Belmar's Municipal Budget Introduced At Council Meeting

BELMAR, NJ – At Tuesday’s council meeting, the Belmar borough council introduced the municipal budget, which will have zero increase to the tax levy.

“Our team, led by (borough business administrator) Ed Kirschenbaum, has done an outstanding job of working on the finances, and we are coming out with a no-increase budget this year," Mayor Mark Walsifer said.

Walsifer said that the lack of increase was due to borough officials’ hard work in finding alternative revenue sources and streamlining borough department budgets.

According to the budget summary, which can be found on the borough’s website, there is an increase in the school tax rate, from .540 to .547. As far as the biggest expected change in revenue for the borough from last year to this year, an increase of $150,000 is expected in marine basin rentals from $1.2 million to $1.35 million, along with an anticipated decrease of $250,000 in municipal court revenue from $850,000 to $600,000.

The biggest changes shown in the budget summary appropriation-wise is the $428,222 in payroll from last year to this year, with this year’s number at $6,348,791, which is up from $5,920,659.