By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – During his State of the City address Thursday night, Mayor Jay Gillian proposed a budget “that maintains everything Ocean City residents have come to expect in services, improvements and quality of life.”
His proposal at the beginning of the budget process contains a 2.2-cent tax hike per $100 in assessed valuation, or about $110 on the average home worth $500,000.
However – and it’s a big however – Gillian said his budget does not include an expected $7 million in federal money from the massive, $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan approved by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden. The relief plan includes some $350 billion for states and municipalities.
That infusion of cash, in part to offset revenue losses last fiscal year due to the pandemic, could greatly change the budget and the tax rate.
Gillian noted before the pandemic, the city was able to have two consecutive budgets that did not include a tax hike and the local government’s fiscal responsibility gave the city a AA bond rating that allowed the city to bond at low rates for its continuing capital improvement projects including streets and flood mitigation.
“This budget is based on what we know today and on the real impact from COVID,” Gillian said. “This does not take into consideration the municipal aid that is part of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package announced yesterday. Ocean City expects to receive $7 million. This could entirely change our budget and proposed tax rate.
The mayor credited federal legislators for playing an “instrumental role in bringing the relief package to New Jersey.”
(The relief plan narrowly passed in Congress almost exclusively along party lines with the state’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, voting for it and Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew voting no.)
The city does not yet know how the money can be used and was sending auditor Leon Costello to Trenton on Friday to learn the rules about how to incorporate the federal money into the municipal budget.
The mayor explained his proposed budget under the Faulkner Act form of government is “the first step of a work in progress.”
At the next council meeting, city Finance Director Frank Donato will make a formal budget presentation, explaining the numbers, after which council will introduce the budget, have a public hearing and finally vote on it.
Looking back at past challenges
The mayor took time in his State of the City address to list achievements during the past difficult year. “From beach to bay,” he said, “Ocean City continued to improve every part of the island.”
Some of the highlights the mayor cited:
• Federal and state agencies paid almost the entire cost of massive beach replenishment projects for the north and south ends.
• Ocean City has a sustainable bayside dredging program that allows access and recreation at all tides.
• Ocean City continues to be a leader in finding solutions related to coastal flooding on barrier islands.
• At a Dec. 5 town hall meeting, the city presented a comprehensive flood mitigation plan to address all major areas of concern within the next five years.
• Drainage work for the bayside corridor between Ninth Street and 18th Street is scheduled to begin in the fall. New flood mitigation measures for Merion Park are under design. The city is seeking bids for design work on West 17th Street.
• Consulting with leaders of the Ocean City Flooding Committee and Fairness in Taxes before making the town hall presentation on flood mitigation. “Each of the major drainage projects has included extensive interaction with the people who actually experience the flooding in their neighborhoods,” he said.
• Responding to public feedback.
• Introducing plans for a new public safety building at an Oct. 24 town hall merting. It is still in the planning stages and “will have no effect on the 2021 budget.”
• He commended the professionalism of the city’s public safety teams during a four-alarm boardwalk fire in January at Playland’s Castaway Cove, saving the boardwalk and neighboring businesses from further damage. No one was injured, he noted.
• The city acquired the former American Legion property at 33rd Street and Bay Avenue to help the city meet its affordable housing requirement.
• The Speitel Commons building at Sixth Street and West Avenue is expected to be completed this summer and provide 32 new units for Ocean City seniors.
• By the end of March, the city should own the entire city block next to the Community Center where the car dealership was located. He committed to keeping it as open space. The courts will determine the final price tag.
• The Class 4 rating in the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System should collectively save Ocean City’s policy holders more than $3 million every year.
• FEMA awarded $3 million to elevate 52 condo units in Ocean City. Gillian thanked Frank Donato and his team “for the extensive work they did in coordinating this effort on behalf of Ocean Aire Condominiums at 43rd and West.”
• Expanding the beach mat program to increase accessibility for everybody. “We plan to have mats at every beach entrance this summer,” he said.
• Through the middle of last week, Community Services team has secured COVID vaccination appointments for nearly 300 seniors in town.
“From the start, my administration has been about ‘Unity in the Community.’ These are unprecedented times,” Gillian said. “We must do everything we can to help our residents. That starts with our budget and our planning.”
After thanking his city team members for their commitment to the resort, he said to “trust them to do what’s best for Ocean City.”
He concluded his address by saying, “From hurricanes to pandemics, I have dealt with many challenges in the 11 years of my administration. I have been tested, and I have delivered for our taxpayers. Thank you and I look forward to a great year in 2021.”