645.

For purposes of the budget, the town has to use the figure certified as of Oct. 1 of the prior year, which is $1,566,451,000, said David Pawlishak, borough chief financial officer. It is a slight increase over the prior year, which was $1,557,657,000.

“We had a net increase of about $9 million in ratables even though there were more buildings,” Pawlishak said.

If someone buys a house and tears it down, the cost of the improvement when the house was bought is added onto the price of the land and the new building is added to it, Mayor Francis Hodgson noted.

“Who says taxes are fair? Certainly not me, but we live with the numbers we got,” he stated.

The new budget is an overall decrease of $65,000 compared to last year’s plan. Decreases in various operating line items served to offset much of the increases, said Hodgson. The budget anticipates an increase of insurance premiums of $50,000 net of employee contributions. Pension obligations increased by $18,800, and effective contractual cost of living increases have resulted in an increase of $104,800 in amounts appropriated for salaries and wages.

The town used $1,332,000 of surplus in support of the budget, which is $260,000 less than for 2015. Members also adopted an ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a 3.5 percent cap bank, amounting to $190,964.90.

The separate water and sewer budget is $2,268,400, which is $55,600 more than last year.

In other meeting news, members adopted an ordinance to raise the fee for weekly beach badges from $17 to $18.

In regard to legislation again proposed by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) that would require Long Beach Island’s six municipalities to consolidate for alleged efficiency and greater savings, Councilman Peter Hartney said Gusciora “should try his social experiment out in his own district and remain in his own backyard.” With the help of staff, Hartney looked into four contiguous municipalities in the assemblyman’s 15th District: Hopewell Township, Hopewell borough, East Amwell Township and West Amwell Township. Their current bonded indebtedness is over $60 million. Surf City’s bonded indebtedness is zero.

“How rich that a state legislator is telling us how to save money, with all the problems they’re having,” said Councilman William Hodgson. “Is it a distraction – look over there, don’t look over here?”

In response to comments made in The SandPaper’s Liquid Lines column last week, which Hartney said makes it appear as if the Island has no shared services, the councilman rattled off a long list of the town’s formal and informal shared services, which range from municipal water supply, police dispatching and emergency management to public health services, Superstorm Sandy debris removal and fire department services.

Regarding an increase of flooding from the bay, which had been discussed by council members and residents at last month’s meeting, Mayor Hodgson noted he had sent a letter to state and local officials.

“Now we just wait for the dust to settle and see what happens,” he stated.

Hartney said he had been told a few years ago that the federal government does not dredge the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway because it is not a significant economic maritime waterway.

“They seemed to be focusing their emphasis on large dredging projects for big ships and ports,” he stated. “For them, recreation boating wasn’t a priority in terms of their projects.”

“If they took all the beach resorts and completely ignored them, you know what that would do to their taxes in Ocean County? This is where most of the taxes come from,” Hodgson said. “This a resort area; it’s a tourist area. They’ve got to take care of it.”

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.