Vince Sera

The City of Brigantine is seeking Green Acres approval for the construction of a new clubhouse at the Brigantine Golf Links. This much needed project, overseen by Mayor Vince Sera and Deputy Mayor Karen Bew, will replace the current aging facility and provide enhanced amenities to better serve golfers and visitors. The estimated cost of construction for the new clubhouse is approximately $5 million, and will have little to no impact on local taxes.

The Brigantine Golf Links was originally purchased with partial funding from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres program. As such, any improvements or expansions to the site, including the clubhouse, require prior approval from Green Acres.

Read More:

At the September 4th council meeting, city officials approved a new ordinance enabling the City to waive local construction permit fees in response to extreme weather events, erosion, and other emergencies.

This ordinance aims to assist homeowners living along the Cove Beach, an area severely impacted by erosion, by facilitating the construction of bulkheads or other New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved structures to better protect their properties.

Read More:

Due to changing and unpredictable conditions, city officials have made a decision to further restrict access to the cove beach erosion area.

In the beginning of the summer the City installed signs notifying the public that submerged and hazardous conditions may exist in the Cove Beach erosion area.  It appears that a large structure was demolished and dumped in the water nearly a century ago and is just now being revealed by changing tides and erosion.

Mayor Vince Sera stated “We understand that closing these beach paths and the erosion area may cause an inconvenience but, our number one priority is to maintain and protect public safety. There is a lot of concrete and other debris on the beach and under the water, and conditions continue to worsen with each passing tide.  The area will remain closed until the City can fully assess the situation and develop a plan to remediate these hazards.”

As this new erosion pattern further reveals the remains of this structure, for the safety of all, the City determined to further restrict access by closing that part of the beach completely.  Public Works has already blocked all beach access paths leading to this area.

The City requests the public to use the access road located on Lagoon Blvd to enter and leave the Cove Beach.

The Cove Beach 4X4 area remains open and unimpacted at this time.

The City of Brigantine introduced two bond ordinances at the July 12th City Council meeting. These bonds will finance capital improvements, in the amount of $17,218,800, as well as improvements to the City’s water and sewer utility, in the amount of $8,960,000.

Mayor Vince Sera stated, “These bonds will have little to no impact on taxes.  Council plans on continuing to improve our roads, beaches, recreational facilities, and public buildings.  The City will be making major capital investments all across the Island.”

The utility bond includes money for necessary maintenance and repairs to the City’s public water and sewer system as well as the initial costs needed to continue the City's efforts to comply with the State’s new mandate requiring all municipalities to replace galvanized water service lines.

Read More:

As of June 19th, the City has 911 known short-term rental properties.

Most short-term rental owners have come into compliance with the new regulation and the City has seen major improvements across the Island.

A number of short-term rental owners have hired local managers that are helping to address issues before they become a problem for the neighbors.

We are still having issues with three short-term rental owners and the City is doing everything in its power to address these issues.

The City’s new code enforcement officials have issued multiple violations and are working with both the short-term rental owners and the neighboring homeowners to address the issues that are still ongoing.

Read More:

At the March 20th Council meeting, City Manager Tiger Platt introduced the 2024 budget which included a 1.05 cent tax increase.

According to Platt, “The tax increase is a result of rising costs that every municipality is dealing with, mostly due to inflation.  The City has the difficult task of keeping taxes low, while providing valuable services and making meaningful investments in our community.”

The City has approximately $26 million in capital improvements planned for the next six years. 

“While we plan to continue improving our roads, beaches, recreational facilities and public buildings, we will be making a significant investment in our water and sewer systems due to State mandates.” said Mayor Vince Sera.

Based on the 2024 City assessed value, a penny on the tax rate equals $349,538. The proposed local purpose tax rate will be 69.3 cents per $100 of assessed value.  A property with an assessed value of $400,000 will pay $42.00 more this year compared to last year.  

Although this is the third tax increase in 10 years, the 2024 tax rate continues to remain lower than it was in 2014.

Read More: