Commercial Beach Tags: Wait ‘n’ See, Council Urged

CAPE MAY – Weeks after Cape May resident Dennis Crowley urged the creation of a committee to study city revenue and taxation, he returned to the city council podium Dec. 17, urging the governing body not to act on proposed changes to its recently adopted beach tag fee ordinance.
Earlier, in the same meeting, council introduced a change to its recent ordinance that created a transferable commercial tag. The ordinance is the first of its kind in any New Jersey municipality.
The purpose of the commercial tag was to require a higher payment from businesses that have traditionally ignored the non-transferable nature of earlier beach tags by buying seasonal tags and offering them to guests at hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts.
The new commercial tag comes with a potential penalty, designed to make businesses think twice before using cheaper individual seasonal tags at a lower price. The ordinance puts the business owner’s mercantile license at risk for violations.
Council introduced another change to its beach tag policies, one that would require campgrounds and other businesses that offer overnight accommodations outside the city to observe the same restrictions and pay more for commercial tags, if they seek to offer a beach pass as an amenity to guests.
While a requirement for non-city businesses, the penalties of the ordinance have no bite for such entities whose mercantile licenses are not at the mercy of Cape May City Council.
Crowley urged the council to have patience with what it already did, and to use the next year as a test of the policy’s effectiveness, without altering it in advance each time someone points to a potential loophole.
“Do what you already passed for a year,” Crowley said. “This change is a leap you should not be taking without study,” he said.
Crowley presented data on almost 50 New Jersey municipalities that have some form of beach tags. What this data shows is “that everyone does it differently.” Crowley noted that 42 towns with beach tags make provisions for seniors, while others, including Cape May, do not. 
A seasonal tag can cost $15 in Margate, while setting a visitor back $150 in Deal. Some towns offer discounts for early purchase, others do not.
Cape May is unique in the state for offering a three-day pass. Some towns, like Longport, do not offer a daily tag. Some towns offer free tags to veterans, while others do not. The list of differences is long and varied.
That was precisely Crowley’s point. “Study it for a year,” he urged. “If some out-of-city business comes in and ignores the commercial tag restriction, let them.”
For Crowley, that would be a data point in a year of study. What he hopes council would not do is immediately react to each “squeaky wheel” with a change to the ordinance.
Next year, after measuring the impact of the new commercial tags, the council will be, in Crowley’s mind, armed with data to make informed decisions about changes to beach tag policy.
Adding the commercial tag, increasing some fees for other tags and removing the ban on transferability of the tags is, Crowley argued, more than enough tinkering for one year.
The proposed change to the current ordinance, which would include non-Cape May located businesses, will come up for a hearing and vote at a council meeting in January, the date of which will be set at the reorganization meeting Jan. 2.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.