CAPE MAY POINT — Borough Commission unanimously passed its 2026 budget April 14, calling for a 3-cent increase in the local tax rate.
The $2.8 million spending plan is up $337,458 from the previous year and the tax levy is up $178,000 from $1.8 million to $1.98 million.
The budget raises the tax rate to 39 cents per $100 of assessed value. The increase amounts to $30 per year on a $100,000 assessment. The average assessment of a home in Cape May Point is $750,000, amounting to a $225 increase per year.
Auditor Mike Garcia said the budget increased by $163,000: $41,000 in capital and debt service, $36,000 for increased salaries and wages, $24,000 for interlocal service agreements, $15,000 for social security and unemployment taxes, $4,000 in uncollected taxes reserve and $43,000 for all other areas.
“We’re using $56,000 less surplus this year because we didn’t generate as much last year as we normally did,” Garcia said. “Last year we had a one-time land sale of $125,000 that we can’t plan on to continue.”
Last year, the borough used $254,014 in surplus to fund the budget, but this year it will use $197,325 in funding, a decrease of $56,689. There is $382,639 in surplus remaining.
Municipalities are required to stay within the two state-mandated caps, and Garcia said the budget is below the 3.5 percent spending cap by about $3,300 and below the 2 percent tax levy cap by $201,000.
“The borough is always around 99 percent in tax collection and this year we came in at 98.96 percent, last year was 98.97 percent,” Garcia said.
Collecting at a rate higher than anticipated for uncollected taxes is one way to regenerate surplus.
The borough’s largest source of revenue, local property taxes, accounts for 71 percent. Garcia said local revenues, such as fees, permits and licenses, account for 14 percent of revenue, various grants the borough receives account for 6 percent and state aid has been at 1 percent for the past 15 years.
“Delinquent tax revenue represents 1 percent, a very small piece because you collect your taxes at a very high percentage,” he said. “There’s very little left to collect for delinquent tax in a subsequent year.”
Garcia added that the little left to collect is a strong indicator of the borough’s financial health, suggesting that property taxes are collected at a high rate.
Mayor Anita VanHeeswyk thanked Garcia, Chief Financial Officer Jim Craft and the finance department for all their hard work on the budget.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
