The proposed water and sewer charges have created a great deal of controversy. For most homeowners, costs will increase significantly and this raises a lot of questions. To obtain as many answers as possible, representatives from the six taxpayer associations in Long Beach Township met with Commissioner Ralph Bayard and Administrator Kyle Ominski last Friday.

Please carefully review our Question & Answer document on the HTA website at this link:

Keep in mind a few things as you read the document:

• New Jersey is behind the move to meters with the goal of forcing everyone to economize on their water usage. This was not an LBT initiative.
• Water and Sewer fees have not been raised since 2013. Had the Township increased the charges by 3-5% each year, the cost increase from 2021 to 2022 would not have been so large.
• Costs to the Township for the Water and Sewer services have greatly increased
• Significant investments have been made to update most of LBT’s water/sewer infrastructure. Much of this was deemed necessary after Superstorm Sandy and the rapid growth of new construction. It is considered by the Township to be a strategic decision to avoid main breaks and shutdowns due to aging pipes.
• The Water/Sewer budget must be separate from the Municipal taxes and self-sustaining; rising tax revenues from new and higher value homes cannot offset increased Water/Sewer expenses.
• Budgeting for 2022 revenue was determined to be based on fixed charges and could not take into account anticipated revenues based on water use above the quarterly allotments; upon being clearly established, the variable charges due to usage and the resulting surpluses can be used in the future to lower the fixed charges. Any surplus cannot be used for anything outside of the Water and Sewer budget.

Bond’s Park

The Township has confirmed their intention to extend the Bay Terrace paper street to allow creation of a new driveway for the home known as the old Coast Guard Station. This will result in the likely removal of all of the vegetation between 24 Joan Road and the new nearly-completed walkway. The work is scheduled to begin within the next 1-2 weeks.

The HTA looked into the transplanting of the existing foliage but because they are mature plants, our experience is there is little likelihood of doing so successfully. We have asked the Township to replace as much of the foliage as possible, putting plants around the walkway and recreating a foliage barrier on the border of 24 Joan Road and the new driveway. It is unclear what, if anything, they will do.

The Township did meet with the owners of the Coast Guard Station home last week to review the changes about to be made.

The HTA proposed alternatives to the Township to avoid this change. We also clearly advised them of the tremendous dissatisfaction this would cause with the Joan Road and Bay Terrace neighbors. In the end, the Township asserted its legal right to determine the best use of the property it owns.

Lastly, the Township has acknowledged the results of the HTA survey which called for no new recreational facilities to be added. There is no indication they have any plan for any of the property they own other than creating the easement/driveway to Bay Terrace/Joan Road, although the existing basketball court is expected to shift slightly to the south to allow for the new driveway entrance.