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Mantoloking adopts $7.46 million 2026 budget; municipal tax levy rises about 5.1%
Summary
The Mantoloking Borough Council on May 19 adopted a $7,458,680 municipal budget that raises the amount to be collected by local property taxes by 5.09%. Council said higher personnel, health insurance and beach replenishment costs are primary drivers.
The Mantoloking Borough Council adopted its 2026 municipal budget on May 19, approving total appropriations of $7,458,680 and an amount to be raised by local taxes of $5,236,682, a 5.09% increase from 2025.
Councilman Anthony Amarante, the budget presenter, told the council that for the borough's current average home assessed at $2,826,187 the change “will result in an annual increase of $449.” He said the increase reflects several planned items in the municipal budget, not a direct percentage translation of assessed values.
The council identified several line‑item drivers behind the increase: $20,000 to add an administrative assistant in the Construction Department plus a $10,000 annual software fee, a $50,000 rise in health insurance costs, an $88,000 increase in police salaries to staff a 10th officer, and $50,000 added to the borough’s beach replenishment reserve. Amarante said the borough has kept the tax rate increase “on par with the previous two years” despite these pressures.
Finance chair Amarante also reported on outstanding debt and reserves: the borough’s original bond issue totaled $5,590,000 with a current outstanding balance of about $3.6 million and a projected payoff schedule that, absent new borrowing, runs to 2037. He said the beach replenishment fund held $1.275 million and that officials plan to repurpose or identify other funds to bolster that reserve.
The budget was adopted by roll call (recorded as five affirmative votes). Councilor comments during the hearing emphasized that property tax bills reflect both assessments and the tax rate set by the adopted municipal budget; council members urged residents to use the informal review and appeal processes described during other agenda items if they have questions about valuation.
The council also authorized payment of the current bill list and ratified previously paid items under Resolution 26-86.
What happens next: the budget becomes the governing appropriation for municipal expenditures for 2026. Residents who want more detail were directed to the borough clerk’s office and to the Finance Officer’s report adopted earlier in the meeting.
