Sandy Knocked $10 Billion Out Of Ocean County Tax Base, Freeholder Says

Ocean County's equalized tax base dropped $10 billion after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the Jersey Shore last Oct. 29.

The county's tax base fell from $100.2 billion in 2012 to $90.2 billion in 2013, largely as a result of the massive storm that devastated the barrier island and some mainland sections, Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. said.

The county tax rate will jump 3.7 cents for each $100 of equalized valuation. But using some of the 2013 county open space tax funds will pare the increase to 3.2 cents, he said.

"The tax rate and base work hand in hand," Bartlett said. "We are not going to raise any more in overall tax."

Bartlett made the remarks before the freeholders unanimously approved the introduction of the $386,188,713 budget, up $32 million from last year.

The primary reason for the increase was the $22 million emergency appropriation the county fronted after Sandy hit, to pay for the costs of clearing debris from county and municipal right-of-ways, he said.

"The storm altered everything," Bartlett said.

The county hopes to recoup at least 75 percent and possibly 90 percent from FEMA reimbursements and from municipalities that signed up for shared services to remove storm debris, he said

The amount to be raised by taxation will rise $4 million, to $304,086,696, but the increase will be offset by using $4 million from the county open space fund, Bartlett said.

Residents in some of the mainland sections of the county had little damage, compared to the devastation on the barrier island, oceanfront and bayfront areas on the mainland.

So mainland residents further west in the county will be paying more of the tax burden this year, both Bartlett and Freeholder Director John P. Kelly said.

"In the past, the beach areas were paying a significant portion of county taxes," Bartlett said. "They were paying more than everybody else."

But in many cases, those homes were destroyed or significantly damaged.

"They lost their homes," Kelly said. "They lost the use of their homes. You can't use your home because it's been destroyed."

Bartlett said he wanted to clear up a misconception that inland residents are subsidizing other people's waterfront homes that were lost or heavily damaged.

"We are not paying to rebuild people's homes,"  Bartlett said. "No one's property taxes are going to rebuild that."

The taxes raised in the budget go to support the county infrastructure, like roads and bridges, and county facilities, Bartlett said.

The county is using less surplus this year than last - $16.5 million compared to $17 million in 2012. Bartlett expects most, if not all of that to be replaced by the end of the year.

Keeping a surplus helps maintain Ocean County's AAA bond rating from Moody's, he said.

Other increases in the 2013 budget include:

• An additional $3 million for the Ocean County Board of Social Services, largely due to the cost of housing mentally ill patients in state facilities and the sour economy.

• A $2.5 million increase in salaries and wages, despite the elimination of ten positions.

• A $3.7 million jump in insurance costs.

• A $1.3 million appropriation to help fund potential beach replenishment projects in the future.

"All other areas of the budget are flat," Bartlett said.

Jackson resident Gary Black praised the freeholder board for how they have handled county finances over the years.

"If the opposition were in place, there wouldn't have been a surplus," Black said. It's the comparison of how to do it and how not to do it. We would have been screwed. Berkeley would have been screwed and all the towns on the island."

"This shows what surplus is for," he said. When you take the money out of surplus, it's gone. If it weren't for you guys, I don't know if I could afford to live here."