By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City property owners are getting more time to pay their taxes in the latest government initiative to help residents and businesses who may be struggling financially during the coronavirus pandemic.
During a special meeting Tuesday, City Council approved a resolution that extends the grace period for paying second quarter taxes to June 1 without imposing extra interest charges.
The resolution follows Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order on April 28 that directed New Jersey municipalities to extend the grace period.
Property taxes for the second quarter were due on May 1. The original grace period was until May 10, but now taxpayers will have until June 1 to make their payments.
Property owners are given a grace period to pay their taxes without getting hit with a penalty in the form of interest charges.
Council President J.B. Feeley noted that the extended grace period will give Sea Isle taxpayers “a little bit of breathing room” during a time when they may be struggling financially because of the coronavirus crisis.
“During this public health emergency, you would rather not penalize people who may be experiencing an interruption in their income stream,” Feeley said.
Feeley pointed out that, historically, Sea Isle has an “excellent” tax collection rate.
On Tuesday, Sea Isle continued its practice of holding its Council meetings by teleconference to comply with social distancing requirements during the pandemic. Members of the public were not allowed to attend the meeting in person, but could participate remotely by phone. No one from the public spoke during the meeting.
As New Jersey residents continue to lose their jobs by the tens of thousands because of the pandemic shutdown, communities across the state are looking for ways to help them pay their property taxes and other government fees to prevent the flow of critical tax revenue from being disrupted.
In April, Sea Isle’s Council approved a resolution giving residents and visitors more time to buy discounted beach tags and parking permits as an extra incentive for the summer vacation season.
Sea Isle extended the deadline for selling seasonal beach tags at the discounted rate of $20 from May 15 to June 30. Normally, seasonal beach tags increase to the full price of $25 after May 15 each year.
Council has also extended the deadline for parking permits, rental permits and mercantile licenses, all key parts of Sea Isle’s summer economy.
Parking permits had been scheduled to go on sale beginning May 1, but that date has been pushed back to May 11. The popular parking permits save motorists from the headache of fumbling for cash or coins to feed the meters or parking kiosks.
The deadline for buying rental permits and mercantile licenses has been extended from May 31 to June 30. Any property in Sea Isle being rented out seasonally or year-round is required to have a permit issued by the city. Businesses are required to have mercantile licenses to operate.
