Point Borough kicks off rebate program

Who wouldn't want to reduce their property tax bill or get money back just for shopping locally? Point Pleasant Borough is giving homeowners, renters and tourists that opportunity through a new rewards card program it kicked off this month.

Shoppers just have to use a dedicated "Borough Bucks" card at participating businesses to reap the benefits at the end of the year, according to Point Borough Administrator Frank Pannucci.

"They'll swipe their card at the point of transaction. That Borough Bucks card is no different than a debit card or a credit card, and you'll be able to log on and you'll be able to check your balances and see how much you've saved and spent through the course of a year," said Pannucci.

The idea is to promote the local economy while also helping residents save money on their tax bills, and since the Borough is a shore community, Pannucci said they decided to include everyone, not just homeowners.

"Anybody that's a summer guest, a resident in a surrounding town that does their shopping at their favorite Point Borough business, they would just get a rebate check at the end of the year," Pannucci said.

"We're excited. We have a great list of inaugural businesses. If you go to the Borough Bucks portion of our website at www.ptboro.com, you'll see everybody there, and there's a link for an updated list of all of the discounts from all of the new businesses that are signing up," said Pannucci.

Four sponsors, Travelsmiths, Clark's Landing, Investor's Bank and Manasquan Bank, each chipped in and sponsored the program, providing the 10,000 rewards cards, according to Pannucci.  Point Pleasant has approximately 20,000 full time residents, and Pannucci said about 2,000 rewards cards have been given out so far.

The cards are free and are available at the Point Borough Municipal building and the Chamber of Commerce Office.

"What we're doing which is unique that a lot of other towns aren't doing is, besides letting renters and out-of-towners have a card, we're also working hand in hand with the Chamber of Commerce to guarantee it's a successful program," said Pannucci.

While the success in Point Pleasant Borough will take a year to measure, Pannucci pointed out that Marlboro, which started the program, on average has saved about $400,000 on their property taxes over the past three years.