CAPE MAY – During Cape May City Council’s July 8 meeting, City Manager Jerry Inderwies Jr. gave a brief account of municipal revenues, as of June 30.
In May, the council was informed that the city was off by about $1 million in revenues anticipated in the 2020 budget. Inderwies reported a significant rebound, as crowds of vacationers returned to the resort, even amid a national pandemic.
Beach tag sales, which were down by $300,000, in May, made a comeback, and are now down from budgeted levels by half that amount.
Similarly, parking meter revenues, down $900,000, in May, are now $175,000 below budget for this point in the year.
Occupancy tax remains a problem, given the length of time hotels and motels were closed, but Inderwies was confident of “making up some ground there, as well.”
The biggest positive was the second-quarter property tax payment rate, which increased over the second quarter of 2019. This year, a 98.29% payment rate is above the 2019 rate of 97.62%.
While many small businesses are hurting after a three-month lockdown, the city’s revenues are doing better than expected. Key to continuing the good news will be the third-quarter tax payments, which have been the focus of worry for many municipalities.
Barring another major interruption to the summer, things are trending in the right direction for the county’s namesake resort.
