CAPE MAY – The City Council has introduced a $39.9 million municipal budget for 2024. The rate remains at $0.361.

The general fund portion of the budget is proposed at $26.8 million. The city’s three self-financing utilities complete the budget, at $7.6 million for water and sewer, $4.2 million for the beach utility and $1.3 million for the tourism utility.

The budget, introduced Tuesday, April 2, has a roughly 9% increase in appropriations over the 2023 spending plan. It calls for using $5.9 million in general fund surplus as revenue.

The budget contains $200,000 for the updating of the city’s tax maps, a step the city is taking in anticipation of a required citywide reassessment. The rise in property values in the last few years has created an imbalance between the assessed value of real estate in the city and its true value.

City Manager Paul Dietrich said the city needs to prepare for a total revaluation, which he feels the county tax board will order soon.

The city plans a public hearing on the budget at its May 7 council meeting. A vote on adoption is scheduled to follow the hearing.

Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.