This is an awful proposal and would be devistating to the shore communities, especially after the impacts of Sandy. The logic that when public funds are used for any project there should be no charge to taxpayers who use those facilities is certainly not applied elsewhere. Maybe the Parkway and bridges should be toll-free, etc. All the best to the mayors etc. in developing a successful opposition.

However the concept of this proposal is not that far off from the whining heard from a lot of locals that, being locals and taxpayers, they should be exempt from paying for beach tags, only the shoobies should be charged for them. Best to stifle those sort of comments lest the concept be extended to ALL taxpayers by this ill-considered legislation.

When we were growing up, the beaches were in great shape and it was free. Would the average visitor say our beaches are $4 million better today? Probably not.

Like many other government fees, I would guess most of that money goes toward collecting the fees and paying unneeded administrators (and their generous benefits and pensions).

I support the Mayors. Win this one. We need to cover costs, have lifeguards and clean up beaches. The onus should not be placed on homeowners through taxation, or the cities. Politics should not enter in to the devastation of Sandy, the brutality was enough.

the answer is simple. since the shore towns do not own the beaches,but charge a beach fee to maintain them, then if they can no longer charge for these maintainences the state should maintain them. after all the state maintains the state parks and pays for state rangers, then the state should pay to maintain the beaches and pay for the lifeguards. treat the beaches just like state parks.

John, when I was growing up in the 50's and 60's there were beach tags!! The beaches were NOT in great shape, even then...I remember red tides and days when we could not swim because the ocean had sewerage and discarded medical waste floating in it. We have come such a long way in understanding how to take care of the ocean and the beaches..let's not go backwards. Let's face it...our world is changing and we have to pay to keep up with all the extra costs involved in beach erosion, increasing numbers of visitors, and general maintenance. Would the average visitor want to sit on a beach that was not swept clean..had overflowing garbage cans...was not monitored by trained lifeguards? (Assuming there was even a beach to sit on,..since there would be no way to afford dune replenishment?)
This proposed legislation is obviously being put forward by someone who has absolutely no concept of the costs involved in maintaining a shore community. The Jersey Shore is the bread and butter of the state...what are they thinking?? (obviously NOT thinking.)

I agree that we should continue with beach tags and that perhaps the towns that don't have them should. Yes, our taxdollars are going to be spent replenishing, etc. but by the same token we don't see tolls on state roads lifted when we have a major snowstorm that requires plowing, etc. We don't see tolls lifted because one lane of a highway is blocked for months or more at a time for construction....it is part of life and we just deal with it. If it were not for the moneys collected for beach tags, or in my other example tolls, the burden would be even greater on the taxpayer. Visitors from all over the country, even all over the world, come to the beaches of New Jersey every summer whether there is a beach tag fee or not. These visitors come with the expectation that they will pay for beach tags, parking, etc. and that is the norm. Beach tag fees help maintain not only the beaches themselves but the safety of the patrons of the beach. How many lives are saved each and every summer because we have lifeguards posted on every beach? I think these politicians need to get their heads out of the sand and move on to something more important.

here is what should be argued in this case: federal money goes to state highways every year and yet the state still collects tolls on these roads. if they dsiband beach fees they also should disband all tolls on all roads in new jersey.

You go Chuck! I totally agree! It's a stinkin $8.00, $20 for the whole season. This is what keeps the beaches clean the replesh project should have nothing to do with it. Okay so if I take insurance mioney should I then not pay property taxes? So stupid. Keep the beach tags, besides they make great colletor items.

If my taxes pay for replenishment of the beaches and road repairs then why the heck should I pay again for the use of the beaches or roads. Lets face the truth, the fees and tolls are for salaries and benefits that the private sector does not even get from their employer.

I lived in OC my whole life in the same house (54 years), and yes I remember the "Glory" days of Free beaches, I cleaned them by hand when I was a teen for 2 years, for one of the rare times, I agree with OC Government and the Mayors of other coastal towns. This is just a bad idea all around. Betsy Murphy, if you came to OC in the 50's and 60's, there were NO BEACH FEES THEN! But we do agree that getting rid of beach fees is a bad idea :)

Beach tags , replenishment, flood ins. fema,life guards, trash removal,All good things.
Also we should direct our elected officals to vote our wishes. This means that maybe and just maybe the income tax on the top 2% should go up..progressive thinkng around these parts.

I'm just curious how much of the money that is collected from beach fees goes to the enforcement of beach fees. If we did away with beach tags that much of it would be a wash. If you don't collect the money you don't spend it either.

