Cape May Proposes 1.1 Cent Tax Increase

CAPE MAY — The city’s proposed 2009 budget will offer a small tax increase, 1.1 cents per $100 of assessed property value, something Mayor Edward J .Mahaney Jr. said is enough after a 25 percent rate hike for water/sewer customers.
At a City Council meeting Tuesday, the mayor said he spent a lot of time looking at City Manager Bruce MacLeod’s proposed budget. The budget shows a net decrease of $248,715, which entails $216,926 to the current fund and $31,849 from the water/sewer budget.
Mahaney said those adjustments would cause the 2.1 cent local purpose tax increase in the City Manager’s proposed 2009 budget to be reduced to 1.13 cents, taking almost a penny off the proposed tax increase. He said the owner of a property in Cape May assessed at $500,000, would pay $56.50 more in local purpose taxes than in 2008.
The mayor said the majority of reductions were savings in salaries and wages achieved by the elimination of positions by attrition, freezing promotions and containing overtime costs. Mahaney said five full time and one part time job would be eliminated, all of which would be vacant on or before June 30, 2009.
The calculations do not include any potential savings in fringe benefit costs, he said, which could reduce the proposed tax increase even further.
Mahaney said he advocates an increase of $25,000 to hire a firm to seek grants and loans for the city’s capital projects, programs and services.
He suggested that each July 1, City Council should appoint a labor counsel, apart from the City Attorney, to insure negotiation of all labor contracts are timely, accurate and the most efficient.
He said City Council should immediately review and modify as appropriate the existing ordinance and resolutions regarding the organization of police, fire and beach patrol.
“The City Manager should confer with the police chief regarding the need and financial ethics for three, full time detectives and one juvenile/ D.A.R.E. officer,” said Mahaney. “The duties of these particular personnel may be better provided by other law enforcement agencies.”
He said the schools receiving the services of the D.AR.E, officer should “bear the responsibility for the financing.” By reassigning at least two of the officers, overtime in the police department could be reduced by $30,000, said the mayor.
Currently, $195,000 is budgeted for overtime in the police department, said Mahaney.
He said city employees should be cross-trained in these difficult economic times.
The city will budget $7,000 to help fund the trolley shuttle from the elementary school parking lot for one year only, which would otherwise stop operating because the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May cannot contribute to its costs.
Mahaney said no city employee would lose their job and those entitled to a raise would receive one. Enough money would be left in the city’s surplus account to help fund the 2010 budget, he said.
The mayor said there would be opportunities, as the budget now stands, for some full time positions to be manned on a seasonal basis by part time employees.
Mahaney said he and the city manager would do without having a secretary. He said other city employees could be cross-trained to provide that service.
The city needed to streamline by reexamining its priorities as to what services it would provide, he said.
City Manager Bruce MacLeod said it is proposed to raise daily and three-day beach tags fees by $1. He said ambulance and construction/zoning fees would be examined.
The budget will be introduced March 17 with a public hearing on April 22.