STONE HARBOR – County municipalities are starting to introduce budgets for 2025. State schedules for this year call for them to introduce those budgets no later than March 31 or at the next governing body meeting. Budgets are then to be adopted by April 30.

For Stone Harbor, the budget season is going to be a tough one, with Councilwoman Jennifer Gensemer, chair of the council’s Committee on Administration and Finance, saying that the borough may not adopt a 2025 budget until May 20.

According to Gensemer’s remarks to the council at its meeting March 4, the borough will introduce a budget on April 1. With the approval of a majority of the council, the borough will then apply to the state for an appropriations waiver to “address expenses that have increased.” If the state approves the waiver, the borough expects to adopt the budget on May 20.

The problem is simple to state and difficult to remedy. Stone Harbor, for all of the ratables wealth that sits on its less than 2 square miles of land, engaged in past spending that puts the borough right up against the state’s spending cap.

According to the records of the county Board of Taxation, the borough has assessed value of real estate of $5 billion and true value or market value of $8.6 billion as its final 2024 numbers. As the municipality’s outside auditor told the council in August, the town has plenty of room for raising taxes, but its position with respect to the spending cap means extra tax dollars could not be spent.

Gensemer’s presentation to the council on March 4 stressed many actions under way aimed at reducing costs while maintaining or improving the quality of services to the public. These actions include reorganizations of staff and functions, a potential shared services agreement for construction code enforcement services with Wildwood Crest and “making progress” on the appointment of a new borough administrator.

Gensemer said the “appropriation cap burden” has led the borough to consider a ballot question for voters in November that would ask if they support increasing the appropriations cap.

She then added that if the poll results were favorable, the borough might seek an off-cycle referendum in early 2026 “to increase the cap base going forward.” Translation: The question would ask the voters for permission to expand spending limits imposed by the cap.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.