Mayor Jay Gillian: State of the City Address for 2015

2015 BUDGET ADDRESS MAYOR JAY A. GILLIAN FEBRUARY 12, 2015

Good evening. I’m pleased to present to City Council the Administration’s recommended 2015 operating budget.   I also appreciate this opportunity to discuss the state of the city. Before I begin I want to again thank the City Council for working in partnership with me and the entire

City Team.  I’ve watched Ocean City’s local government for a long time now and I truly believe we are working together better than ever before.  That was one of my primary objectives when I became Mayor and with your help we’ve accomplished a great deal. People have noticed and complemented us for working together to move this great community forward.

There are a number of positive indicators that allows me to state that Ocean City is in very good shape as both a local government and a community.

I’ll discuss the sound financial condition of the city in a moment but it’s about more than that.  It’s about our quality of life, our amenities, our assets and natural resources.  It’s about all the factors that make people want to live here, visit here and invest here.

A few weeks back the Press of Atlantic City noted that 2014 was “The Year of Ocean City”.  We were rated the number one beach, the best town for a day trip, the best place for ecotourism, the best boardwalk, the best downtown in New Jersey, the number one most wanted second home spot in the nation, and many more top five and top ten awards.

Folks, we’re doing something right.

Many of the awards and number one ratings were tourism related, but highlight amenities enjoyed by year-round residents as well.  We know our year-round population has decreased, just as it has on barrier island communities up and down the coast.  We need to do more to educate people about the ability and advantages of living here in Ocean City.  We have a high quality school district. We have a safe and clean community. We have a great library, parks, playgrounds, recreation programs and facilities .  We have the best Community Center in South Jersey, if not the state.

However, there is a perception that families can’t afford to live here.  I’m not suggesting that Ocean City is an inexpensive place to live. Few shore communities are.  But I am suggesting that when you consider our relatively low taxes and the services you receive here, we offer a better value than many communities in Atlantic County, the Cherry Hill area, and the suburbs of Philadelphia.

The fact is Ocean City provides great services at a reasonable cost in terms of taxes.  This year we became the 6th highest valued municipality in New Jersey, surpassing Atlantic City.  Of the top ten highest valued communities, Ocean City has the lowest tax rate – not by just a little, by a lot.

Realtors have told me people from out of town are often shocked at what the taxes are on a property that they are looking at.  I mean shocked in a good way compared to where they are coming from. We have to work harder to get that known.  We can’t control the market, but we can control the message.

The Master Plan when last amended in 2012 had a clear objective for the construction of more single family homes.  Negative people will paint a picture of Ocean City being overrun with duplexes.  Negative people usually don’t let the facts get in their way, but I’ll give you these facts from our construction office.  In the last three years 272 single family homes have been constructed compared to 198 duplexes. In the last five years 334 singles have been constructed compared to 276 duplexes.  The trend continues with significant levels of construction of single family homes in neighborhoods such as Merion Park, Ocean City Homes, the Gardens and others.

2014 was a great year for Ocean City.  Rentals were up and sales were up. Our ratable base increased by $114 million , the first increase in four years.  Just as we have in the past, it seems Ocean City has come out of an economic downturn a little bit ahead of the rest of the Jersey Shore and region. Property values have started to increase.  The proactive approach we have taken with a series of tax reassessments over the past few years is a great success story and tax appeals last year were minimal and had no significant effect on our budget.

The financial condition of the City is strong.

A year ago tonight I reported to you that we ended 2013 with the highest fund balance in the City’s history - $5.8 million.  Tonight I’m please to tell you that we have ended 2014 with a fund balance of $6.3 million, again the highest in our history for the second year in a row.

We had a solid year in terms of revenue.  We’ll discuss the details at the budget workshop next week, but obviously it was a good year for tourism and construction activity remains strong.  But our fund balance position is due to more than that.  We are where we are because we have budgeted responsibly.  We’ve operated efficiently and we’ve used an appropriate amount of our fund balance in each year’s budget.  We remain conservative and prudent in our spending and we’ve restructured our debt on multiple occasions to take advantage of current low interest rates.

I’ll repeat what I said last year.  There are hundreds of municipalities in the State of New Jersey that

would love to be in the condition that Ocean City is.

The budget I am presenting to you tonight maintains all services that our residents, visitors and property owners expect and enjoy.  It does so with a modest tax rate increase of ½ of one cent.

As in years past, this budget will be under any state mandated caps by a wide margin.

Our sound financial condition allows us to advance the most aggressive capital improvement program in the City’s history.  In two weeks the Administration will recommend the City Council approve the five year capital plan and introduce the first funding ordinance of the year.

This plan will allocate over $79 million in improvements over the next five years, with over $50 million undertaken in 2015 and 2016.

A primary focus of the capital plan is further road and drainage improvements throughout the City. I’d like to clear something up.  This focus is not new.  The first thing I did when I came in office was get the check valves installed that were called for in the Hatch Mott McDonald report.   31 new valves were installed and they’re being maintained.

A few months later the Administration presented and City Council adopted the first formal capital plan for many years.  That plan’s top priority was roads and drainage.  We have not just recently added the word “drainage” to appease somebody and it’s ridiculous to suggest we have.

