Ocean County 2015 Draft Budget – Not a Tax Bite, More of a Nibble

The budget that Ocean County officials expect to employ in 2015 doesn't look as fat as the previous one. The tax rate in the draft plan still rises 9/10 of a cent. And in both instances, say members of the Board of Freeholders, it's a good sign.

Director John Bartlett loosely outlined the proposed $408 million dollar plan during Wednesday's preboard session in the county Administration Building in Toms River. The penny hike adds $14 million to the amount to be raised by taxes, $324 million in all.

Under state guidelines, the cap would have let the tax rate rise by half again, Bartlett said. But, "this board does not begin its budgeting process by figuring out how much we are allowed to spend, but by trying to figure out what we are obligated to spend," Bartlett said.

The budget is roughly $27 million less than last year's, which Bartlett attributes to the reduction in post-Superstorm federal aid that flowed through.

Sandy's negative impact is weakening, and a post-storm construction boom is fueling the onset of an economic rebound, Bartlett said.

"Last year, we hit the very bottom of that trough," Bartlett said, alluding to the tax-base erosion from property destruction that still leaves the county about 16 percent below its high water mark of $110 billion in 2009. "This year...we have turned the corner. The tax base this year is up slightly over last, by $1.6 billion," he said.

And if wrestling with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has left you frustrated and worn, take comfort in the fact that they're waging the same battle on Hooper Avenue.

"Damages that the county sustained were, and are, reimbursable at a 90 percent level, when you prove that to FEMA," Bartlett said. "We've had many projects that are still in the FEMA approval process. That's one of the reasons we have not really begun to rebuild Cattus Island County Park and Berkeley Island County Park."

The plan includes $22 million in Superstorm emergency funding repayments. Bartlett estimated that emergency appropriations totalled $115 million. The line item "means that you can pay those off with reimbursements coming in, and your own tax levy, over a five-year period."

Social service programs can expect additional funds of about $1 million, a quarter of which goes to reconstitute the Meals on Wheels program, for a total of $24 million. Freeholder Gerry Little noted that it meets state and federal matching-funds obligations to support low-income families and individuals. He estimated the number of food stamp subscribers at 60,000, about 10 percent of the county's population.

Spending on county roads, including resources and repairs, totals $13 million in the proposed plan.

The mandatory contribution to New Jersey's  public worker benefits amounts to about $3 million more than in the 2014 budget, Bartlett said.

County payroll has a tight leash. "The amount totally budgeted for salaries and wages...has increased by less than one-half of one percent," Bartlett said, noting that hiring restrictions and attrition shrinkage that's been in effect for five years will continue. Bartlett said the policy, plus expanding the county jail in phases, allowed them to reach full corrections staffing over several years, instead of all at once.

The draft plan also sets aside a little over $800,000 for surplus, on which the county's AAA bond rating rests. "We began the 2014 budget cycle with $35.6 million in surplus. We used, to support the budget, $16 million," Bartlett said. "During the year we regenerated...more than that amount - $16.8 million. So we began this year with $36.4 million in surplus. We are using the same amount this year, leaving a balance of $20 million."

Bartlett said that the policy should prove to the bond rating agencies, notably Moody's and Fitch, "our solemn determination to reach that 10 percent benchmark that the agencies recommend to maintain our stable AAA bond rating."