By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
NORTHFIELD — Atlantic County’s general purpose tax rate is set to increase 1.8 cents under the proposed $232,954,114 budget.
The county portion of a homeowner’s tax bill would increase to 49.3 cents per $100 of assessed value, or $493 for each $100,000 — an increase of $18.
“Although this is an increase, $9.5 million is attributed to grant funds with $7.8 million of that for emergency rental assistance. The amount to be raised by taxation is $159.3 million, of which $1.2 million is included as refunds from the 2021 draft abstract of ratables. The largest increases include $1.55 million in pension contributions, $1.1 million in psychiatric care payments and the $2.2 million in COVID-19 expenses,” Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson stated in his 2021 Executive Budget Message presented Feb. 16.
The county’s projected revenues are $50.8 million, down $2.1 million due to losses of $1 million at Meadowview Nursing Home from the suspension of admissions and $3 million from the Casino Revenue Fund due to the decision to close the casinos for three months and limit capacities thereafter.
The current assessed value of county properties is $32.2 billion.
“The increase in pension and psychiatric payments and the need to budget for additional COVID-19 costs account for 80 percent of the overall budget increase and about 1.5 cents of the tax increase,” Levinson stated. “The tax increase for the costs controlled by the county is negligible — only three-tenths of a penny.”
He stated that the numbers are based on the information available. That excludes the certified 2020 casino gross gaming revenues, the 2021 election costs that may include additional expenses for voting machines available 10 days prior to each election and any COVID-19 funding to offset $2.2 million in estimated expenses.
“Our past practices of pay-as-you-go have put us in a more favorable position than most. Our low net debt, conservative management and long-term planning provide stability. Atlantic County continues to have some of the lowest property taxes in the state. Ranked highest to lowest, Atlantic County is 18th of 21 counties,” Levinson stated.
The budget message stated that the regional economy had experienced the best year in 2019 since 1984.
“But we had no idea what was yet to come — an unprecedented global pandemic,” Levinson stated.
The first news release issued by the county about COVID-19 was Feb. 11, 2020, to advise residents to take precautions. At that time, there were 13 cases in the U.S. but none in New Jersey.
“From the beginning of COVID-19, we have been proactive. About two weeks before our first confirmed case, we took actions by enhancing daily cleanings, installing hand-sanitizing stations and prohibiting visitors to our nursing home and justice facility. We also suspended programs at our libraries. Most county offices were closed to the public but continued to provide essential services.
“In less than a week after the first Atlantic County COVID-19 death was reported, we opened our first drive-thru test site and still continue to provide weekly testing.”
Due to the tourism-centered economy, with casinos making up a significant amount of that, Atlantic County was severely hard hit by COVID-19 with the highest unemployment in New Jersey.
“This underscored what we already knew about an over-reliance on a single industry and the importance of diversifying our economy,” Levinson stated. “The National Aviation Research and Technology Park … is crucial to our success now and in the future.”
The message stated that the county has retained its strong financial standing, with its top-tier credit ratings reaffirmed by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors, “citing our strong management and ongoing efforts to diversify our economy.”
“A lot can be blamed on COVID-19, but Atlantic County has risen to meet many of its challenges thanks to the dedication of our workforce,” Levinson stated, noting the effort by Pat Diamond and the Division of Public Health.
“They have worked around the clock to provide testing and contact tracing. Public Health has been providing vaccination clinics at Atlantic Cape Community College where they will soon be completing second doses before deploying our staff and resources to the mega site at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Nearly 30,000 Atlantic County residents have been vaccinated, designating us with one of the highest vaccination rates in the state,” the message stated.
Levinson stated that the Department of Family and Community Development was faced with an increased demand for welfare programs, experiencing a 41 percent increase for general assistance and food stamps, an 11 percent increase in child support cases and a 50 percent increase in new medical applications.