Meet The Mayor Meeting a Huge Success!

It was a “full house” at this years Meet The Mayor Meeting on Saturday June 22nd as Mayor Francis Hodgson delivered his “State of the Town Address” at the Surf City Fire House. Over 100 taxpayers were in attendance to hear the Mayor and get their questions answered. A shout out to Bagels & Beyond where breakfast was purchased. 

Over 50 questions from homeowners were fielded by the Mayor. The Mayor also continued the tradition of presenting a budget and tax comparison of Surf City to Ship Bottom and Beach Haven. You can find those financial documents HERE!

 

Make Plans To Be In Town This Weekend!

Four big events are happening in Surf City this weekend!

 On Saturday, June 22nd is our annual Meet The Mayor Meeting and The Surf City Business Cooperative’s Surf The Sidewalk Event. On Monday June 24th, is the Casino Bus Trip to Atlantic City (usually in August) and the weekly Farmer’s Market at the SC Firehouse begins!

 

Meet The Mayor Meeting
Meet Mayor Francis Hodgson Saturday June 22nd at 10AM and be part of our traditional town hall event. But come early (9:45am) for some breakfast treats! The meeting will be held in the Surf City Firehouse(713 North Long Beach Blvd). Come prepared with your questions for the Mayor and learn all about how Surf City compares to other LBI towns. 

 

Surf The Sidewalk
Over 80 merchants in Surf City have banded together to form The Surf City Business Cooperative, with a mission to market the unique tourism and commerce elements of our town. On June 22nd from 10:00am to 6:00pm, pop into all the galleries, boutiques, restaurants, and professional service establishments in Surf City. You’ll get free samples, see great sales, and find all kinds of special events! Look for the sign you see to the left at participating businesses, or click below to go to the SCBC Website.

Casino Bus Trip to Tropicana Atlantic City
Join us June 24th for our Casino Bus trip to AC! Cost is $25, with $25 slot credit given by Tropicana. Adults 21+. Bus departs St. Thomas Church parking lot (14th Street) at 9:15 am and returns at 5:30 pm. For reservations, contact Noella Fried at noellaefried@aol.com or call or text her at 973- 461- 3660. The bus only holds fifty six so call today!? To download the sign up form, click HERE!

Casino Trip June 2019

Join us June 24th for our Casino Bus trip to AC! Cost is $25, with $25 slot credit given by Tropicana. Adults 21+. Bus departs St. Thomas Church parking lot (14th Street) at 9:15 am and returns at 5:30 pm. For reservations, contact Noella Fried at noellaefried@aol.com or call her at 973- 461- 3660. The bus only holds fifty six so call today! To download the sign up form, click HERE! -> Casino Trip payment form (1) (1)

Taxpayers involved in 2 important topics at this year’s Town Hall Meeting

This Saturday, we hosted out annual Town Hall Meeting at the Firehouse. Over 120 taxpayers attended — our largest town hall meeting crowd to date — and got their questions answered about this year’s property tax reassessment process. We walked through the process, the Borough Plan and what you can expect over the coming months. Our guest speaker, Walter Higgins also handled the Q&A where questions such as do I have to be home for the assessment, what is the criteria, and how will this effect the value of my home were answered. You can see an overview of the presentation below.

We also covered the topic of Town Beautification. Our aim is to create a community-wide initiative to make Surf City the most attractive and inviting town on LBI. This will be a multi-year effort requiring a partnership between residents, business owners and the Borough. Many taxpayers voiced their opinions and ideas of where our beautification efforts should be focused. If you missed the meeting and have any ideas for this program or would like to weigh in on possible beautification projects, first click on this document: 8-25-18 _pdf_ Town Hall Meeting – Presentation on Beautification – Instructions for Filling Out Rating Form . Then, you can download the Rating Sheet called the Scoring and Prioritizing of Beautification Projects.

Please feel free to download the form now, print it, fill it out and send it back to us attached to an email or to our physical address (218 N. 18th Street, Surf City, NJ 08008). Or just email us at surfcityta@gmail.com with any questions or answers! Thank you to all who showed up, and voiced your opinions. A shout out also goes to Bagels & Beyond where breakfast was purchased.

  Town Hall Meeting Town Hall Meeting Walter Higgins 

Town Hall Meeting Tomorrow, Saturday August 25th!

Town Hall Meeting – Saturday 8/25, 10 a.m. at the Firehouse

Join us at the Firehouse this Saturday, August 25th for our annual Town Hall Meeting. We will be covering two main topics:

  1. Property Tax Reassessment. We’ll walk through the process, the Borough Plan and what you can expect over the coming months. You’ll also be able to get your questions answered during a Q&A session with our guest speaker,Surf City Tax Assessor Walter Higgins.
  2. Town Beautification. Learn about the vision for our Town Beautification Initiative and offer your input and ideas!

Light breakfast at 9:45 a.m. Meeting begins at 10:00 a.m. Read below for more details.

Meeting Topic #1: Property Tax Reassessment

We’ve received many requests to provide information on the current property tax reassessment process. The last Surf City assessment was 2004. This new reassessment will apply to the 2019 tax year.  Some of the criteria includes:
  • Square footage of property and structures
  • Proximity to ocean or bay or commercial property
  • Amount of street traffic
  • Interior and exterior features and amenities
You will also learn the ins and outs of the reassessment process  such as the overall timing, engaging with the inspector, etc. Bring your questions for our guest speaker:  Walter Higgins, Surf City Tax Assessor.  A few questions you can expect to be addressed include:
  • Will this process cause my taxes to go up?
  • Why do you have to come inside of my house?
  • What do I do if I don’t like my assessed value?
  • How long does it take for field inspector to evaluate my property?
Meeting Topic #2: Town Beautification Initiative

Our aim is to create a community-wide initiative to make Surf City the most attractive and inviting town on LBI. And we are looking for your feedback, ideas and involvement. This will be a multi-year effort requiring a partnership between residents, business owners and the Borough. During this session, we’ll present our vision and will give you the opportunity to provide your input on priorities and ideas. Please join us!

Massive turnout at the last Mini Golf Tournament of Summer 2018!

The Surf City Taxpayers Association hosted their second Mini Golf Tournament of Summer 2018 at Island Golf on Wednesday, August 15th. Groups of players competed spread among three age brackets: ages 8 and under, 9-15yr and 16 and over.
In the 8 and under group, Claire came in first with a score of 46, Mason came in second wth a score of 54, and Henry came in third with a score of 54.
In the 9-15 yr old age bracket, Kori came in first with a score of 34, Ryan came in second with a score of 36, and Keegan came in third with a score of 38.
In the 16 and over age bracket, Duncan came in first with a score of 34, Melissa came in second with a score of 36, and Bill came in third with a score of 37.
They celebrated with cash prizes. Thanks go out to the volunteers from the Surf City Taxpayers Association who were the scorers , and to the staff at Island Golf. We look forward to seeing you all again next summer for more mini golf fun!

Mini Golf Tournament WinnersMini Golf Tournament Winners

Sand Sculpture Contest 2018 a Success!

Last week, we ran one of our most popular events of the summer, the Sand Sculpture contest. We had people competing of all different ages and team sizes. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners were awarded in 6 different categories. 18 trophies are given out in total. Several families have made this their family tradition to compete during their Summer vacation! A big thank you goes out to our sponsor, Ron Jon Surf Shop, and to the members of the SCTA for organizing the event. This event is always held either the first or second Wednesday of August depending on the tides. Check the website every year to know when it will be held if you are interested in competing!

Sand Sculpture Contest Sand Sculpture Contest Sand Sculpture Contest