Own a property in Ventnor? Get ready to dig deeper into your pocket as a substantial tax increase is coming your way.
A new, proposed $30 million municipal budget includes a 7.7 cent tax rate increase. That’s a 8.5% tax hike. The average Ventnor homeowner would need to pay an additional $230 in taxes.
Ventnor Mayor Beth Holtzman reports that spending is up $864,220 – year-over year. That’s a bump in spend of 3% over last year.
Preliminary findings from the recent re-val, shows Ventnor City lost $300 million in ratables.
At the recent meeting, Ventnor Commissioners introduced a new salary ordinance. It will increase the high end for salary ranges.
New, Potential Top Pay for Ventnor Officials. (higher top salary range)
- Ventnor Police Chief – from $138,2354 to $180,000
- Ventnor Police Captain – from $122,331 to $150,000
- Ventnor Municipal administrator – from $33,200 to $150,000
- Ventnor Mayor – from $10,000 to $25,000
- New Deputy Police Chief – $70,000-$170,000
According to The Downbeach Current: Mayor Beth Holtzman said: “I think residents were educated about the budget and are in tune with our goals. They see all the positive stuff we are doing and have confidence in us. Increases were necessary because many employees were at the top of the salary range.”
Expensive but needed: Ventnor will finally invest in their Internet Tech (IT) department. Good move as it will assist in public transparency and increased efficiency. We trust that a new website & smarter IT should automate some of the common transactions that would normally force a schlep to City Hall. The current Ventnor website leaves a lot to be desired.
- Boost in spend for community celebrations & parades. $35,000 from $10,000 last year.
- Public safety contracts make up 66% of Ventnor’s municipal budget.
- Police Chief Michael Miller, could retire in May.
Want to chime in on this proposed budget? Leave a comment below.
Attend a public hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, April 20.
No mayor, we are not in tune with your budget and what Ventnor is doing. The taxes in Ventnor are already outrageous.
How about cutting spending? A novel idea, isn’t it.
Agreed John. Not surprisingly, my property valuation continued to go down this year, again –way down. I’ve actually stopped counting now that it’s almost valued what I paid for it about 15 years ago. It’s alarming. And I’m not certain I would classify what is happening in Ventnor as confidence. I’m actually shocked to learn about the dramatic increases in the Ventnor Officials salaries in light of the town still experiencing a severe recession. Now what exactly is being done to increase additional revenue and business development to the city of Ventnor?
I wonder if the Commissioners could name 3 business where the salary range has increased (and hence removing any upper limit increase constraints) while the business is no trouble causing loss of value to stockholders? Aren’t Taxpayers similarly like the Stockholders funding Ventnor City? In Industry salary freezes occur in bad times – when was the last time Ventnor or any city held salaries flat for the economic health of the city? Workers in many companies lost their pensions when the company went bankrupt – a risk municipal workers will never know!
This is the type of action that forces me to strongly consider leaving Ventnor for another beach residence with significantly less taxes & is most likely far cleaner/safer.