Sea Isle City's Proposed Budget Includes Tax Increase

Sea Isle City’s local tax rate will increase by a little more than 4 percent under a proposed $32.6 million municipal budget unanimously introduced by City Council.

Unless the budget is changed before its final adoption by the governing body, 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.

The local tax rate is increasing by 1.8 cents, or 4.3 percent, for 2025. The local levy is separate from school and county taxes. The owner of a $750,000 home will pay an estimated $6,990 in 2025 for combined local, school and county taxes, McIver said.

Council and Mayor Leonard Desiderio’s administration will collaborate on Sea Isle’s budget before a final vote is taken by the governing body. Council has the power to make spending cuts or other revisions if it wants to pursue that option.

Voting 5-0, Council introduced the budget Tuesday without comment. A public hearing and final vote are scheduled for the April 22 Council meeting.

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.

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.

   Auditor Leon Costello and Chief Financial Officer Jennifer McIver discuss the Sea Isle budget.   

Overall, Sea Isle remains in strong financial shape and entered 2025 with a budget surplus of more than $8 million, 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.

“The budget properly funds all city services, including police, public works, recreation, community services, and administrative functions,” Desiderio said in a statement

Desiderio said the budget also provides funding for all of the special events, activities and programs offered by the city.

It also includes all of the expenses that are needed “to keep the city clean, safe and well-maintained,” he noted.

In the area of public safety, the budget will continue to pay for firefighters to be on duty at all hours. 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 starting in 2024.

Having firefighters stationed at the firehouse round-the-clock leads to faster response times to fires and other emergencies.

    Sea Isle Mayor Leonard Desiderio says the city remains in strong financial shape.
  

Labor contracts, insurance, utility bills and equipment costs are among the expenses that are driving the budget higher in 2025 – an increase of about 1.4 percent over the $32.1 million municipal budget in 2024.

McIver explained that inflationary pressures in general are another reason the 2025 budget is higher than last year.

In his statement, Desiderio said Sea Isle has achieved some budget economies through shared-services agreements with several neighboring communities. Sea Isle will receive more than $500,000 from those agreements, he noted.

For instance, Sea Isle is providing municipal court services for Dennis Township under a four-year deal that began in February. Dennis Township will pay Sea Isle $115,000 in the first year, $120,750 in the second, $126,787 in the third and $133,126 in the fourth, according to the terms of the agreement.