0% Municipal Tax Increase For Third Consecutive Year From The Desk Of The Mayor Mo Hill

I am pleased to announce that for the third consecutive year, my administration has introduced a budget that does not raise the municipal portion of your property tax bill in Toms River.

In the face of soaring inflation and fuel prices, rising healthcare and pension costs, and double digit increases to our insurance and garbage dumping fees, my team has successfully managed to control the cost of your township government, while improving the quality of services, by making smart reforms and improvements in our management guided in large measure by the government efficiency study that the Council majority authorized during my first year as your mayor.

We have reduced our full time staff from 505 when I was sworn in to 477 today which accounts for a saving of over $2 million per year.

We negotiated smart and sustainable contracts with our 8 labor unions.

We avoided the “trap” of cheap healthcare premiums on the State insurance fund by shopping in the private insurance market. While other towns are facing 24% increases in their healthcare costs this year, our healthcare increase is only 5%...lower than the rate of inflation.

Through smart management, two of our recreational gems, the Bey Lea Municipal Golf Course and the Winding River Skating Rink, are both operating at a surplus, thereby contributing to our bottom line rather than being subsidized by the taxpayers.

We have also created new revenue sources to offset your tax bill. Notably, the hotel room tax contributes $500,000 to this year’s budget. It is good to have our tourism industry and the thousands of visitors who enjoy our community contributing to pay for the services they enjoy here.

While rising interest rates have put a damper on overall economic activity, we have taken advantage of the opportunity and generated

$1.4 million in interest income to offset taxes. The robust real estate market has generated $3 million in permit fees and $72 million in increased ratables to share the tax burden.

In this time of economic stress and rising costs, I am very pleased that my administration is holding the line on taxes and that your local government is improving services while remaining financially sound. Our team of leaders, especially Administrator Louis Amoruso and CFO Judy Tutela are to be commended for their outstanding work on this budget.

Thank you to The Toms River Times and Micromedia Publications for the opportunity to communicate regularly with Toms River residents. If I can be of any assistance, please reach out to me at MHill@tomsrivertownship. com or at 732-341-1000 ext. 8255.