He says resort weathered literal and figurative storms, good times and bad
OCEAN CITY — Mayor Jay Gillian offered a bright outlook for Ocean City during his annual address before City Council on Thursday evening.
He highlighted accomplishments of his administration and how the resort has weathered storms both literal and figurative.
“Through good times and bad, recessions, hurricanes and pandemics, our economy has remained rock-solid,” Gillian said. “The state of the city remains strong.”
Gillian cited the growth of the daily population of the resort since the start of the pandemic and how businesses have benefited from the trend, while noting the additional costs Ocean City faces from adding new services and investing in infrastructure.
He touted his proposed 2023 budget — presented later in the council meeting (see related story) — that would keep a tax hike below 2 cents per $100 while the city’s auditor contended few towns would be able to keep their rate increase under 5 cents. He pointed to union agreements increasing wages, pension costs and the city’s “aggressive” continuing capital improvement plans.
To offset those increases, he said city departments across the board made “significant” cuts to their budgets and that the city changed providers to limit the massive health insurance premium increase.
Gillian said the city was able to rebid its trash collection after the debacle last year — when the contractor for the city and other shore communities demanded huge increases by threatening to stop collection.
An increase in beach tag fees would help offset the cost of lifeguards and beach maintenance, he said, while planning to ask council for “small rate changes” for city parking.
Before singling out and citing key people in the administration, Gillian said the city accomplished a lot in the past year and is looking ahead.
“We have a lot of plans for the next year, and we’re extremely fortunate to have a great team that makes it all happen. I want to take the time to thank the team for everything they do,” Gillian said.
The mayor added the city plans to convert the current police station on Central Avenue into a state-of-the-art facility and add a police substation at Eighth Street and the Boardwalk, an apparent nod to ensuring the boardwalk remains safe and family-friendly after issues arose with unruly teenagers over the summer.
Gillian talked of the work done to replenish north-end beaches that finished early this year with work on the south end coming up after the summer season, back bay and lagoon dredging work offset by $1.7 million in state funding secured by ACT Engineers, and hopes to continue restoring Shooting Island, restoring living shorelines and helping with flood mitigation.
He cited a litany of other flood-mitigation and other projects, including electric vehicle charging stations at the Transportation Center, an artificial turf field on Shelter Road, renovating the entire 34th Street recreational complex and substantial work at Grimes Field between Fifth and Sixth streets.
Other big projects planned include a new terminal at the Ocean City Municipal Airport, spurred on by a $3 million gift from Leon Grisbaum.
“We have a lot of momentum going and we are fully prepared for another productive year for America’s Greatest Family Resort,” Gillian said, while citing the many nongovernmental groups that contribute.
“We are all one team,” he said, then quoted Ronald Reagan: “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one who gets the people to do the greatest things.”
“I’m looking forward to another great year,” he concluded.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
