SEA ISLE CITY – The 2024 municipal budget will call for a 4.3-cent increase in the local purpose tax rate, Mayor Leonard Desiderio announced on March 12. The rate per $100 of assessed value will move from $0.383 to $0.426, an 11% increase.
While citing inflation as a major cause of the increase, the mayor also noted a need for the city to “budget significantly more funds for our first responders.” He spoke of adding stipends to the Fire Department budget to provide duty crews around the clock. He also said the city would be budgeting for 10 full-time positions in the EMS division.
Desiderio also cited a need for “significantly more funds for seasonal employees, including police, lifeguards and public works.” He said there would be no increase in water and sewer rates for 2024 for the 11th consecutive year.
The mayor said inflation has “driven costs up nearly 20%” in the last three years.
“We have tried to hold the line on any local increases, but it is unsustainable if we want to maintain the same level of services,” he said. He called the 4.3-cent increase in the tax rate a “financially responsible” decision.
Desiderio also reminded the public that “for seven years our local property taxes have not increased.”
The 2024 budget has not yet been formally introduced. A public workshop on the proposed budget is scheduled for Thursday, March 21, at 9 a.m.
