By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City is proposing a $28.5 million budget to fund the expenses and operations of the municipal government in 2023.
But for taxpayers, probably the most important number amid all of those millions of dollars will be zero.
Zero, as in there will be no increase in local property taxes for 2023.
“Most importantly, there will be no increase to the local tax rate,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio told the members of City Council when they introduced the budget at their Feb. 28 meeting.
A public hearing and final vote on the spending plan are scheduled for Council’s March 28 meeting.
Council has the power to make changes in the mayor’s budget proposal, but there are indications there will not be any major revisions, if any at all, when the governing body votes on March 28.
Council President Mary Tighe told Desiderio at the Feb. 28 meeting that there will be “no pushback from us” on the budget.
Despite the nationwide challenges caused by the pandemic, supply chain disruptions and surging inflation, Sea Isle’s finances remain as strong as ever, allowing the city to keep taxes and utility rates stable, Desiderio said.
He noted that 2023 will be the 10th straight year that the city will hold the line on water and sewer rates.
In 2022, the local tax bill for an average Sea Isle home assessed at about $685,000 was $2,621 annually. That figure does not include school and county taxes.
Reflecting Sea Isle’s sound finances, the city entered 2023 with a record-high $8.8 million operating surplus, Desiderio said. The city will use $4.7 million of the surplus to help finance the 2023 spending plan, according to a copy of the budget.
Desiderio also said the budget will continue to provide all of Sea Isle’s municipal services as well as the capital improvements the city is planning without increasing the local tax rate.
Most of the revenue for the 2023 budget will come from the city’s property taxes. Overall, the amount to be raised by taxation is $18.8 million.
In addition to tax revenue, other major sources of budget funding include revenue from beach tag sales, parking charges and construction code fees.
Beach tag revenue is projected at nearly $1.4 million for 2023. Parking revenue is expected to hit $240,000. For construction code fees, the city is anticipating $425,000 in revenue.
