Municipal aid remains flat for Ocean City

Written by Claire Lowe Saturday, February 25, 2012 11:46 am

State aid for Ocean City will not increase over 2011, according to the governor’s budget. Gov. Chris Christie announced his 2012-13 budget on Tuesday, state aid figures were released on Thursday.

Aid, in the form of energy tax receipts, will remain at $2,146,048, as estimated in Mayor Jay Gillian’s budget presented to City Council earlier this month.

The 2012 budget of $69.19 million, up from $68.95 million in 2011, includes a tax levy of $43.16 million, down from $43.37 million in 2011. The budget falls under the 2 percent levy cap by $1.5 million.

The proposed municipal tax rate is 35 cents per $100 of assessed value, up from 33.8 cents, which will mean a $1,750 tax bill for a home assessed at $500,000.

The reason for the tax increase, city Director of Finance Frank Donato said, is a decrease in the city’s ratable base by $681 million.

The local tax rate is derived by dividing the local tax levy by the city’s total ratable base. The total tax rate is compiled from county, school, city and library taxes.

At a budget workshop on Feb. 15, Donato showed a pie chart of the total 2011 tax rate, which was 75.2 cents and was made up of 18.1 cents for the county, 1 cent for the county open space fund, 18.9 cents to the school, 33.8 cents for local purpose, and 3.4 cents to the library.

The decrease in the ratable base, he said, is the result of tax appeals – there were 650 tax appeals filed as of April 1, 2011 – and a compliance plan filed with the county to adjust the values of 3,200 properties on the beach and bay fronts, the areas that saw the largest number of appeals last year.