August 10, 2023 Newsletter

August 10, 2023

Dear Fellow Residents-

You should all be getting your 2023 tax bill this week. I want to take the opportunity to communicate directly to you about the tax situation; and provide you some of the explanations on the tax increase you will be seeing. The numbers I will be going through are final. They reflect the numbers you will see in the “Frequently Asked Questions” that the Tax Assessor provides on website. The big changes from prior estimates that we have provided in my April 25th newsletter are twofold:

We reduced the amount of prior year surplus we were going to use in the budget (from $1.1 million $1.5 million)
The allocations from the County increased more than anticipated (+$350,000)

Both of these factors had the following impacts:

An additional $495,000 in our municipal budget (increase went from 6.5% to 13.2%)
With the above increases, the overall increase is $1.442 million, or a 7.9% increase. I previously communicated an overall 6.3% increase. I did not anticipate a $350,000 (10.9%) increase (’23 v. ’22) in the County charge to us. Part of that increase is due to the fact that our property values have increased significantly; and the Borough’s portion of the County Tax is based on increased property values.

The table below provides a 5- year overview and the details of our taxes. Some important highlights to note:

The net value of borough properties has increased from $1.337 billion to $2.009 billion (2019 -2023)
Partially because of the above point, our tax rate has decreased by 23% (1.226-.944%)
Although our overall taxes have increased 7.9% in 2023, our 2022 and 2021 increases were kept to a minimum (2% and .9% respectively), which indicates a 3-year average of 5.47% overall.
The Borough’s Governing Body has direct control over the highlighted line below- the local Municipal Budget. This is about 40% of the total tax bill.

I realize this is a lot of information to provide all residents with and detail to digest; but I believe it is important to get the facts, and not “alternate data” that sometimes happens in today’s environment.

2023 BUDGET CHALLENGES

While in the State of New Jersey, municipalities are often presented with challenges in their attempts to fashion a budget that is both effective and yet efficient, the Borough of Bradley Beach has been challenged in 2023 by a few added factors:

The 2023 Budget is primarily a story of insufficient revenues to meet needs. It is NOT a story of excessive spending.

Additionally, inflation has not just affected our personal budgets. Just as the cost of meat, eggs and vegetables have increased, so have the costs of goods and services needed to operate municipal services.

Our “appropriations”, or spending budgets, actually are down in 2023 from 2022 by $64,425. Appropriations include Departmental Salaries and Wages, Operating Expenses, Capital Improvements, Debt Service, Deferred Charges and Other Appropriations, and Reserves for uncollected taxes.

With both of these sets of facts, we should not see a substantial increase in our municipal tax levy portion of the total tax bill in 2024. Additionally, the Business Administrator, Department Heads, and myself are aggressively looking at opportunities to ensure we have all spending and anticipated challenges understood and managed effectively for the balance of 2023 and going into 2024.

Budgeting is always a balancing act, seeking to provide expected services at the least possible cost. That is the objective of the 2023 budget.

My family and I are taxpayers in Bradley Beach; and like everyone else, no one likes a tax increase. We will work diligently to optimize services at the lowest cost to taxpayers.

Thanks for your time and see you around town!

Larry Fox

Mayor- Bradley Beach

The Wag Beatles Show!

Continuing our “Picnic Jam”series: Saturdays in the Park!

Pick up some local takeout and picnic in Riley Park from 5-7pm on Saturday, July 29th with The Wag

Bring a blanket, chair and some friends and enjoy an awesome picnic with great tunes.

Newark Avenue Concerts

Ari Hest/Mike Montali (of Hollis Brown) Joseph Alton Miller

Tonight, Thursday, August 10th at 7pm

It’s almost time for the Annual Pirate Day Treasure Hunt on Main Street in Bradley Beach!

Gather all little pirates and mermaids, pick up a map at Borough Hall (available starting Tuesday, August 8th) and walk the plank (or just the street) to pick up pirate loot from participating businesses.

This year will be a few small surprises thrown in throughout the day including a free reggae concert in Riley Park starting at 5pm!

Bradley Beach Public Library

There are lots of great programs hosted by our favorite library, the Bradley Beach Public Library!

Visit the website to learn about their latest offerings.

Library Website

The 26th annual Bradley Beach 5K run will be held on Saturday August 19th. The race starts at the Gazebo located at 5th and Ocean avenues in Bradley Beach Post registration begins at 7:00 am with the race starting promptly at 8:30 am. Fitness walkers are welcome.

Online registration go to Online Registration: Click Here

Bradley Beach Fire sponsors this event and your participation allows us to give back to the community. Sign up now!

5K Parking/Travel Update

Chief Guida would like to make all residents aware that Saturday, August 19th, is the Annual Bradley Beach 5K Run. There will be no parking or vehicular travel permitted on the highlighted roadways on the map between the hours of 7am-11am.

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Please visit the website for updated meetings, events and information.

www.bradleybeachnj.gov

Borough of Bradley Beach | www.bradleybeachnj.gov