Clearly there's a difference between rebuilding beaches and maintaining (cleaning and protecting) them. While the costs of the former are largely shouldered by the state and federal government, the cost of the later is shouldered by the municipalities.

As much as I hate beach fees I agree that the state government, in this case, is over stepping its bounds, especially when it seeks to withold federal funds. Unless I'm mistaken the bulk of the cost of beach replenishment is coming from the federal government.

Take away beach tags and quadruple parking fees. That is the answer. Side benefit of fewer cars in town.

Are Beach Tags only a NJ fee ? I have not seen Beach Tags in NC, SC, GA, FL or CA.

Beach fees should be repealed and it's long overdue. There is no way anyone should be charged a fee to sit on the beach or swim in the ocean. I have never paid a beach fee in any other state except New Jersey and I have visited beaches in Florida, South Carolina, New Hampshire and California. How do these communities in other states cope without beach fees? Whenever I talked about beach fees in other states I was looked at as though I was from another planet. "You pay to use the beach?" "Beaches are free, dude," I was told.

Residential property owners should be given a voucher that they can redeem for one beach tag based on every $1000.00 they pay in property taxes. This would allow owners to feel that they were being treated a little better than the standard tourist, yet still feeding Big Brother.

We never paid a beach fee in Virginia Beach. Only in the State of New Jersey have I ever heard of paying to sit on the beach. It's nuts. New Jersey is one of the top 5 worst states to live in, or to retire in, due to taxes. Believe me, the State of New Jersey, as well as the little town of Ocean City, NJ, collects enough money in taxes and other associated fees. Excess spending. How about cutting out spending over 100,000 for Christmas decorations when the old one's were just fine. If you want to keep your money, don't give it to the Government to begin with. Repeal beach fees. It should be illegal to charge anyway.

Well, "the beaches should be free to the locals" folks have appeared at last. But some of you need to turn in your "lOCal" bumper stickers because you are proposing to let the shoobie property owners off the hook. Their money is needed, but not their presence.

Tag fees are user fees, they FAIRLY put the cost of that which is being used on the users. Those who don't wish to use are not burdened with the related costs. The "I want to use it, but only if its free" folks are not realistic. Nothing is free, someone pays the bills. "Beach tags free to the locals" schemes leave the revenue stream to cover beach maintenance costs short, so those costs would be borne by the taxpayers anyway. But then, if our taxes go up, we get a bigger deduction on our income tax returns, so the federal and state governments would get to contribute to beach maintenance anyway.

A few months ago a former police officer on pension who had two 'retirement' jobs paid for by OC taxpayers and one of them was supervising the beach tag inspectors was arrested. Not to bring up the arrest because that could be settled in a way that exonerates him but how much was he being paid, how much are beach tag inspectors being paid, how much does it cost to manufacture beach tags and deal with the other costs of the program?
If beach tags are directly related to costs to maintain the beaches and protect them in summer that is one thing. But if people are paying for beach tags in order to maintain the beach tag program bureaucracy of product, salaries and benefits, and to funnel money into other budget items instead of cutting costs on those items, then it should be looked into. The city should take advantage of The Patch readership and post the annual costs of salaries, benefits and tags in comparison with what they collect by selling beach tags.
Also as others mentioned - there are many great beaches in the country - in the south and west coast - that are protected, well maintained and have to deal with the same issues of cleanup and erosion and they have never had beach tags.

Beach Tag fees should not be revoked--I am a property owner and the $20.00 per person yearly fee is a small price to pay to keep our OC Beaches protected and beautiful. I do not lend our seasonal family tags to our tenants either, for this same reason (OC needs the continuing revenue to maintain beaches). I still remember (in the 70s) when Beach Tags were first instituted, my step dad thought it was the most ludicrious idea (he also though when they raised the Tacony Bridge to a dime that was equally ludicrious) but you should pay for what you use--that way if you don't ever go to the beach, everyone else is not paying for the maintenance you use.

I intend to support the proposed legislation. Beach fees are out of control and the amount charged has never been proven to be directly proportioned to its actual use. In fact, I have seen the opposite: in spite of higher fees guards are taken off my beach ( over the last few years ) before Labor Day etc.

