No Tax Increase for Belmar

The borough of Belmar adopted a municipal budget at a May 4 meeting that will have no tax increase.

The 2011 budget totals $20,153,809.32 and the municipal tax rate is .703 cents. A property owner with a home assessed at the borough average of $338, 774 will pay $2,380.27 in property taxes for municipal purposes.

While this year's total budget is more than last year, the borough took several measures to maintain a flat tax rate.

Shared services revenues seen from deals made with neighboring municipalities for use of both Belmar's police dispatching services and court facilities will increase dramatically for the borough this year.

Belmar will also save by not replacing some employees who have retired.

The municipality will utilize $1.3 million in surplus to keep the tax rate in check, though Mayor Matt Doherty explained that the borough expects to regenerate those funds by year's end.

In addition, the borough will do some creative bookkeeping by charging some costs that came from the borough's general fund in previous years to its beach utility, including some administrative and salary costs.

Some in attendance were concerned over the legality of using the beach utility in this manner.

Jim Bean, a Republican candidate for borough council, explained that he did not want to see the borough sued again, referring to a court case related to beach badge fees.

In 1989, the borough of Belmar was sued successfully by New Jersey Public Advocate Alfred Slocum. The heart of that case was fundamental fairness issues that arose from the borough's practice of raising beach badge fees for weekends. It was determined then that pricing beach badges higher on weekends favored residents over non-residents, who would be more likely to use borough beaches on weekends.

The Slocum case makes no mention of how a municipality may spend funds in its beach utility.

State law requires that municipalities spend money in their beach utilities for costs expressly incurred in operation of their beaches and Doherty feels this is what the borough is doing.

Borough Attorney Karl Kemm explained that, should the issue arise, the borough could provide documentation which would prove that monies spent out of the beach utility were used appropriately. 

The mayor explained that the need for special officers and overtime paid to special officers is necessitated by the borough's beaches. Additionally, costs are incurred by the borough's Department of Public Works in maintaining and cleaning borough beaches and the beachfront area.

"All we're doing is adding additional expenses to the beach utility that should be there," Doherty said. "All the math lines up. It's completely reasonable and rational."

Belmar charges $7 for an adult daily beach badge and children aged 15 and under may use the beach for free. Badge fees in Belmar have no increased in 20 years.

The use of the beach utility in this manner was of no apparent concern to the state budget office, who reviewed and approved Belmar's municipal budget just hours before it was adopted by the council.

All members of the governing body except Republican Richard Wright voted to adopt the budget. Wright cited concerns over the beach utility as the reason for his dissenting vote.