WEST WILDWOOD – West Wildwood introduced its 2022 municipal budget to a crowd full of applause at the Commission’s March 4 meeting.
Commissioner Joseph Segrest, who oversees West Wildwood’s Department of Revenue and Finance, went over the budget at the meeting and explained that no new taxes is an especially noteworthy accomplishment because this year’s budget brings with it several improvements to the town.
Segrest said that a new levy to support city upgrades will cost the borough about $2 million, but the levy is to be offset by a 2% increase in the borough’s valuations.
“The effect is no increase in tax rate, even though we are seeing bigger numbers in the appropriations,” he said.
This year’s budget includes a new police vehicle, a new pickup truck for public works, street sweeper repairs, furnace repairs in the city’s public works building, several park upgrades, storm resilience projects, additional staffing, and salary increases for town employees.
Segrest said that new financing for a costly lawsuit gives the borough “breathing room” this year, adding that the borough continues to work to “clean up our debt.”
The new budget, he said, brings “a lot of things… The bottom line is a lot of repairs, upgrades, and investments in the current operating budget without raising taxes.”
