SEASIDE PARK – An informational meeting was held to determine what concerns Seaside Park residents have about whether to annex a portion of Berkeley Township.
The South Seaside Park section of Berkeley is between the borough of Seaside Park and Island Beach State Park. For a just over a decade, a SSP taxpayers group have fought in meetings and in court to leave Berkeley. They say that they pay too much in taxes to a town that’s over the bridge and far away from them. They feel they have more in common with their neighbors, and are petitioning to join them.
Now, Seaside Park has to make the decision whether to annex the property and those residents. The Borough Council hired Government Strategy Group to create an impact study. This group also held a meeting to elicit feedback from residents. A second meeting will be held Monday, November 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tri-Boro First Aid Squad, located at 61 J Street, Seaside Park. It had been moved there because of anticipation of a large crowd.
The first meeting, held on November 10, was attended by about 130 people. Government Strategy Group led the meeting, and handed out questionnaires.
Jean Cipriani is the special legal counsel retained by the borough. She explained that the state law about how a section of town can leave is very detailed. The next step, of how they join another town, is less detailed.
“It is critically important that the governing body not pre-judge this decision,” she said. Anything that could be considered “capricious and arbitrary” could open them up to litigation.
If the borough decides to accept SSP, and someone thinks the decision was “capricious and arbitrary,” they could sue. If the borough decides not to accept SSP, and someone thinks the decision was “capricious and arbitrary,” they could sue.
She cautioned government officials not to comment on this situation publicly or even privately.
Two-thirds of the Borough Council members would have to agree to the annexation, Cipriani said. Once this is published into law, the annexation happens immediately.
All of Berkeley Township’s zoning would be deleted upon annexation, she said, so new zoning would have to be ready to go immediately.
One quirky part of the state statute is that after the ordinance goes into law, on the Monday morning following this, at 10 a.m., three representatives from Seaside Park and three from Berkeley will meet in Seaside Park borough hall.
This, unfortunately, is the time when Seaside Park officials will learn whether they owe Berkeley any money, she said.
When a town makes a large capitol improvement, such as paving streets or buying police cars, they usually borrow money for it. Berkeley has to look at how much they currently owe, and how much of that is related to items that benefitted South Seaside Park.
“This portion of debt is attributable to South Seaside Park and you would have to take it on,” Cipriani told Seaside Park residents.
The statute would not let Seaside Park know before this, she said. Going back to those six people meeting, they would have to hammer out an agreement that four of them approve within 60 days. If they can’t, the court gets involved. It chooses three people who have 30 days to come up with a solution. This decision would be final. The court costs would be split between the two towns.
There’s no timeline in the statute on when this could happen, she said. Government Strategy Group will release a report. A planner hired by Seaside Park will also release a report. The borough would like these reports by the end of the year but there’s no guarantee this could happen.
Several residents when they spoke said that they want to take their time with this decision and really digest the information. They don’t want the reports to be rushed, and they don’t want the Borough Council’s decision to be rushed.
Residents asked if the annexation can be put out to a vote. Cipriani said that it would be a non-binding referendum. In other words, the vote would just be a way to gauge public opinion; it would not cause any action.
Residents had tons of other questions about South Seaside Park, such as:
- Are there any wells with issues?
- Are there polluted properties?
- How many school-aged children are there?
- Are they in the middle of any lawsuits?
- How would this impact liquor licenses?
- Who does inspections of rentals?
- Is there a re-assessment on the horizon?
- What’s the schedule for garbage pick-up?
- Would Seaside Park need more public works employees or cops?
- Would zip codes change?
There were also people who spoke either on behalf of the annexation or against it. One South Seaside Park
resident who was for the annexation said that everything they do is on the barrier island. They are part of the community in everything but name.
A South Seaside Park resident who was against it didn’t like that the decision is being made without a vote by residents.
“What’s being taken away from you is your decision on where to live,” he said.
Capt. Bob Ring of the Seaside Park Fire Department said he lives in South Seaside Park but serves his community in Seaside Park.
He told residents that the amount of tax revenue that would come in from South Seaside Park is definitely more than what they could owe from debt. Berkeley Township “fought us for 11 years because they didn’t want to give us up.” That should show how valuable the property tax revenue is.
One resident was worried that a lot of this was being done in the winter when everyone is busy with the holidays or people are away.
Kenneth DeRoberts, chief executive officer of Government Strategy Group, said his firm employs certified planners, former police chiefs, a former municipal chief financial officer, and a tax assessment expert, among others. While the de-annexation is rare, they have the combined experience to understand what the results would be. He also noted that they are being retained to give information, not an opinion. Their report will not make a recommendation.
The first meeting was broadcast on YouTube at youtube.com/@seasidepark3643/videos.
