WEST WILDWOOD – Borough commissioners authorized an emergency appropriation June 3 for $81,947 to cover a long-standing obligation to the state related to pension payment shortage, which the borough solicitor said has existed for several years.
The small borough operates on a $3.2 million general fund budget that is 78% reliant on local tax revenue. The 2022 budget shows 11 full-time and 12 part-time budgeted positions. An emergency appropriation of any size is a significant issue.
The emergency appropriation will now be carried over as an expense against the 2023 budget since it was resolved after the 2022 budget was adopted. Borough officials said efforts to bring greater order to the borough’s finances have resulted in savings, which should allow the borough to cover the emergency appropriation next year without incurring new debt.
In 2021, the current borough administration received approval from the state’s Local Finance Board to issue a judgment bond, bringing greater financial control over the large judgment against the borough in litigation brought by Police Chief Jackie Ferentz.
The handling of that litigation by the previous administration resulted in a circumstance where the borough’s insurer declined to pay, leaving the $1.7 million judgment as a borough expense.
