Wildwood Tax Bills

Wildwood to issue estimated tax bills
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Saturday, July 1, 2006
Updated: Saturday, July 1, 2006

WILDWOOD — City Commission held an emergency meeting Friday to authorize the tax collector to issue estimated tax bills for the third quarter.

According to a resolution passed by the commissioners, the emergency meeting was necessary because of the anticipated late adoption of the city's 2006 budget and the lack of a certified tax rate for the year.

“The mailing of estimated tax bills will enable the city of Wildwood to meet its financial obligations, maintain the tax-collection rate, provide uniformity for tax payments and save the unnecessary cost of borrowing,” the resolution read.

The third quarter bills are due Aug. 1.

Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. said Friday that tax bills should be mailed to city property owners within the next two weeks.

The city, meanwhile, continues to fine-tune its 2006 budget, and Troiano said he hopes to introduce it within two weeks.

Under the estimated tax-bill resolution, the city's anticipated total tax rate is $1.52 per $100 of assessed property valuation compared to $1.42 in 2005.

The rise in the overall tax rate includes a 1-cent increase in the Cape May County tax, small increases in the the county library and county open-space taxes, and a 5.7-cent increase in the local school tax.

“Seven or eight cents of (the increase) is something I have no control over. I have zero control over the county and the school,” Troiano said.

According to the estimated tax bill, the local property-tax rate, used to fund the city's operations, would increase from 79.7 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation in 2005 to 82.3 cents in 2006.

The estimated local tax levy is $14.5 million, which would be an increase over the 2005 tax levy of $13.7 million.

Troiano said the final city tax rate, however, was expected to change because the city is still waiting to receive state funds connected with the Wildwoods Convention Center operation.

The city's 2005 budget was $22.5 million.

To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:TGilfillian@pressofac.com