Freeholders OK $141.8-million County Budget

CREST HAVEN — Cape May County freeholders on Tuesday, Feb. 23 unanimously passed the $141,893,531 budget to fund county operations for the year.
With passage the equalized tax rate for 2010 will be $.1730 cents per $100 of assessed value. That is a 1.2 cent increase over 2009. Although it will vary depending on the ratio of assessed value to true value in each of the county’s 16 municipalities; an average taxpayer will pay $173 for $100,000 of property assessment.
Sea Isle City resident Terry Downey was the only person from the public who spoke against passage. In a brief “budget message” of her own, drafted to counter the one issued by Director Daniel Beyel.
In it, she stated, “We do not improve our budgetary position by balancing it on the backs of 41 county families,” in reference to the employees removed from the county payroll this year.
Beyel said he projects that number will grow to 60 this year, in the face of the weak economic climate.
Downey again complained about handling of deaths of women by the Prosecutor’s Office, and called on institution of an independent panel to investigate handling of those cases.
Her accusations brought an emotional response by Chief of County Detective James Rybicki, and refuted charges Downey made of departmental mishandling of the cases.
Rybicki said personnel in the Prosecutor’s Office continue to investigate every lead in the cases of Susan Negersmith and Tracey Hottenstein, and cited two cases where suspects either were in prison or died after confessing to his spouse.
See details in next week’s Herald print edition.