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OC Gets Clean Audit

Mike Garcia presents the annual audit to the Ocean City Council on Tuesday

By Bill Barlow

OCEAN CITY – City Council got some good news in its most recent audit.
In a detailed presentation at the City Council meeting July 25, Mike Garcia of the firm Ford Scott & Associates went over the findings of the most recent audit. He indicated the city’s surplus and cash on hand are down, but that the audit includes no recommendations, and the city’s finances are in great shape.
“I’m happy to report that this is a clean audit. There are no findings or recommendations,” he told council members. In all of the areas included in the audit, the financial firm found no areas where they would recommend a change or improvement. Garcia described that as a credit to city Finance Manager Frank Donato, who was at the meeting, and his staff.
“You repeatedly, year after year, have clean audits,” he said. “It’s not an accident. You have a well-run city here when it comes to the financial area.”
He described Ocean City as unusual for a municipality because it brings in revenue from a number of different areas. In addition to the revenue from taxation, the city brings in millions from beach tags and parking, including meters and parking lots, as well as through other areas.
One of the largest changes found in the audit is the city’s cash, which is down by about $2.7 million, from 2015 to 2016, dropping from $13.56 million to close to $10.8 million. Garcia pointed to several causes for the drop, including a $500,000 drop in the city’s surplus.
In most instances, Garcia told council members he would caution against using too much of the surplus in the city budget. The surplus is essentially the amount left over from the budget the year before. Sometimes, dipping into the surplus can help a city hold off on a tax increase, but auditors often caution against dipping too deeply, because the surplus can be important if revenues fall below what was expected or if expenses exceed the budget. But Garcia said the surplus was up over the year before, justifying using more in that year’s budget.
Garcia also spoke about the city’s debt. Ocean City has pushed for increased spending on infrastructure projects, particularly on roads and drainage. The city plans to spend $112 million on capital projects over the next five years, as presented in a capital plan approved in January. Much of that spending will be borrowed money.
According to Garcia, the city remains well below the state’s limit on the amount of money it can borrow. The city had $153 million in debt in 2016, up from $96 million the year before, and just over $90 million in 2014.
“You’re still far below the maximum,” he said. “But the number is increasing. And once again the number is increasing because you’re doing a lot of capital work that needs to be done.”
He indicated that the city is managing its debt well, with a long-term plan to pay down the borrowed money.
Garcia’s presentation took up the longest portion of the meeting. Other actions included a vote to oppose a bill in the state Senate, one which would change the requirements for those seeking site plans and subdivisions under municipal land use law.
Fourth Ward Councilman Bob Barr, who has worked as a legislative aide to Sen. Jeff Van Drew, abstained from the vote. During the discussion, Councilman Keith Hartzell said he discussed the bill with Van Drew earlier and did not see what the city objected to. The bill was aimed at reducing the impact on applicants, Van Drew told him, and he added that Van Drew indicated the bill could be amended.
“I have not read the bill, but I don’t know what it is I am opposing,” he said.
City attorney Dottie McCrosson said the city’s Planning Board had requested the action.
“What this bill would do is dictate what items must be presented to the planning board at the time of preliminary site plan or subdivision approval. Right now, that’s totally at the discretion of the municipality,” she said. Ocean City asks for more information than the state would require, she said and requires more detail in the preliminary approval for site plans or subdivisions.
So far, there is no companion bill in the state Assembly, which would have to happen before a bill could reach the governor’s desk for signature. McCrosson said the city’s position is to keep greater local control.
“So one size doesn’t fit all cities,” said Mayor Jay Gillian.
“Whenever North Jersey and Trenton make decisions for Ocean City, I never find them happy,” said Councilman Mike DeVlieger, who represents the First Ward. “Most of those things lean towards the benefit of up north. I’d rather keep control here. There’s no teeth to this, it’s just telling them we’re not happy with it.”
Hartzell joined the other council members to vote yes on the resolution, with Barr abstaining.
Van Drew, one of the sponsors of the bill, said when contacted after the meeting that the idea behind the bill is to avoid developers spending huge amounts on engineering and planning on a project to meet application requirements before finding out if the local board will support it. He said in many cases the requirements for preliminary approval before a planning board is more onerous than the requirements for final approval.
During the meeting, McCrosson said in Ocean City’s case, that was deliberate. The Planning Board wants a great deal of information before ruling on the preliminary site plan.
“Some people are for it, some people are against it. I can respect both. And I think some people misunderstand it,” Van Drew said in a phone interview. He added that once the New Jersey League of Municipalities came out against the bill, more towns opposed it.
Also at the meeting, Debbie Mooreland, a resident, and president of the Friends and Volunteers of the Ocean City Library, called for action on the landscaping around the community center.
She said the group had spent a lot of time recently on the condition of the landscape at the Community Center at 1735 Simpson Avenue. She said her organization had donated thousands of dollars to new plants for the north side of the building, but those plants died for lack of water.
“So it was really a waste of money,” she said.
The matter of a new irrigation system came up at the July 6 City Council meeting, at which some residents asked that the city looks at native plants for the site rather than installing new irrigation. City Council had voted to proceed with the contract. The city administration indicated the existing broken system presents a tripping hazard.
Earlier that day, she said, the landscaping crew kicked up a rock and smashed the window of a parked car, and covered her new car with dirt. She later found out her car was also damaged.
Business Administrator Jim Mallon said work should be under way soon on improving the landscaping at the center.
“We agree that this should be fixed sooner than later,” he said.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.

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