As another week comes to a close, I would like to recap several recent occurrences that are worth mentioning.
During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the members of Council approved the Administration’s request to alter several important dates, which we feel will offer much-needed flexibility to our property and business owners.
Thanks to Council’s adoption of Resolution 066, we extended the grace period for Rental Permits and Mercantile Licenses to June 30, and we also extended the pre-season rate for beach tags from May 15 to June 30.
Additionally, it was agreed that the City Clerk’s Office will begin selling 2020 Parking Permits on May 11 inside the former public school on Park Road. For more information about these and other pertinent topics, please see the “Coronavirus” section on the homepage of our municipal website, www.seaislecitynj.us.
Also on Tuesday, Governor Murphy signed an executive order that allows municipalities to extend the grace period for second quarter property taxes. Wanting to pass this opportunity onto our local property owners, we asked City Council to hold a special meeting on May 5 at 10 a.m., at which time we anticipate Council will approve Resolution 067, which, in turn, will allow us to extend Sea Isle City’s grace period for property tax payments to June 1.
On Thursday, I had the pleasure of hosting a conference call with members of Sea Isle City’s business community, during which I explained that I have been working with State and County officials as well as Mayors from neighboring communities to plan for the day when we can open all businesses and jump-start our local economy.
During that call I also stated that the City’s Administration is preparing to offer all of the services we can when those much-anticipated steps toward normalcy are taken – all while ensuring public health and safety, which remains our number one priority.
As the weeks roll by and we continue to work toward reopening our beaches, welcoming families into our recreation facilities, filling our houses of worship, and generally returning to “business as usual,” I continually think of the main reason why Sea Isle City is so special.
More than our beautiful shoreline, wonderfully fresh salt air and endless opportunities for enjoyment, it’s the people who call Sea Isle their “home” and their “home-away-from-home” who make it so unique. You can measure the success of a community in many ways, but the virtues of its people, the compassion they display, and their willingness to open their hearts to others have much greater value than material wealth and status ever could.
That being said, my thanks go to everyone who is remaining at home, practicing social distancing and doing their part to help get us through this pandemic. Please keep up the good work so I can one day soon announce the opening of our beaches and share more good news with you!
Stay safe, stay well, remain optimistic, and remember: We are all one Sea Isle City and together we will be stronger than ever.
Sincerely,
Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio
