County Budget's Tax Impact Unknown

Although Freeholder John C. Bartlett could not say what impact the 2013-14 county budget would have on the average homeowner, he announced that there is no increase in the amount to be raised by taxation from 2012.

“The 2013 budget cannot be compared in any way shape or form with last year’s budget,” Bartlett said Wednesday when a public hearing on the budget was held. There is no average this year. The whole tax base has changed.”

The budget was not yet adopted as the Freeholders await approval from the State.

Since Hurricane Sandy, the county’s tax base has been slashed by an estimated $9 to $10 billion — $3.6 billion due to the storm and $5.4 billion due to a loss of market value. The numbers continue to change and will be certified by the Board of Taxation later in the year.

“Some won’t be paying taxes because they’re not there,” Bartlett said, adding that the residents who remain will have to make up for the loss and that taxes will vary greatly.

“That’s the way it’s got to be,” he said.

Many towns, including Toms River have undergone or intend to undergo a reassessment, Bartlett said. But taxpayers could still be paying more due to the great reduction in the tax base.

The county tax rate will jump 3.7 cents for each $100 of equalized valuation. But using some of the 2013 county open space tax funds will pare the increase to 3.2 cents, he said.

The amount to be raised by taxation will rise $4 million, to $304,086,696, but $4 million from the county open space fund will be used to offset the increase, Bartlett said.

“The county is whole. We’re not going to raise any more in taxation,” Bartlett said. The county was also able to do so with a staff reduction and postponing capital projects.

The $386,188,713 budget, which was introduced early in April, is up $32 million from last year.

That hike seems “incredible,” Bartlett said. “That’s not really the case. That’s a technicality.”

The primary reason for the increase was the $22 million emergency appropriation the county fronted after Sandy hit, to pay for the costs of clearing debris from county and municipal right-of-ways, he said. That figure accounts for one-fifth of the budget.

The county expects to recoup at least 75 percent and possibly 90 percent from FEMA reimbursements and from municipalities that signed up for shared services to remove storm debris, he said.

At the meeting, the Freeholders approved a resolution supporting the Ocean County Mayor’s Association in their request for 100 percent federal cost recovery for debris and demolition costs associated with Superstorm Sandy. The resolution was written on behalf of the county and municipalities.

Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari sent letters to senators from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut on this matter. The letter states that Sandy “ravaged coastal areas” and residents, businesses, communities and government agencies continue to struggle.

“The determination and dedication of our residents, businesses and governmental agencies to rebuild and return Ocean County to its greatness is awe inspiring, but that determination and dedication is in need of FEMA help,” Vicari said in the letter.

Vicari then urged the senators to continue their efforts to have FEMA provide 100 percent reimbursement for all Sandy-related recovery costs.

“It’s the right thing to do,” he said at the Freeholders’ meeting. “They were more responsive, in my perspective, to Katrina. The money was in the hands of the people.”

On April 24, Administrator Carl Block said he is expecting to receive a $40 million check from FEMA in the upcoming weeks. But that $40 million is just a fraction of the $60 million the county has put out for Sandy-related services and damage. 

Ultimately, the $22 million spent on debris removal will be “washed out” by the reimbursements from FEMA and the municipalities the county serviced.

“The bottom line of this budget is that the freeholders determined early on that, given the uncertainties and the terrible disruption of the storm, that we were not going to raise anymore in county taxation in 2013 than was raised in 2012,” Bartlett said. “I think that is the real news of this budget.”

Increases in the 2013 budget include:

• An additional $3 million for the Ocean County Board of Social Services, largely due to the cost of housing mentally ill patients in state facilities and the sour economy.
• A $2.5 million increase in salaries and wages, despite the elimination of ten positions.
• A $3.7 million jump in insurance costs.
• A $1.3 million appropriation to help fund potential beach replenishment projects in the future.

The budget is attached to this story as a PDF.