SEA ISLE CITY – Cape May County Commissioner Director Leonard Desiderio used his home turf to give his 2025 “State of the County” address, in which he claimed the county saved its taxpayers $64 million by cutting the tax rate over the past three budgets – 2023 through 2025.
Desiderio gave the 2025 address as the keynote speaker at the March membership meeting of the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce at the Sea Isle City Yacht Club.
The director boasted of a third consecutive budget that reflected a tax-rate decrease. The 2025 tax rate is 0.169, compared to 0.188 in 2024. The 2025 tax rate, he said, reduces the county tax levy by $671,000 from 2024.
Desiderio said that while many municipalities boast of having no tax rate increase, the county took steps to reduce the rate and save taxpayers money. He said a flat tax rate over the last three years would have added $64 million to the county’s coffers, which he said could have been “put toward pet projects” or spent in other ways.
County Administrator Kevin Lare said the county has about $100 million in capital projects, in various states, ongoing through this budget year.
“The $64 million could have easily been appropriated for said projects and/or a myriad of other obligations such as existing debt service,” Lare said. “Instead, the board (of county commissioners) chose to provide tax relief to the people they represent.”
Some $50 million is dedicated to 96th Street Bridge (Stone Harbor) upgrades; $12 million to Grassy Sound bridge superstructure rehabilitation; $5.3 million to Mill Creek and Upper Thorofare railing and pedestrian access bridge improvements and $1 million for Marshville Road bridge improvements in Upper Township.
Another $35.6 million is going to roadway repairs and upgrades.
Desiderio said while the county has sought to manage taxes and spending, it has not been without its critics.
“There are those who want to minimize the efforts of the county commissioners and talk about how much ratables have gone up and how that has made budgeting easier,” he said. “There is some truth to that. But it is still up to the elected officials to set the tax rate.”
Lare said, “(The) statement of the director is unequivocally, 100% correct. Further, we are the first county in the state to introduce a budget with a decrease in the levy, and as of yesterday (March 19), with reason to believe we may be the only – a strong statement indeed.”
The average assessment for homes in Cape May County, according to the state Division of Taxation, is $530,494. In 2025, the owner of an average home would save about $100 per year under the new county budget.
Jason Grant, director of advocacy for the International City/County Management Association, said every municipality or county is required to adopt a balanced budget.
“At the time the budget is adopted they can cut the rate based on the assessed values,” he said.
The $224,214,703 county budget for 2025 was adopted by the commissioners on Tuesday, March 25.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
