The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, will act on a Resolution “Establishing procedures for Collection, Interest and Penalties,” for delinquent Storm Water Utility Bills. City Administrator John Lund reports the City’s Personnel and Finance Committee met January 23rd and reviewed a recommendation by the Finance and Administration Department to establish an administrative fee for delinquent storm water bills. In order to encourage utility customers to pay their bills, the City (if the resolution is approved), would add a penalty for the issuance of correspondence stating the exact amount a property owner owes if the bill is not paid after six-months of non-payment. The fee amounts to $25 per parcel. Late payment penalties would not be changed, and remain at 15-percent per month.

Lund says by the City’s estimate, nearly 25-percent of all stormwater bills are in such a state of delinquency, that they are rolled over into property taxes. Most bills are $17.10. The City assume the bills are being thrown into the garbage and/or the property owner is being “recalcitrant” (purposefully uncooperative). The policy of charging a fee for correspondence on overdue Storm Water Utility Bills was unanimously recommended by the Personnel and Finance Committee.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on setting the date for a Public Hearing as March 6, 2019, to adopt the Proposed FY 2020 Ten-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), and a Resolution adopting the Preliminary FY 2020 Budget, as well as setting the date for a Public Hearing on the Budget as March 6, 2019. The draft FY2019 budget was submitted to the Council and media prior to the Feb. 6th Council meeting. At that time, the proposed budget for FY 2020 was $16,520,747, which was a decrease of $129,388 (-.78%), from the FY 2019 Revised estimate of $16,650,135.

Lund says a few changes have been made to the budget since that meeting:

• The property tax levy and revenues scheduled for the operation and maintenance of the Senior Center have been eliminated.
• The Employee Benefits levy was returned to its originally scheduled levy of $3.50.
• All revenues and expenditures in the Senior Center sub-general fund have been eliminated for FY 2020-FY2030, based on the assumption the building will be sold by July 1, 2019. The fund balance will remain and the balance returned to the General Fund in the FY 2021 Budget’s revised Estimate for FY 2020. (That transfer has not officially been scheduled yet)
• A revenue-neutral recalculation based on the insurance tax levy and the utility replacement tax levy, was made to reflect state forms.
• and, the State backfill numbers differed from the original estimate. Lund says those adjustments have been made in the General Fund, Emergency Levy, Employee Benefits Fund and Debt Service Fund.

The estimated Total Tax Levy under the revised budget of $16-million 135-thousand 155-dollars ($16,135,155.00), amounts to $16.86 per thousand dollars valuation on regular property, and $3.00 per thousand on agricultural land. The City must approve the preliminary budget and set the date for a public hearing, in order to allow the public to examine the budget and provide their feedback to the Council. The final budget must be submitted to the State by March 15, 2019. And, the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, is expected to recognize Tommy Gaines for his 20-years of service to the Atlantic Street Department.