(Atlantic) The Atlantic City Council is meeting in regular session on Wednesday, February 18. One of the items on the agenda is the Parks and Recreation priorities and staffing.
According to the agenda, Atlantic City Administrator John Lund stated the Mayor, Council, and public have made it clear they want a Parks Director. Lund says the issue is that this has not occurred due to General Fund resource allocation. Lund says the Parks Director position was eliminated in late summer 2023 to reallocate labor resources elsewhere. It was considered a “deal.” So Atlantic can see progress in the areas it wants, those General Fund resources are now available.
Lund says the City can afford to pay for a Park’s Director at the market rate ($74,700) for a community of Atlantic’s size He ran the numbers on the costs and found this is a sustainable expenditure, assuming the 2% cap on new property tax dollars is implemented, taxable value is not gutted by tax credits and exemptions, and that all future wage growth is tied to this 2% amount or a new revenue source is identified. He said no cost allocation is necessary relating to this new position. This will be paid for by the released property tax resources.
The City Council meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.
