---

The Asbury Park City Council has introduced a budget aimed at furthering affordable housing options and economic development through the implementation of measures outlined in the  2018 adopted master plan recommendations.

The $48.5 million spending plan is a 3.1 percent increase over last year’s $47.04 budget; meaning a $25.05 increase for the average assessed home valued at $336,841.

“Each year, the City moves towards increased financial health,” Mayor John Moor said in a written statement released Tuesday morning. He said the governing body’s goals include supporting policies that further growth, such as lot by lot development throughout the waterfront [adopted in 2018] to assist in the development of vacant land and underutilized parcels.

The 2019 budget will be supported by a $16,949,253.01 levy, a .39 percent increase, for property owners. This translates to a .944 municipal tax rate, an 8.44 percent reduction from last year’s 1.059 tax rate, due to the increased $1.86 billion total property valuation.  

City Manager Michael Capabianco said the average assessed home has increased $100,000 in the past five years from $226,831 to $336,641. The 48 percent property value increase translates to the reduced tax rate, which has gone from 1.3 in 2015 to the introduced .944 tax rate.

“As the value of properties rise, the tax rates decrease, which happened here,” Capabianco said.

The City’s net $36.8 million debt [2.336 percent] includes a $22.3 million gross in utility debt.

Asbury Park has three utilities: sewer, beach and parking. This year the $5.4 million sewer utility budget saw a 2.4 percent increase; the $1.9 million beach utility, a 9.6 percent increase; and the $3.1 million parking utility, a .47 decrease.  

“The City is in very good shape in regard to its debt,” Capabianco said. “Last year, our Moody’s rating rose three levels to an A2 rating, and we expect another increase this year due to the sewer utility being self-liquidating.”

The budget also includes the following appropriations: $3.1 million for general government, a 13.25 percent increase; $254,024 in its reserve for uncollected taxes, a 38.45 percent decrease; $16,960,830 for public safety, a 4.52 percent increase; $9,956,820 for insurance, a .55 percent decrease; $4,529,975 for public works, a 5.52 percent increase; $392,200 for health & human services, a 2.45 percent increase; and $317,000 for parks and recreation, a 7.09 percent increase. The spending plan also dedicates $4,310,000 to the 6-year infrastructure capital improvement program, with $2,925,000 in expendures for 2019.

Officials said the budget also reflects the governing body’s commitment to expanding recreation and public art initiatives for its residents and visitors.

In addressing the long contentious use of Payment In Lieu of Taxes [PILOT] program, Capabianco said there is a misconception that the school district suffers.

“Pilots do not impact school budgets,” he said. “The school always receives what their budget calls for.”

He said PILOTs have been used throughout the city to spur economic development for land development and rehabilitation.

“A good project will increase the value of the surrounding neighborhood thereby leading to a decrease of the tax rate,” Capabianco said.

And like the decision to hire an IT director, which has saved the city hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past couple years, the budget includes a $50,000 appropriation for an affordable housing consultant that will help implement the recently adopted inclusionary zoning guidelines, he said.

“This is the second consecutive year the City of Asbury Park is not reliant on the State to plug the budget with Transitional Aid money,” Councilwoman Eileen Chapman. “We’re proud that Asbury Park is becoming more stable financially. In 2018, we saw a 3-level increase in our Moody’s credit rating and we’re hopeful for yet another level increase in 2019, making us even more attractive to investors.”

For more information on the City of Asbury Park’s FY2019 budget, contact City Manager Michael Capabianco at 732-502-5755 or visit cityofasburypark.com/finance.

—————————————————————————————

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

---