Rate up 1.7¢ in proposal
By BILL BARLOW/Special to the Sentinel
UPPER TOWNSHIP – Township Committee introduced a $15.4 million budget March 22, including an increase to the tax rate.
Spending is up by close to half a million dollars over last year.
Leon Costello, the township’s auditor, told committee members at the virtual meeting that the budget stayed within state caps on increases to taxes and to spending.
“There’s no one-time revenue, no one-time gimmicks, it’s just a straight-up budget,” he said.
As proposed, the budget increases the local purpose tax rate by 1.7 cents for every $100 of assessed value. The introduced township tax rate of 21.87 cents per $100 in the proposed budget will mean the owner of a house assessed at $300,000 – close to the average – will pay $656.10 in municipal taxes.
That figure does not include school or county taxes, which are also set to increase this year. Upper Township schools recently introduced a $35.5 million budget and Cape May County’s budget came in at $181 million for 2021. Both include a tax increase as well.
State funds cover a significant portion of the budget, listed at $6.3 million compared to $4.1 million drawn from local taxes. That number has remained steady for years. Until about a decade ago, Upper Township avoided having a local purpose tax entirely, funding municipal operations through the state’s energy receipts tax.
The township lost money when the state altered the formula for determining the energy receipts tax, but because of that change, it did not lose the state funding with the closure of the B.L. England power plant in 2019.
The township is working on new uses for the site, including extensive discussions about landing power generated at a massive wind farm proposed for off the coast and the area’s development as a mixed use of new homes, marinas and commercial development. Early this year, the township declared the 300-plus acres surrounding the plant as an area in need of redevelopment, a means of allowing the township greater leeway in negotiating with potential developers.
Multiple towns throughout the region have had a tough budget year, faced with both increased expenses and decreased revenue connected to the pandemic. Starting in January, Township Committee held a series of workshops to closely go over the budget in order to trim about $400,000 off spending proposals.
As introduced, the budget includes increases in both salaries and wages and operating expenses. The proposal also includes using little more from the surplus from previous years to fund township government this year. The budget documents – available on the township website – show $1.9 million used in surplus this year.
Under consideration for 2021, but not included in the budget proposal, was the imposition of beach tags for those hitting the sand in Strathmere and the bayfront beach at Beesleys Point. Township officials have decided to hold off on beach fees for this year, but have indicated the revenue will be needed in future years.
At the same meeting March 22, Township Committee heard that work on a county-funded plan for improvements to the area around the bayside beach on Harbor Road were set to begin. The project is set to include extensive improvements in the area, now a gateway to Cape May County with the opening of a pedestrian and bike lane on the Garden State Parkway bridge. Committee members also discussed at length options for the fees charged for the use of the boat ramp there this summer, since the number of days the ramp can be used will be limited by planned repairs.
The public hearing and final vote on the township budget are set for April 26, the same evening as the school budget’s final vote.
“At that time, if there’s anything we need to change we can change it and if it’s good the way it is, we can adopt it,” Costello said.