We have rated every drainage area in the City based on the following criteria:

• Public health, safety and welfare
• Ability to handle a 2-year storm.
• Tidal flooding potential.
• Acres of potential flooding.
• Outside funding potential.
• Reduction in maintenance.

We have overlaid these ratings with our road ratings and are targeting the areas where we can improve conditions for the most people -in other words where we can get the biggest bang for the buck.

Every bulkhead has also been rated.  We’ve replaced 12 bulkheads in the past two years.  That’s more than the previous five years combined.  There’s more to come.  As we’ve said many times, it does nothing to install a check valve in areas where water is coming over or through bulkheads.

Our engineering team discussed our approach to road and drainage improvements at a City Council Workshop on October 18, 2012.  I suspect many people missed or forgot that discussion due to what occurred just two weeks later.

Despite the disruption of a massive recovery effort from Superstorm Sandy, we have continued to make steady progress in our efforts.  We have increased the outfall capacity at many locations.  To name just a few:

• 2nd Street beach – which is now at 75% of a 10-year storm.
• 42nd Street – which is now at a 10-year storm.
• West 17th Street – also at a 10-year storm.
• Seaspray ocean outfall.
• 7th Street bay outfall.
• 7th Street ocean outfall.
• 8th Street bay outfall.
• Merion Park.

In Merion Park we brought in consultants, studied the situation and designed a project with the input of the neighborhood that has reduced the frequency, the duration and the severity of the flooding problem and improved the roads.  The residents were involved and extremely patient. Merion Park was one of the most flood prone neighborhoods in the City.  We all know it still will flood there.  But because of our investment, it won’t flood as often, and when it does the water will recede more quickly.

We are nearing the final design phase and should soon receive permits for the pump station for the next most flood prone area – from 1st to 8th Streets between West Avenue and the bay.  This project will make use of the biggest grant in the City’s history from FEMA.  These funds were a result of the November

2009 storm.

As we did in Merion Park, we will bring in an outside consultant to advise us on planned improvements for the neighborhood between 29th and 34th Streets from West Avenue to Bay Avenue.  We intend to involve the neighborhood in these discussions and fund the improvements this year.

We have applied for FEMA grants to bulkhead portions of the southend of the island.  None of this funding has been awarded yet and there is no available funding that we haven’t applied for.

As elected officials we should be proud of what we have accomplished and what we have planned for the next few years.

It has been documented that flooding has gotten worse up and down the coast and I understand people’s frustrations.   I welcome the input of anyone but I’m determined not to let a few negative people distort the facts as we continue to address our most pressing road and drainage needs.

Of course we have other needs as well.  As important as roads and drainage are, our parks, playgrounds, downtown and other amenities are what make Ocean City attractive to families.

The beach, our biggest asset, will receive a long awaited replenishment project in the south end.  Our agreement with the state and federal governments provides for this area to be replenished on three year cycles moving forward, just like the rest of the island.

We plan to increase the pace of the boardwalk replacement project and will construct almost two blocks this next off season.  This year’s phase is complete and the boardwalk will reopen tomorrow – well ahead of schedule.  The modular construction approach has been successful and has saved us time and money.

Bay and lagoon dredging will require significant funding.  This remains the most frustrating issue we’re dealing with.  We are dealing with the permitting agencies on virtually a daily basis for a viable solution for the dredge spoils.  We are seeking the assistance of our state and federal legislators with this problem. We are reviewing bids that we received earlier today to remove some of the material in site 83.  The objective remains to be dredging July 1st.

I want to begin a phased streetscape improvement program for the downtown.  I would like to move toward a consistent look instead of the patchwork of different sidewalk designs we currently have. At the same time I am advocating for the establishment of a new draw for the downtown making use of the second floor of the Stainton’s building.  I personally think the Historical Museum is a good fit for some of this space, but no one is going to force them to move if they don’t agree.  We are also actively researching a few surfing museums on the west coast that are huge draws for their communities.  A modestly sized performance space may be another opportunity.  I appreciate the support I’ve received from many downtown merchants as we review the possibilities this space could be used for. Operationally our team continues to provide services in the most cost effective manner possible.   We challenged the Fire Chief to reduce overtime costs and he met that challenge.  By instituting different staffing models overtime was reduced by over $200,000 last year.

Our reestablished Community Services Department is examining several of our cost centers for improved performance.

As elected officials we’re fortunate to have a team of employees who take pride in providing outstanding services.   Since I took office I’ve emphasized customer service and the team is delivering. Again, I want to thank the Council for your hard work and good decision making.

It was that good decision making that helped us recover from the storm faster than any other shore community.

It was good decision making that led us to help the Housing Authority improve the living conditions for their residents, knowing that any possible redevelopment project is years away.

It was good decision making that is allowing an unsightly and unused former commercial property to be developed with attractive single family housing.

Can we control the price of housing on this island?  Not really.  But we can do more to educate people on what a great place this is to live and raise a family.  Let’s work to show people that they can afford to do just that.

And good decision making has positioned us to be able to present a lean budget that maintains all services, while at the same time accelerating what was already an aggressive capital improvement program.

I look forward to reviewing this budget and our capital plan with you in the coming weeks.

Thank you.