The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, approved the City’s proposed Fiscal Year 2015 $9.37-million Municipal Budget. The action came during a meeting at the Senior Center, during which there were no written or spoken objections.  The proposed budget will require a tax increase of 1.8-percent in the City portion of the tax levy, or a seven-tenths (0.7)-percent increase in the total property tax levy, which means a 32-cent increase per $1,000 of taxable valuation.

Taxes in Atlantic have gone up in each year since 2010, which, at $14.76/$1,000, marked the lowest rate taxpayers have paid since 2005. City Administrator Doug Harris said property tax legislation passed by the State last year will continue to contribute to the upward pressure on property tax rates and the gradual shifting of the tax burden onto residential tax payers.

The new legislation he says, rolls back the assessed values of commercial and industrial properties and reclassifies multiplex apartment buildings from commercial to residential. The change in assessment practices will constrict tax revenues in the City’s General Operating Fund and increase taxes on residential payers. The only good news is that the State will backfill those losses for a few years, so the actual loss to the G-O Fund may be more gradual, according to Harris. The result will be a gradual shifting of the tax burden to residential customers.

A public hearing will be held during the Council’s next meeting on April 2^nd, with regard to expected amendments to the current budget (FY 2014). During the meeting, the Council may reduce the budget, but it cannot increase it.