Sea Isle City's Proposed 2025 Budget Includes Small Tax Increase

Mayor Leonard Desiderio delivered an upbeat State of the City address Tuesday, but also revealed that Sea Isle City’s 2025 municipal budget will include a small tax increase as inflationary pressures continue to drive up expenses.

“It’s very clear that the state of Sea Isle City is as strong as ever,” Desiderio said of the town’s overall financial position.

The proposed $32.6 million budget he is sending to City Council includes a 1.8-cent increase in the tax rate. Council will hold a budget workshop at 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall to begin scrutinizing the spending plan. The workshop is open to the public.

Council and the mayor’s administration collaborate on the budget before a final vote will be taken on the spending plan by the governing body in coming weeks. Council has the power to make spending cuts or other revisions if it wants to pursue that option.

Under the proposed 2025 budget, the owner of a typical Sea Isle home assessed at $750,000 would pay an additional $136 in local property taxes annually. Overall, the total annual local taxes on a $750,000 home would be $3,339, said Jennifer McIver, the city’s chief financial officer.

County and school taxes are separate from local property taxes.

Although a tax increase is proposed in the municipal budget, the city’s water and sewer rates will remain the same for the 12th consecutive year.

McIver attributed the city’s tax increase to inflationary pressures on an array of municipal expenses. This is the second year in a row that local taxes will go up in Sea Isle, although 2024’s increase in the tax rate was considerably higher at 4.3 cents.

“It’s inflation. It’s a combination of things. We have contracts, insurance, utility bills, equipment, parts and labor – everything is increasing,” McIver said in an interview after the mayor’s address.

    Sea Isle's Chief Financial Officer Jennifer McIver places copies of the 2025 budget on the table at the City Council meeting.
  

In addition to inflationary pressures, the city also experienced higher budget expenses for the fire department, emergency medical services division and summer employees such as lifeguards, seasonal police officers and Public Works Department personnel in 2024.

The fire department is made up of volunteers, but for the first time in Sea Isle’s history the city provided round-the-clock, year-round coverage by paying firefighters to be on duty at all hours at the firehouse in 2024.

Desiderio said the spending adjustments the city made in 2024 will allow Sea Isle to maintain the same level of municipal services this year and means it is “well-positioned for the future.”

Overall, the city remains in excellent financial shape and entered 2025 with a budget surplus of more than $8 million, McIver and Desiderio said. Sea Isle also retains its coveted AA bond rating from the major credit rating companies.

The city plans to use $3.6 million of the $8 million budget surplus to help pay for the 2025 spending plan, leaving $4.4 million in reserve, which is more than the $4.1 million budget surplus that was left over in 2024, McIver said.

Desiderio also noted that Sea Isle maintains its “outstanding” rating with the National Flood Insurance Program, entitling local property owners to a 35 percent discount on their flood insurance premiums, the highest discount on the Eastern Seaboard.

His State of the City address also focused on a number of major achievements Sea Isle has experienced in the past year, most notably the construction of the city’s $21 million community recreation center that is scheduled to open this fall on the 4500 block of Park Road.

“As most everyone knows, the project has moved forward swiftly, and within the next month we’re expecting the building to be closed in with the exterior walls and roofing. We remain on schedule and within budget, and look forward to opening the Community Center to the public this coming fall,” he said.

    Sea Isle's $21 million community center is scheduled to open this fall.
  

Desiderio also highlighted plans for other big projects coming up this year, including a stormwater pumping station to protect the neighborhoods around the community center from flooding, road and drainage improvements, upgrades to the oceanfront Promenade and a handicap-accessible beach entrance at Fifth Street across the street from the city’s dog park.

Also looking forward to the future, Desiderio said he would like to start the process this year for updating the city’s master plan, the blueprint for overseeing growth and other key issues in town.

Municipal land use law requires New Jersey’s towns and cities to conduct a “re-examination,” or update, of their master plan every 10 years. Sea Isle’s last master plan re-examination was approved by the planning board in 2017.

Desiderio said “a thorough and proper” re-examination of the master plan takes a considerable amount of time, so it makes sense to begin the process this year.

“This will provide a good opportunity for us to engage with the public, various stakeholders and community organizations as we plan for the future of Sea Isle City. I’ve said in the past that Sea Isle has a great story to tell, and the master plan re-examination process will be part of the writing of the next chapter,” he said.