April 12, 2019 - City of Atlantic City Budget Moving in Positive Direction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, April 12, 2019

Budget Recommendations Include No Municipal Property Tax Increase This Year and Increased Compensation for Many of the City’s Public Employees

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Mayor Frank M. Gilliam Jr., City Council President Marty Small Sr., and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) are projecting that the City of Atlantic City budget will include no property tax increase for 2019 and increased compensation for the city’s full-time, non-uniformed employees. These projections, which are based on months of work and budget deliberations, are contingent on the city budget being approved by the Local Finance Board at DCA and City Council.

This would mark the third consecutive year of no municipal tax increase for city property owners.

“The most important aspect of fiscal responsiveness is to make sound financial decisions with taxpayers’ dollars. The fiscal stability of the city is a top priority for my administration,” said Mayor Gilliam. “We are proud to present the taxpayer a flat budget and we kept our promise to the dedicated workers of this great city to compensate them after years of patience. I want to thank my financial team, City Council and DCA for the key roles they played in this budgetary process. I am confident that this budget reflects we are moving the City of Atlantic City forward and we will remain financially prudent.”

“I’m ecstatic. This budget represents a win for our taxpayers and our hardworking employees,” said Council President Small. “Facing a potential 23.9 percent tax increase was a daunting task. However, our hardworking budget team, which put the taxpayers first, did a yeoman’s job of accomplishing a budget with zero tax increase and rewarding our long deserving employees with salary increases.”

“The positive direction of the city’s budget is due in no small part to the work of the City Administration and City Council and their collaborative role in putting the budget together,” said Lieutenant Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “Their common purpose throughout this process has been to keep property taxes stable and, if possible, to provide more compensation to city employees who have made financial sacrifices during the city’s fiscally lean times. While more work remains to be done on this year’s budget, we are confident the city’s leaders and professionals are on the right path.”

Members of the Atlantic City White Collar Professional Association, Teamsters Local 331, Alliance of Atlantic City Supervisory Employees, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) would benefit from the compensation recommendations. Under the proposal, active full-time employees:

• Employed by the city as of January 1, 2015 would receive a one-time $1,000 stipend that would not be included in their base pay;
• With a salary under $25,500 would be retroactively brought up to $25,500 as of January 1, 2018 or receive a 2 percent salary increase, whichever is greater;
• With a salary over $25,500 would receive a 2 percent retroactive salary increase for 2018; and
• Who did not receive the one-time $500 stipend that some employees received in 2018 would receive it this year.

Additionally, these employees would receive a 2 percent salary increase in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The entire proposal – including stipends, retroactive salary increases, and future salary increases this year and the next two years – would cost the city approximately $2.1 million. The unions must ratify the contractual terms of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with their members and City Council must approve the new CBA before it takes effect.

The City and DCA also anticipate capital improvements will be included in the 2019 budget to address quality of life issues.

For more information about the City of Atlantic City, visit www.cityofatlanticcity.org. 

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: