Wildwood Resident Asks, ‘What If?’

To The Editor:
At the Wildwood Commissioners’ meeting of April 28, many residents were disturbed concerning the possibility of the impending layoffs while union negotiations are still taking place. What if the increase from all the new condo ratables built in the city were used to supplement our town’s revenue, would our taxes have been reduced? Instead we were increased, which placed taxpayers with a hardship and a mortgage payment of a property tax bill.
What if the 2002 study done by Emergency Management Advisors of Fair Lawn was implemented with North Wildwood, saving the towns about $1.1 million merging the fire departments with 35 members, each closing a volunteer department and selling the suggested equipment?
What if our government accepted the New Jersey Department of the Treasury’s “Local Government Budget Review” of 2002? This study had to do with: Savings through the state’s health benefits plan; special event sponsors; beach fee program; privatizing trash and recycling operations and sale of its equipment; address issues and discipline of attendance for all city employees; reducing average sick leave to no more than 11 days; at that time there was a discrepancy of full-time employees between city payroll, state civil service records and unclassified; possible end to longevity pay; etc.
What if the increases in the 2004 salaries for the fire and police and the 2007 public works employees salaries, were set at the national level instead of granting approximately 20 to 40 percent increases over a four-year period? What if before the 2007 election, the city had not promoted eight police officers, hired seven new police officers and a confidential secretary?
What if building our Rec Center for $2.5 million instead of around $5.2 million? What if we did not pay for engineering fees for 18 months over $819,000 in 2007? What if all the condos were built by code?
What if the past administrations in one month in 2007 had not bonded $9,857,320 (mostly for water and sewer infrastructure) and in 2005 and 2006 bonded $14,422,200 (mostly for water and sewer, a recreation center and band shell) on the taxpayers? Since 2001, USDA Rural Development has given the City of Wildwood $13 million in grants and loans; $10 million was for water and sewer improvements. What if our streets were being reconstructed and new water and sewer lines installed as our neighboring towns today instead of special interest projects as the boardwalk tunnel and water and sewer construction? Could this be for the high rises, which may never come? Now the City’s outstanding debt including general, water and sewer’s principal and interest total $60,143,495 million. Back in 2005 it was approximately $38 million.
What if the developers had paid impact fees or followed an infrastructure fee schedule that would have paid to improve and maintain this city’s infrastructures?
What if the approximately $4 million spent on Pacific Avenue makeovers would have been spent on our most important asset, our boardwalk?
What if the 2008 Back Bay deal that resulted in a deficit in our 2009-10 budget of about $2.7 million never happened? What if the last administration did not exceed the cap in order to live with a bloated budget for its excessive spending?
Our present elected administration is working hard to reduce our tax rate, work with all the decisions of past administrations and has an interest in cost-saving measures to become a financially sound town. North Wildwood’s local purpose tax rate may be 47.1 cents if adopted. The City of Wildwood’s local purpose tax rate was $1.11 and looking to be increased, if the past administration was still in office. It is presently being reduced to $1.089, and many properties’ assessments have gone down, which will result in a lower tax bill. This was the reason for our recall.
KATHLEEN McCULLOUGH
Wildwood