On March 3, Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson presented his 2026 budget that includes a 2-cent decrease in the general purpose tax rate.
Some topics covered:
Casino PILOT Program: The Atlantic City casino PILOT program is set to sunset in 10 months. PILOT = Payment in lieu of taxes.
For 10 years of that PILOT, all municipalities paid more than their fair share and the casinos paid less.
There’s casinos all over the world. How come only in Atlantic City we can’t figure out how to assess them?
Reference to Senator Polistina? The idea of one state elected official or a pilot in perpetuity is absurd. Why should anyone who represents this county propose another pilot that is unfair to our taxpayers?
Levinson: all 21 New Jersey counties should share the burden of supporting casinos, which benefit the entire state.
Margate Property Assessment Discrepancies:
Levinson points out that Margate’s assessed property values have fallen to approximately 50% of their true value. This imbalance causes a home worth $2mil to effectively be taxed as if it were worth $4mil.
This illustrates the need for a more equitable, countywide assessment system where properties are assessed closer to 100% of their actual value.
As hard as we work to reduce county taxes, many residents fail to benefit from these savings. Instead, their tax bills reflect increases based upon inflated property values.
Central Municipal Court Participation
Declining to Join: Margate is cited as one of the municipalities that has chosen not to join the Central Municipal Court of Atlantic County. Levinson attributes this decision to a desire for “home rule,” where the town prefers to maintain its own dedicated judge, prosecutor, and administrative staff rather than consolidating services to save taxpayer money.
Potential Savings: He notes that the nine towns that did join the consolidated court have seen an average savings of 44%, totaling over $5.5 million since 2022.
Having new homebuyers and builders pay the correct amount of taxes for their property seems fair to me.
They damn sure had assessments telling them the value of their new assets. Why would they expect to pay less than the going tax rate an asset valued at that amount?