Feds Forgive $3M In Sandy Loans For Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — For several years, Toms River officials have been trying to get the township's Community Disaster Loan forgiven by the federal government.

The township, which borrowed $5 million for cleanup efforts after Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc in 2012, had repaid some of the money. But while other towns had their debts wiped clean by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Toms River still had $3 million to repay.

As of last week, that $3 million has finally been removed, officials said, after loan forgiveness for 18 towns and school districts at the Jersey Shore, including 12 in Ocean County, was included in the government operations bill signed by President Joe Biden last week. More than $25 million in loans was forgiven under the provision.

On Tuesday, that relief was highlighted at a news conference in Toms River, where U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. and Andy Kim joined Toms River officials and others at Toms River Town Hall to celebrate the signing.

"I'm proud to have fought for and won more than $12 million in total loan forgiveness for several Ocean County towns and schools," said Kim, who represents much of Ocean County. "This relief is an important step in healing our communities, but there's still work ahead of us. I won't stop fighting until every single homeowner in my district has the financial relief they need."

"It's simply unfair to force New Jersey residents to bear the burden of paying millions of dollars that they needed after a time of crisis," Pallone said. "I'm glad we were able to get loan forgiveness across the finish line."

Kim noted the efforts of U.S. Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew in pushing for the loan forgiveness, which helped Atlantic Highlands, Union Beach, Keansburg, Highlands, Avon-by-the-Sea, Manasquan, Point Pleasant Beach, Point Pleasant Borough, Berkeley Township, Toms River, Stafford Township, Little Egg Harbor Township, Beach Haven, Ventnor City, and the Central Regional, Seaside Park, Manasquan, Ocean Gate and Tuckerton school districts.

Hill said Toms River officials had been meeting with Kim and his staff to get congressional help because FEMA had refused to forgive Toms River's loan.

"Nine years ago Toms River was ground zero for Superstorm Sandy. We lost $4 billion in property value and while the rebuilding process is still ongoing, FEMA demanded Toms River to repay the CDL," Hill said. "In most cases, FEMA has forgiven the loans to communities and while we appealed the denial with our accounting firm, Holman, Freina and Allison FEMA would not forgive the loan."

Hill said the township administrators along with council members Kevin Geoghegan, Maria Maruca, Laurie Huryk, Josh Kopp, Matt Lotano and Terrance Turnbach met Kim and his staff in the Spring of 2020; and they were told by Kim last week that the loan would be forgiven.

Hill said the township was making payments on the loan twice a year, and had made one payment earlier this year.

Having the remaining $3 million wiped away is a huge relief for Toms River, which has been saddled with a multimillion-dollar tax appeal for the former Ciba-Geigy property and a settlement of a federal lawsuit by the Justice Department over its zoning laws.

The township issued $13 million in bonds earlier this year to pay the more than $17 million awarded to BASF, which now owns the property, to refund taxes paid on the property over a 15-year period dating back to 2004 after an appellate court decision significantly reduced the property's tax assessment. Toms River had set aside $4.3 million toward the appeal repayment.

The loan forgiveness allows the affected towns and school districts to use funds for other priorities, particularly critical in the wake of the additional financial stresses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Kim and Pallone said they are continuing to fight "clawbacks," where the FEMA has sought repayment from homeowners who received more money than FEMA says they should have received.

"It's great news that we secured Sandy Community Disaster Loan forgiveness for towns in the spending bill that House passed and President Biden signed into law," said Joseph Mangino, president of the New Jersey Organizing Project, which has fought for Jersey Shore residents on issues related to Sandy.

"My town, Stafford, has a Community Disaster Loan," he said. "It's not just our towns that are being asked to unfairly repay disaster relief funding, it's also individuals like me. We are hopeful that individual clawback relief will be included in future bills and stand ready to work with Ida-impacted families to make sure everyone gets home and whole."

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