Brick Introduces 2021 Municipal Budget With 1.5-Cent Tax Increase

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township taxpayers will see a 1.5-cent increase in their municipal property tax rate to support the $106.6 million 2021 budget that was introduced Tuesday night.

Mayor John G. Ducey said the total increase in the budget is less than 1 percent from the 2020 budget, and includes an increase of $771,000 in police salaries, $193,000 in EMT salaries, and a $665,000 increase in contributions to the public employees' pension funds.

It also includes a $1,012,710 increase in payment on bond principal.

Ducey said the township trimmed expenses in other areas to balance out the increases and keep the total increase low.

The 1.5-cent increase in the tax rate equates to $44.98 per year for a home assessed at the township average of $299,900, he said.

The budget also includes the use of $9,918,843 from the township's surplus, which Ducey said was affected by the stunted revenues that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic.

"Many revenues that replenish the surplus were not realized," Ducey said. The township maintains a surplus because "a healthy surplus shows a fiscally healthy community," and offers protection during emergencies.

The township should finish the year with more than $6.7 million still remaining in its surplus, which should receive an infusion when the former Foodtown property sale finally is completed, Ducey said.

The SportsDome project, which has been dragging along during the pandemic, received approval for a Coastal Area Facilities Review Act permit and is being reviewed by the Ocean County Planning Board.

Ducey, as he has yearly since he became mayor, emphasized the difference between budget growth under his administration and the previous administration, citing an average tax levy increase in his budgets of $1.66 million, compared with $3.5 million in the eight years before he was mayor.

The budget itself has risen $8.2 million over Ducey's eight years in office, an average of $1,021,000 per year, compared with $34.3 million in the eight years prior, he said.

While the budget has risen, the township's debt has decreased. The township had $168,335,337 in debt when Ducey took office, and has reduced that to $147,606,723, he said.

The second reading and public comment on the budget are scheduled for the April 13 council meeting.

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