View of the Longport Bridge from Seaview Harbor in Egg Harbor Township.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
LONGPORT – Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez has denied a realignment request from property owners in Seaview Harbor, a 1960s-era subdivision in Egg Harbor Township, to secede from the township and join Longport Borough where their taxes would be much lower than they are now.
The judge reaffirmed Egg Harbor Township’s decision to prevent the de-annexation following more than 30 public hearings at the Planning Board and Township Committee levels over a two-year period that included more than 100 hours of testimony from 54 witnesses. The Planning Board recommended the township deny the petition and the Township Committee followed suit.
The plaintiffs, Seaview Harbor Realignment Committee, LLC, and Egg Harbor Township residents John and Dian Dabek, Edward and Virginia McGlinchey, and Pam and Joseph Stewart filed their appeal of the township’s October 2016 resolution that determined their secession petition did not comply with statutory requirements outlined in New Jersey administrative law. Mendez heard the case in July 2019 and issued his decision Tuesday, Feb. 18.
“We appreciate the judge taking the time to render his decision,” Egg Harbor Township Mayor Paul Hodson said. “Obviously, we are happy with the decision.”
Hodson said he appreciated the extensive work of township’s Planning Board.
“They spent a lot of time on this issue and did a great job studying it.”
Seaview Harbor residents contented that they are geographically and socially linked to Longport, where they have their social, cultural and religious needs met, and have a Longport mailing address.
According to the court’s decision, the 1982 Annexation Statute, which supports the legislature’s effort to preserve municipal boundaries, imposes a “heavier burden” on those seeking de-annexation.
“The Court has concluded that refusal of Egg Harbor Township to consent to the Petition was not arbitrary or unreasonable,” the judge wrote in his decision. Mendez further opined that the petitioners “failed to establish…that the annexation will not cause significant injury to Egg Harbor Township.”
Mendez said the township’s loss of more than $95 million in ratables and $2.3 million in tax revenue to operate the township and public schools was “compelling.”
According to township auditor Leon Costello, while the average Seaview Harbor property owner would save about $17,992 in annual taxes, the average township homeowner with a house assessed at $208,100 would incur a $122 increase in taxes. The loss of ratables would result in a 5.9 cent tax rate increased based on Egg Harbor Township’s 2015 assessments.
Although the Seaview Harbor petitioners were able to prove that they would be better off socially if they were part of Longport, de-annexation would cause significant injury to the economic and social well-being of Egg Harbor Township residents, the judge said.
Administrator Peter Miller said he would need time to investigate the total cost to the township to litigate the case since 2014, but it was well over $300,000.
Seaview Harbor includes 92 waterfront homes with docks, a restaurant and marina with 300 boat slips with a combined assessed valuation of about $100 million. Some property owners, including former Egg Harbor Township Mayor James “Sonny” McCullough, who sold his Seaview Harbor home, pay as much as $34,000 a year in property taxes.
According to the 2018 tax rates for each community, a $1 million home in Longport pays a total of $9,800 in taxes, while a $1 million home in Egg Harbor Township pays $31,400 in taxes.
While township services are more than 7 miles away, including the Township Municipal Building, Scullville Fire Company and the Police Department, Longport public safety services are less than a mile away. Although it does not provide regular police patrols, Longport provides “good neighbor mutual aid” to Seaview Harbor, which is located just over the Longport Bridge, including police, fire and emergency medical services, but the telephone call to summon help is routed to borough services through the Egg Harbor Township Police Dispatch Center. Longport paid Egg Harbor Township $262,572 last year to provide interlocal dispatch services. Longport also does not have a school system to support and instead pays tuition for its children to attend schools in Margate, Atlantic City and Ocean City, which helps keep taxes low.
Mayor Nicholas Russo said if Seaview Harbor were able to secede, taxes in Longport would go even lower than they are now.
“Our taxes would have decreased substantially,” he said. “We already have a low tax rate because of our already high ratables, and we run a prudent government.”
Russo previously said the decision to accept Seaview Harbor would be one the voters would decide in a referendum.
“I got the impression from my residents that the Longport traditionalists were opposed to changing the geographical boundaries of Longport. Other residents saw the practical aspect of Seaview Harbor joining the Borough of Longport,” he said in a statement. “That aspect included the financial advantage of bringing an increased property tax base to the borough. Personally, I saw advantages from both a financial aspect and an aesthetic aspect in the sense that Seaview Harbor is a beautiful location with great natural resources.”
The judge also ruled that the township was not arbitrary or unreasonable when it denied Seaview Harbor’s petition to secede.
“The Court has concluded that Petitioners met their burden to establish that the refusal to consent to the annexation is detrimental to the economic and social well-being of the residents of Seaview Harbor. The Court has concluded that Petitioners failed to meet their burden to establish the annexation will not cause significant injury to the well-being of Egg Harbor Township. Finally, the Court has concluded that the refusal of Egg Harbor Township to consent to the Petition was not arbitrary or unreasonable. For all those reasons, the Court denies Petitioners’ Complaint and reaffirms Egg Harbor Township’s decision to deny the de-annexation Petition,” Mendez wrote in his conclusion.
