Health insurance costs, salaries boost proposed Brigantine tax rate

A.C.Press
By Michael Pritchard
staff Writer, (609) 272-7258

BRIGANTINE ? City tax-payers are facing a nearly 13 cent increase in the local-purpose tax rate even as ratables and real-estate values continue to grow.

City Council has introduced a $21,093,267 spending plan, an increase of more that $2.3 million over last year. Officials pointed to steep increases in health-insurance costs and salaries as principal causes for the increase.

The increase comes after the city managed to hold taxes flat last year. The city's municipal-purposes tax rate would rise to about $1.11 per $100 of assessed evaluation, up from about 98 cents per $100 last year. A property owner with a house assessed at $200,000 would pay $2,220 in taxes.

"The economic realities of the rising cost of operating a full service local government are reflected in (this) budget," Mayor Phil Guenther said in an address to the council. "Although I am not pleased with any additional burden for taxpayers, I know that this bud-get was developed to support essential spending and keep the level of services that residents need and expect intact."

The proposed budget would increase the amount to be raised by taxes to $13,093,351, up from $11,370,112 last year. That increase reflects an about $800,000 increase in salaries for municipal employees. Other major increases include $400,000 for employee health insurance. and about $250,000 for municipal debt service, which would rise to about $2,453,000.

Those increases have offset a rise of about $20 million in the city's ratables. The budget also allocates most of the city's surplus funds to offset taxes. The plan would use about $2.265 million in surplus funds; leaving only about $186,000. Last year the city used about $1.8 million in surplus funds, leaving $641,000.

The tax increase comes just as the city prepares for a major revaluation, which will cost an added $500,000 in this year's budget. That revaluation also should have a significant impact on taxpayers in 2006. Officials estimate that the actual assessed value of the city is $2.5 billion, more than double the current assessments.

In any reassessment, taxes generally rise for one third of property owners, stay steady for a third and fall for a third.