Looks like the city spent about $400,000 on the beach fee operation in 2012 ($335,000 in salaries and wages and $57,500 in other expenses) to collect about $4 million in beach fee revenue. https://imageserv10.team-logic.com/mediaLibrary/242/2012_FinalBudget.pdf

Just can't agree with getting a free pass if you are a resident, unless its free for everyone. Seems like bad timing for this bill to appear, given the infrastructure needs of the town post Sandy .

The growth of inflation as a justification of the rising beach fees? That is rediculous unless you are adjusting the fess to pay, as some have rightly asserted, for increase wages, pensions etc. That, Mr. Wyatt, is exactly why my statement is completely accurate. Tax payers are tired of Municipal Governments doing as they please with our money.

O.K., so you want everyone to pay a fee to use the beach. So all of the beaches in O.C. will be treated equally in terms of how they're maintained and managed, right? Wrong......The beaches in the far south end of the city have been deteriorating for years as they are apparently, not worthy of being replenished. The downtown beaches are given far more attention due to the proximity of revenue generating commercial businesses and the political clout that they enjoy.

Who likes beach fees? I sure don't; but they seem to be a necessary evil. Services cost money. We have a great beach here in town. We are blessed to be sure and we take good care of our greatest assets. Our beaches are clean, safe and well managed.Since the storm, our city employees have worked long hours to repair the damage and prepare for the winter storms. We are attempting to recover from a disaster the likes of which few have ever experienced. The economics are far reaching and of long duration. As we work at reconstruction and contemplate how we will fare in our short and long term recovery, some of our representatives in Trenton have decided to add to our burden by suggesting we absorb another 3 to 4 million dollar nut. How disingenuous. How out of touch. A very sad, sad commentary.
Jim Arthur

In the late 80's & early 90's prior to the current long term beach replenishment project the water was under the boardwalk in many locations. In the area of 17th street it was about 10 feet from the sand to the boardwalk. At that same period we were hit by several major storms that destroyed several sections of the boardwalk along with private property damage. Since that time including this last storm Ocean City in 20 years has not lost a section of boardwalk and up until this historic storm very little private property damage on the oceanfront. The point is the funds provided by the federal, state and local governments for beach pumping is not for recreational purposes it is for "Shore protection". The recreational uses of the beaches is a by product.

The beach fee is a users fee only paid by those that want to use the beach to off set the cost to clean, protect, maintain, provide access, restrooms and other costs.
It is a fact that property taxes in New Jersey are to high and if this bill is passed it will just make the tax bills in towns that have beaches higher and do nothing to lower taxes in any other community.. This is a horrible idea.

By law the city can only collect beach fees to cover expenses. They cannot make a profit.If you do not use the beaches you pay 0 if you use the beaches you should pay. Property taxes will rise big time to cover the 4 million collected . You dont like fees I guess the course should be free .. It is unless you play golf there.I hate to open this can of worms but the marina was purchessed with greea acre funds that is money returned to OC from the county.

One way or another the politicians like Sweeney will get their money. In this case it would shift the burden of the cost to maintain the beaches in a safe and clean manner to the local taxpayers eventually. I do not believe the local taxpayers should bear 100% of the burden, partcularly when there are literally tens of thousands of day trippers using the beaches. They should help in these costs by paying their share of the costs via beach fees.

There was an interesting article in the Press today regarding beach fees. Although there is a merit to discussion of fees, and where they are allocated, the timing of ending them now seems silly. If there was ever a time where shore towns , even the wealthy ones needed some relief, it's after Sandy.

You can argue that beaches should be free, but someone in the city has to clean them at days end. Beach tag sales are a logical user fee that reduce the local property taxes. I'm assuming the excess helps fund replenishment.

The legislators proposing elimination of the beach fees demonstrate just how out of touch some of these people become after they are elected to office. If the issue is examined there is clearly no rational explanation for their proposal. As many folks have pointed out, there are state and federal funds in many venues that charge fees for use. Makes absolutely no sense. What concerns me most is the cruelty of such a suggestion in the face of such utter destruction wreaked on parts of our coast. Here in town we have friends and neighbors who have lost everything, homes and infrastructure have been damaged and destroyed. Our business district is bravely struggling to recover. Talk about kicking someone when they are down. Sweeney and Doherty need to be recalled.
Jim Arthur

I'm quite sure there is an excess after costs on beach fee relative to employee renumeration . Just don't know where it lands .

Not to mention the idea of eliminating the beach tag fee also comes with the idea of providing free beach restrooms for the tourists. Who will be keeping these free restrooms clean and in working order? The tourists? I don't think so. Ocean City taxpayers, that who.