Beach Haven Council introduces 2014 municipal budget, plans to pay Superstorm Sandy-related expenses

The Beach Haven Borough Council introduced the municipal budget for calendar year 2014 during its monthly meeting on Monday, March 10. The introduction is considered early compared to previous years; last year’s budget was not introduced until June due to a state holdup regarding a community development loan.

The total appropriation for this year is $11,470,515.10, an increase of $568,993.73 over 2013.

Photo via Caller
The borough of Beach Haven plans to begin making
payments for Superstorm Sandy-related expenses.

The average assessed value of a home in Beach Haven is $660,603. The local portion of the tax bill for this home will be $2,549.93, an increase of $264.24 over last year.

Normal operating expenses are, in most respects, lower than in recent budgets, at $176,003. Salaries and wages went up $56,000, about 1.4 percent. Debt service expenses went up $33,310, and insurance expenses went up $87,688.

“I think this is the first time in recent memory where insurance expenses haven’t been in the triple digits,” said Richard Crane, borough manager.

Despite the relatively low increases, this year’s budget is “rather unusual,” said Crane.

“We have spent a lot of time looking not just at this budget, but at the budgets of what the next couple of years are going to be,” he explained. “While I could have put blinders on and recommended to the council that we simply put together a normal budget and move ahead with business as normal, that would not have been a wise move because there is a great deal of money that we are going to be owing in the coming years.”

Nearly 16 months after Superstorm Sandy, it is essential for the town to begin paying off related expenses, starting this year, Crane explained. The town’s FEMA share and storm debt is $392,990.

Specific details regarding the proposed payments will be announced during the public hearing, set for Monday, April 14, at 7 p.m., at the borough emergency operations center, located at Pelham Avenue. Residents are encouraged to attend the meeting to ask questions and to gain a better understanding of the planned budget.

Contractors, residents and members of the general public interested in a proposed ordinance restricting construction vehicles from parking on public streets are invited to attend an open discussion with the council on Wednesday, March 19, at 1 p.m.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.