Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Somers Point council introduces 2025 budget with small tax rate increase; public hearing set for March 27
Summary
Council introduced the 2025 municipal budget, citing use of surplus and loss of state aid; public comment raised concerns about tax increases and boat-ramp fees.
Somers Point introduced its 2025 municipal budget on the council dais, approving a resolution to place the budget on public display and schedule a hearing.
CFO Shana Gestrel said the introduced budget includes “just under a 2¢ increase or a local tax rate of 1.14,” which she described as a 1.76% rise from 2024. Gestrel said the budget uses $3,400,000 in surplus this year compared with $2,800,000 last year and noted an anticipated loss of “approximately 100,000 in state aid” after a two-year municipal relief fund ended in 2024. She also said the municipality received “a generous donation of a hundred thousand dollars” from Shore Medical Center but cautioned there is “no guarantee we will receive these funds for next year’s budget.”
The council approved Resolution 77, the formal introduction of the 2025 municipal budget, by voice vote. Gestrel told the council the public hearing and opportunity for comment on the budget is scheduled for March 27 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers and said a copy of the introduced budget “will be posted to our website, summerspointgov.org, by the end of the day tomorrow.”
Why it matters: the introduced budget sets the spending and property-tax framework for the year and outlines assumptions — including use of surplus and a potential reduction in state aid — that will affect final tax bills if adopted.
At the meeting’s public-comment period, residents pressed council members for more detail and faster public information about fees and services. Patricia Pearson, a Somers Point resident, criticized the proposed tax increase and asked about charges for the city’s boat ramps, saying residents “want to know” when fees and rules will be finalized. Council leadership responded that the boat-ramp discussion and fee schedule will be on the council agenda at the next meeting, March 13.
Denise Wolkowski, who identified herself as a resident of Egg Harbor Township, asked that veterans and seniors be included if the council adopts reduced boat-ramp rates this year.
The council’s next formal step will be the March 27 public hearing on the budget, where members of the public can comment before the council takes final action.
