Ocean City Council Gives Final Approval To Ordinances On ACE Poles, Municipal Fees

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Ocean City Council gave final approval to a pair of proposed ordinances at its March 9 meeting, including one for a utility easement at 500 Boardwalk and one to make multiple changes to existing municipal fees.

Jim Tweed praised the proposal as an individual, and not in his capacity as Fairness in Taxes President.

“Back in 1988, FIT was formed for fairness, but over the years, it came to be viewed as being against all taxes,” Tweed said during the public hearing. “We just wanted to shift the burden from being on the homeowners to being shared with the tourists.”

The proposal includes increases in cost for use of the Aquatic and Fitness Center for both residents and non-residents.

It also includes increasing the dog license fee from $4 to $5.80, and charging $200 for the use of the Music Pier for a wedding or civil service ceremony by a small group for up to 90 minutes. Any event over 90 minutes would come with an overtime charge of $60 an hour.

For the full list of changes, view the Agenda Packet.

Tweed became Fairness in Taxes’s Interim President in September following the resignation of Michael Hinchman. He will serve as Interim President until a new president is appointed at the annual meeting in June.

Tweed has said he is willing to listen to criticism of the group from city council and the administration, and to “change the tone of public debate.”

New Vice President Bill Hartranft previously told the Ocean City Gazette he feels the new leadership should look to improve its relationship with the city’s administration while continuing to serve as a watchdog.

As far as the other proposal is concerned, the city is looking to do some reconstruction work, including paving, on the property it owns at 500 Boardwalk. During this work, Atlantic City Electric will be on hand to move some of its poles around as necessary.

During preliminary project discussions, the city and the electric company discovered there are currently existing poles on the property that aren’t currently subject to an easement agreement, but should be. Those poles are included in these plans, a diagram of which is posted in the Agenda Packet.

Both proposals were unanimously approved by 6-0 votes. Councilman Keith Hartzell was unable to attend the meeting.

Patch file photo