The North Beach Taxpayers’ Association

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The North Beach Taxpayers’ Association was founded on July 31, 1954 as a civic organization for the benefit of the property owners of North Beach, New Jersey.

There are two (2) general membership meetings – June and September.  A Board of Trustees, who in turn elects the Officers – President and Vice President, governs the Association. The other officers are appointed.

The Organization is involved in many community affairs with a specific direction toward tax issues, but also includes many beach and boulevard care and beautification projects, which enhance the look and feel of this residential beach town.

We welcome North Beach Owners to join us in our efforts to improve our community and achieve the best service we can get for our taxes.

Membership Meeting

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Saturday, June 26, 2021  at 10:00 am

St. Thomas of Villanova Church
13th St & Long Beach Blvd
Surf City

Note:  New Location

Learn About the Proposed Wind Project Off LBI

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On Friday, April 9th, at 7:00pm, the Beach Haven Taxpayers Association will be holding an offshore wind panel discussion via Zoom.   Panelists include representatives from academia, local environmental organizations, commercial and recreational fishing industries and Atlantic Shores. Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind is a joint venture between two companies, Shell Oil and EDF Renewables North America and is developing the proposed wind project off LBI.

Topics to be discussed include regulatory approvals, visibility issues, property value and tourism implications, cost, timing, implications on commercial and recreational fishing and environmental concerns.

You can register for this free event at the Beach Haven Taxpayers Association website, bhtaxpayers.org. All participants must pre-register for the event.

Atlantic Shores Wind Farm – Will it Impact Tourism, Rental & Property Values?

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You may have seen recent news coverage about a proposal by Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind (a 50-50 joint venture between EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies US LLC) to build a wind farm off our coast.  Some LBIslanders have expressed concern over the proximity to shore and visibility from the beach.  Surveys conducted by the University of Delaware and the University of North Carolina indicate the proximity to shore and hence the visibility of the turbines can have a negative impact on visitors’ desire to visit and rent in coastal communities. The developer is expected to file a Construction and Operations Plan with the Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) next month.  BOEM has the ability to hold off its review of the wind farm plan until after it conducts an ‘early scoping process’ which would allow for public input prior to plan review.

You can find some details in our Issues and Announcements section:

2021 is Here, Now What?

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2021 is Here, Now What?

Let’s hope we can get back to some semblance of normal this year.  I imagine it will probably a little different.  Hope for the best.

Vaccine, vaccine, where is the vaccine?  It seems the flood gates have been opened for registration – more that 4 million New Jerseyans are now eligible – but getting needles into arms is slow.  Both approved vaccines require two shots and as of Sunday (Jan. 17th), 308,874 of the first of two doses have been administered, while 39,330 doses were the second shot.  Officials have said New Jersey has the capacity to administer 470,000 doses a day, yet only expects to receive about 100,000 vaccine doses per week for the next four weeks. And the goal is to vaccinate 70% of New Jersey’s residents — or about 4.7 million people — by the end of May?  That’s 9.4 million individual shots! An aggressive schedule, for sure and one that will require a significant increase in vaccine allotment in order to meet.  Estimates put the need at 460,000 doses per week to meet current demand and reach the 4.7 million person estimate.

Revaluation – By now, you should have received your proposed 2021 property assessment done by Appraisal Systems, Inc.  Fo Long Beach Township, the 2020 assessment for all properties was $8,067,490,265.  The proposed 2021 assessment is $10,543,161,400, an average increase of 30.7%.  That is NOT the tax impact.  You can use the Estimated Tax Impact  Worksheet at their website – asinj.com – to get a sense of how your taxes may change.  If you would like a copy of your property record, please send an email to: longbeach@asinj.com.  It may take up to 72 hours to receive your card.  You can contact Appraisal Systems at (201) 493-8530.

Mark Your Calendars – We have set the dates for 2021 meetings for June 26th and September 11th.  We’re not sure an in-person meeting indoors will be feasible at this time.  If not, we will conduct a virtual meeting as we did in June of last year or possibly an outdoor meeting.  

Stay safe.  Stay healthy.

Bill Walsh
President, NBTA

 

We are officially canceling our September meeting for this year. 

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To Our North Beach Taxpayers Association  Members:

Well, September is upon us and little has changed regarding large scale indoor gatherings.  On September 1st, Governor Murphy signed an executive order spelling out the rules of the road for restaurants that want to serve patrons indoors, as well as movie theaters and performance venues, starting Friday, September 4th.

  • The rules limit capacity to 25% of regular occupancy, and the order also spells out standards for social distancing and how patrons are to be served.
  • September 1st  was also the first day that gyms, fitness centers, and indoor amusements were allowed to reopen to a limited number of customers.

