By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
SOMERS POINT — Despite a tough financial year for hospitals amid the coronavirus pandemic, Shore Medical Center continued its annual donation to the city, pledging to pay Somers Point $92,000 for use in this year’s budget.
Of the funds, $42,000 is intended for ambulance services and the rest is available for the city to use as it pleases for other public safety needs.
City Administrator Jason Frost said the hospital committed to giving the city the funds by April 15.
“They gave us $42,00 for ambulance services plus $50,000 as a donation to do what we want,” Frost said, noting it must be used for public safety. “Fire department, police department, emergency management, any of those departments.”
Robert Wood, director of finance for Shore Medical Center, said the organization is pleased to work with the city in this and many other ways.
“We are proud to support the city of Somers Point. As a nonprofit hospital, we make a voluntary financial contribution to the city of Somers Point every year in addition to supporting many local organizations throughout Somers Point and surrounding communities. Our employees work incredibly hard to provide the best health care and we want to be a good neighbor in this community,” Wood said, noting that this year’s contribution raises the total contribution to the city since 2012 to more than $1.25 million.
The payment has been as much as $250,000 in the past.
“As someone who has been with Shore for more than 30 years, I’ve seen the incredible difference Shore has made on our community. Not only do we provide great care, but we provide good-paying jobs that in turn support so many local businesses. The impact of Shore is everywhere,” Wood said.
City Council President Janice Johnston welcomed the donation.
“They’re a nonprofit and we can’t tax them, and they are not technically obligated, legally obligated to give us anything,” Johnston said.
“They are giving it to us at the beginning of the year so that we can get it into our budget, which will be very, very helpful,” she added.
The city also discussed the cost of mercantile licenses.
Johnston said fees on not rising “at this stage” but the topic came up for discussion.
“We are going to review our fees,” she said, noting they have not been changed for many years. “We do need to figure out where we are at with that, what it’s costing us, so we can at least break even on that. That’s something we have to look at for sure,” Johnston said.
Finally, the city renewed a shared-services agreement with Galloway Township for tax assessor services.
“We’ve been doing the shared services and it has worked out really well. No position will be eliminated, everybody is staying where they are,” Johnston said. “It does save us a lot of money.”