Ocean County commissioners to cut tax rate by 2 cents, even as taxation jumps by $27.2M

Erik Larsen, Asbury Park Press

TOMS RIVER - While the county tax rate in Ocean will go down by two cents this year, the amount to be collected in taxes is set to rise by $27.2 million from 2023 — with an increase in assessed property values making the reduction in the rate possible, according to the Board of Commissioners.

The county commission is poised to introduce a $565 million operating budget for 2024 at its next regular meeting on Wednesday, with a public hearing planned for April.

Commissioners Jack Kelly and Gary Quinn, who are co-liaisons to the Department of Finance, reviewed the budget plan for their colleagues at an agenda session last week.

The budget is to increase $12.6 million in 2024, with the amount to be raised by taxes coming in at just under $456 million. The proposed county tax rate this year is 28.2 cents per $100 of equalized value. The commissioners pointed out that this would be the eighth consecutive year the all-Republican panel has reduced the county tax rate, with Kelly explaining that the two-cent decrease would make the rate the lowest it’s been in 13 years. The board has not increased the county tax rate since 2016.

The county’s tax base — meaning the value of all taxable real estate in Ocean County — is estimated at $161.6 billion in 2024, up from $141.9 billion one year ago.

“The property tax rate will decrease by two cents,” Kelly said. “A good part of that decrease is because of the net value of the county has gone up as far as it did.”

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More than 80% of the budget is to be funded by taxpayers, with almost 2% coming from state and federal aid, and with miscellaneous revenue coming in at just under 11%. The rest of the available revenue listed is surplus that is to be held in reserve in the event of an emergency, representing 6.6% of the total budget.

The county government plans to begin 30 major capital improvement projects in 2024 at a cost of $87.1 million.

These projects include:

  • Construction of a modern traffic roundabout at North Hope Chapel Road and New Central Avenue in Jackson at a cost of $4 million;

  • Replacement of a culvert under Hooper Avenue in Brick at a cost of $2 million;

  • Traffic signal upgrades in Lakewood, Toms River, Barnegat, Berkeley, Jackson, Manchester and Lacey at a cost of $3.5 million;

  • Development of the new county park in Manchester (phase 1) at a cost of $12 million;

  • Project design for road improvements for Church Road (Old Freehold Road to Hooper Avenue) in Toms River; Cedar Bridge Avenue (Vine Avenue to New Hampshire Avenue) in Lakewood; East Line County Road (Route 9 to Park Place) in Lakewood; Bridge Avenue (Bay Avenue to Route 35) in Bay Head at a combined cost of $2.5 million;

  • Reconstruction and resurfacing of Cedar Bridge Avenue (Vine Avenue to New Hampshire Avenue) in Lakewood; East County Line Road (from Route 9 to Park Place) in Lakewood; North County Line Road (Jackson Mills Road to Bennett Mills Road) in Jackson; Radio Road (Atlantis Bridge to the Great Bay) in Little Egg Harbor; Center Street (Mathistown Road to Lake Crystalbrook Drive) in Little Egg Harbor at a combined cost of $6.5 million;

  • Various county library upgrades at a cost of $900,000;

  • Various county park facility upgrades at a cost of $5.6 million;

  • Various county road projects that include stormwater and drainage upgrades at a cost of $17 million;

  • Information technology upgrades at a cost of more than $3.6 million;

  • County Juvenile Detention Center upgrades in Toms River at a cost of $1 million;

  • Southern Service Center renovations in Stafford at a cost of $1.2 million; and

  • County Fire and First Aid Training Center upgrades in Waretown at a cost of $550,000.

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The county will appropriate $18 million in taxpayer aid to Ocean County College and $23 million on the Ocean County Vocational Technical School District in 2024.

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Other notable costs in the operation of county government include:

  • $26 million on roads, bridges and engineering;

  • $85 million on law and public safety, which includes the Prosecutor’s Office, Sheriff’s Department, Corrections Department and county jail, juvenile services, the county 911 emergency operations center and county Office of Emergency Management;

  • $19 million on social services, which does not include $39.6 million in state and federal grant allocations;

  • $9 million on the Veterans Service Bureau, and Office of Senior Services and Human Services Department, which does not include more than $5.6 million in state and federal grant allocations;

  • $4.2 million on Ocean Ride, the county’s limited transit bus service; and

  • $9.3 million on the Parks and Recreation Department.

The budget will be introduced at a regular session of the county commission on Wednesday, with a public hearing and adoption of the budget scheduled for April 3 in the first floor meeting room of the Ocean County Administration Building at 101 Hooper Ave. in downtown Toms River.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ocean County NJ commissioners to cut tax rate by 2 cents

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