Regarding indoor gatherings, the September 1st update on New Jersey’s COVID-19 Information Hub states:

“Indoor gatherings must be limited to 25 people or 25% of a room’s capacity – whichever number is lower. All attendees at indoor gatherings must wear face coverings and stay six feet apart.”

It just isn’t practical for us so, unfortunately, we will not be able to get together.  

We are officially canceling our September meeting for this year. 

Typically, at our June meetings, we hear from Long Beach Township representatives.  We held a virtual meeting on June  27th this year with Mayor Mancini and Commissioners Bayard and Lattanzi providing updates.  Our September meetings are typically short updates with more time to socialize with our fellow members.  Last year, we added a brief program from Jim Verhagen, a North Beach resident and self-proclaimed “beach bum with a camera”, who provided an excellent presentation on LBI wildlife.   We plan to continue that format when we can once again gather together.  

Our September meeting is also our reorganization meeting when we elect/appoint new trustees and elect officers for the upcoming year.  This year, three trustee seats are open for three-year terms. Trustee Eileen Szperka is finishing her third consecutive term and per our bylaws, she must step down for at least one year.  Eileen has been an invaluable resource and an excellent contributor to our Board.  We thank her for her service as a board member and friend of our North Beach community.

So, we are putting the call out for members interested in serving.  If you are interested in being as a trustee, please reach out via our website – nbtpa.org – by September 15th.

Our bylaws require an election when we have more candidates than open seats.  Should we get more than three candidates, we will be mailing a ballot, complete with the candidates’ biographies.  A nomination committee will be appointed if necessary.  Our reorganization will be held once the election/appointment process is complete.  We will provide regular updates on the process.

While we are canceling our September meeting, we plan to increase our communications with members by providing regular email and website updates on issues impacting our community.

We wish you all a safe, healthy balance of summer and offseason.  We look forward to getting together – in person – in June 2021.  Until then, please drop us a note.

All the Best,

NBTA Trustees

 

Zoom video meeting – Saturday June 27 at 10:00 am

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North Beach Taxpayers Association Members –

Thank you to those who responded to our survey about a video conference meeting to replace our in-person meeting this Saturday, June 27th at 10am.

Nearly 50 members responded and 68% agreed to a Zoom video meeting, 23% supported rescheduling to late July and 9% supported canceling our June meeting and resuming in September.  Should conditions change, we will evaluate the possibility of having an in-person meeting in late July.

Until then, based on the responses, we will have a video call this Saturday at 10:00 am.  Meeting specifics will be sent out shortly.  “See” you then.

NBTA Trustees

Social Media – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly 

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If you use social media, you may follow some of the LBI, shore-focused groups, that usually provide info and updates about what goes on, people posting pictures, generally positive stuff.  Until COVID-19 appeared.  Now some of these pages and groups are filled with messages fueling a “us vs them” mentality.  Some comments are taking a stance that if you are not a full-time resident on the island, you should stay away. Civility and friendliness be damned.  This note is not about that. It’s about providing information. 

The Governor is holding daily press conferences, with key administration officials, providing updates on the latest measures being taken to address this virus.  These updates are carried by local TV news and on Facebook Live. Search for “Governor Phil Murphy” on Facebook and you can see the entire press event.

The NJ Department of Health’s website (https://www.nj.gov/health) has an interactive dashboard that provides the latest county by county numbers as well as other state-level actions being taken.  The dashboard is usually updated daily around the time of the Governor’s press conference.

FEMA maintains a rumor control page to help the public distinguish between rumors and facts regarding the response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).  Learn more at https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus-rumor-control.

Th NJ State Police (https://www.njsp.org) and the NJ Office of Emergency Management (http://www.ready.nj.gov) websites and Facebook pages are sources you may want to review.

The latest (3/20/2020 at 6:27pm) from Long Beach Township:

“As the Covid-19 pandemic evolves we expect the governor to impose further restrictions on travel and services. Many individuals are taking this opportunity to spend this time in the Long Beach Island area. We are strongly recommending that you remain in your primary service area and DO NOT relocate to the shore area. Be mindful if you do travel you will not have access to your local health care providers with a better appreciation of your medical history. Furthermore, the local health care and other emergency services are not equipped to handle a mass influx of demand which will likely overwhelm the system. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Regards,

Joseph Lattanzi MD
Past President of Southern Ocean Medical Center
Commissioner of Long Beach Township

With endorsement of Long Beach Township Commissioners”

So, take a deep breath. Look after your family, friends, and neighbors.  Follow the guidelines. Stay safe. Stay healthy. We are looking forward to seeing you when we can.

Bill Walsh, President
On Behalf of the NBTA Trustees