CREST HAVEN – The Cape May County Board of County Commissioners passed a temporary budget, March 26, in anticipation of adopting its 2024 $214.5 million budget on Tuesday, April 9.
The spending plan was approved as part of the consent agenda, meaning it was OK’d as part of a group of resolutions that were passed with a single action by the board.
The budget was the subject of a workshop earlier in the month and the topic of a keynote address by Commissioner Director Leonard Desiderio to the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce March 21. Desiderio mentioned in the address a reduction of $5.1 million in salaries and wages due to the takeover of the Crest Haven Nursing Home’s operation by a private company. An additional $900,000 in operational expenses was also eliminated due to the move.
The nursing home’s privatization, coupled with the addition of over $10 billion in ratables, allowed the county to reduce the tax rate by 2 cents, with the rate dropping from .208 in 2023 to .188 in 2024. The county will collect an additional $4 million through taxes. At the new tax rate, a house assessed at $500,000 would pay $940 in county taxes.
Commissioner Andrew Bulakowski was absent.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
