By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Mayor Jay Gillian used his State of the City address to outline a series of major projects that Ocean City plans for the bayfront, beach, Boardwalk and other parts of town, but he also revealed that a tax increase is coming in the 2024 municipal budget.
Higher costs for insurance, utilities and trash collection as well as salary and pension increases are among the escalating budget expenses that will cause a 3.7-cent hike in the local tax rate, Gillian said while delivering his 14th annual address during a City Council meeting Thursday night.
“We face the same increases that everybody else does,” he said of other cities and towns dealing with inflationary pressures.
Gillian said higher municipal salaries are the result of the addition of police officers, firefighters, EMTs and Public Works employees to the city payroll – all to boost public safety.
“While some other towns have eliminated seasonal police officers altogether because they can’t attract candidates, our seasonal force is one of the biggest in the state and helps us keep our town family-friendly,” he said.
Gains in tax ratables and revenues will help to pay for higher budget expenses. The city also plans to use $6 million from its surplus to fund the budget and offset taxes, documents show.
One key source of funding will be revenue from beach tag sales. The city raised beach tax prices in 2023 and reaped record revenue of $6 million as a result, Gillian pointed out.
“But these revenue increases are not enough to balance out the increased costs – not without major cuts to the services and amenities that Ocean City residents have come to expect,” he said.
Gillian’s administration is proposing a $110.1 million operating budget for 2024, about $9.4 million higher than the 2023 spending plan.
Frank Donato, the city’s chief financial officer, said the proposed 3.7-cent tax rate increase would add an extra $250 annually to the local tax bill on a typical Ocean City home assessed at $650,000. The total local tax bill for the same home would be about $3,471 annually under the tax rate increase. That figure does not include Cape May County and school taxes.
Donato will give a detailed presentation on the budget and the city’s capital plan during the March 28 meeting of City Council. The governing body ultimately will vote on the budget after a public hearing is scheduled.
In his address, Gillian focused on a multitude of major capital projects that the city has already launched or will undertake this year or in 2025 involving the beach, Boardwalk, bayfront and other sections of the resort. Most of the projects have previously been announced.
“Our aggressive capital improvement program continues to take care of the beach, Boardwalk, bay, the downtown, city facilities, and all of our roads and neighborhood streets,” Gillian said.
One new initiative that the city will launch this year will help motorists find parking spots during the busy summer tourism season. Called “Always a Spot,” the program will let drivers know where to park and how many spaces are available. The city will invest in technology to alert motorists in real time on how many parking spots are available in the municipal lots, Gillian said.
On the beach, replenishment projects at the north end and south end were completed last year. The city is now using stockpiles of sand from those projects to fill in areas that have eroded since then. The federal and state governments paid about $28 million for the combined costs of these projects, Gillian said.
For the Boardwalk, there are plans to make repairs and improve accessibility from St. Charles Place to Fifth Street using a $4.8 million state grant, he said.
On the bay, the city will continue with its annual maintenance dredging program by using $1.7 million worth of grants to help offset the cost.
Gillian also said the city is working with the county on plans for a new Bayside Center. The improved facility will serve as a hub for educational and bayfront activities.
He also noted that the city continues to invest in public safety with the construction of a new police substation on the Boardwalk at Eighth Street later this year. A complete renovation of the existing police headquarters on Eighth Street and Central Avenue will follow later.
Road construction and flood-mitigation projects are in the works to help protect neighborhoods vulnerable to stormwater, including West 17th Street and Merion Park.
In other quality-of-life projects, the city recently took over the operations of the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center from the county and attendance is soaring, Gillian said. He thanked the county for its partnership with the city for the senior center.
Gillian also announced that the city is planning a complete rehab of the pool at the Aquatic and Fitness Center inside the Ocean City Community Center. The project will include an ADA ramp into the pool.
“Ocean City has beaches, bayfront and a Boardwalk, a wonderful downtown, top-notch schools, our own airport and golf course, spectacular new bridges leading to town. Our Community Center alone is a gem – with the Aquatic and Fitness Center, one of the best libraries in the state, the Arts Center, Historical Museum, Senior Center and Community Center Cafe all under one roof. Few other towns can compare,” Gillian said while summarizing many of the town’s amenities.
Overall, buying a home in Ocean City remains the “best investment anybody can ever make (and) there will never be a better place to live,” he asserted.
“Our city is packed every summer. Our beaches and Boardwalk are filled with families having fun. Our season now stretches year-round. Our downtown is booming. Real estate values are soaring. Living in Ocean City remains an incredible bargain in terms of our tax rate,” he said.
In buoyant concluding remarks, he characterized the state of the city as strong and said that he looks forward “to making it even better.”
