EXECUTIVE OFFICES

January 17, 2006

It is my privilege to come before you to present the Atlantic County Executive Budget for 2006. I am pleased that Atlantic County government continues to be in excellent financial shape. Spending remains in line. For the fifth consecutive year we will see the county tax rate drop. In fact, it is the lowest county tax rate on record. For the sixth year in a row, we have had a clean audit of county finances, with no reportable findings.

Standard & Poor's raised the rating on Atlantic County bonds. In increasing the county's rating, they cited our "track record of good financial performance." They also noted that our financial position is characterized by healthy reserve levels and well established financial policies. We have never had to have an emergency appropriation to get through the budget year. Most important, we have always been able to maintain a stable tax rate. We have one of the lowest ratios of indebtedness of any county in the state. We have accomplished this through sound fiscal management and self financing some major capital projects.

The total Atlantic County budget for 2006 is $163,159,940.75. This year, we project the Equalized County Tax Rate for 2006 to be 29.5 cents - down from 33.5 cents in 2005. This is a decrease of about four cents. This means, for illustration, that a home in Atlantic County assessed at $100,000, with an equalized tax rate of 29.5 cents, will pay $40 less in county taxes than last year.

This budget approximates the rate of inflation within one percent. This is an impressive accomplishment when one notes that the consumer price index, which is used to gauge the rate of inflation, is based on certain expenditures by an average household and an average household is not comparable to government. This year we have seen significant cost increases in the following areas:

• 34.67% in the cost of Gasoline
• 6.05% in utilities
• 13.82% in Group Insurance
• 119% in pension costs
• 53.59% in Workers Comp costs
• 11.67% in maintaining residents in mental Institutions

While we continue to control staffing levels and operating expenses, we have made a conscious choice to continue the level of services we provide to one of our most vulnerable populations - the elderly. We budgeted an extra $300,000 to make up for lost state and federal grant revenues that fund programs for seniors. Although this expense is not mandated, I urge you to support this decision.

Several trends helped to shape this budget. Our local economy and our population continue to grow. Our current population is estimated to have reached 270,000. This is an astounding increase of approximately 18,000 residents since the 2000 Census, or more than 25,000 residents in the last 10 years. We have also seen significant new residential and commercial development. These demographic and developmental changes impose new burdens on our transportation infrastructure and other county services. I can assure you that county government is up to these challenges.

As we begin to look forward, let me review some of our accomplishments of the past year.

In 2005 improving our roadways and bridges to increase safety and capacity continued to be a major priority. Some of the major improvements we completed last year include the intersection of Mill and Spruce Roads in Egg Harbor Township, Washington Avenue in Pleasantville, Leipzig Avenue, Duerer Street, the intersection of Delilah Road and English Creek Avenue, another section of English Creek off Tilton Road, Ocean Heights and Swift Drive, River Drive, Wescott Road, Pomona Wrangleboro Road, Jim Leeds Road, Cape May Avenue, Spruce Avenue, Mays Landing Somers Point Road, Ocean Heights Avenue, and Moss Mill Road. We also completed major repairs to the Dorset Avenue Bridge and the Bargaintown Dam.

We began construction on the following projects in 2005: the Jobs Point Bridge Stabilization, the intersection of Great Creek and Pitney, an additional section of Pitney Road, and the Liberty Street Bridge in Hammonton. We also entered into contracts for work on the Somers Point Mays Landing Road and Third Street in Hammonton.
In the coming year we intend to be equally aggressive. Transportation will continue to be our top priority as Atlantic County grows and traffic increases. We maintain 373 miles of county roadways as well as 58 major and 105 minor bridges. We are directly responsible for 162 county intersections. It costs approximately $700,000 to reconstruct a mile of roadway. An intersection improvement averages approximately $1 million. Currently, we have $24 million of road and bridge improvements planned.

In early Spring we will host a Transportation Forum with the Chamber of Commerce to educate the public on our transportation priorities and allow for their input.

In 2005, we continued to aggressively acquire open space. This program not only preserves pristine woodland for enjoyment by present and future generations, it also helps our growth communities manage new development. Last year we acquired approximately 460 new acres of Open Space. Since I assumed office more than five years ago, we have acquired nearly 5,000 acres of open space. We have already targeted over 500 acres as potential acquisition sites for 2006. We will continue our Farmlands Preservation efforts and will negotiate for 250 acres of development rights easements from seven additional farms. We will continue our Municipal Open Space Partnership Program, now in its seventh successful year.

In 2005, we made significant progress in obtaining the approvals necessary to expand our Veterans Cemetery in Estell Manor Park which precludes operating two separate cemeteries at different locations. We expect to have full approvals from Green Acres in the first half of this year and begin the process of acquiring the land needed for the diversion property by the end of year. Expansion of the cemetery could then begin in 2007.

We remained vigilant in our Homeland Security and Bio Terrorism efforts. Last year our Office of Emergency Preparedness began operating our new, state of the art, Mobile Incident Command Vehicle which has been called into service on numerous occasions.

Last fall our Division of Public Health administered flu vaccinations to more than 6,400 senior citizens and at risk individuals. They will also work closely with the New Jersey Department of Health to develop a local response plan for pandemic influenza to minimize, as much as possible, the human health consequences related to any strains of influenza such as avian flu.

Last year we assumed a leading role, along with the Richard Stockton College, the William J. Hughes Technical Center, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, to develop a state of the art Aviation Technology Research Park. We will begin the process of preparing a masterplan for the project and site. This is a major first step toward the goal of making Atlantic County the leading location for aviation technology research in the world.

We worked with the Atlantic County Utilities Authority in developing and using alternative types of energy such as bio diesel fuels and wind energy. This December the ACUA dedicated their wind power generation facility. The Wind Farm, the first of its kind in New Jersey, consists of five state-of-the-art "windmills" that generate electricity using only wind as fuel. The wind farm is located at their waste water facility in Atlantic City and provides that facility with up to eighty percent of their annual energy needs at a reduced cost.

Our First Responder Defibrillator Program continues to save lives. We were the first county in the state to provide defibrillators to every police department. This program provides police with the equipment and training to render emergency assistance to someone experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. Twenty one lives have been saved by this program. Five lives were saved in 2005 alone.

In 2005 we acquired 350 new, state of the art voting machines at a cost of $2.9 million. We are now in full compliance with the Help America to Vote Act as required for the coming year.

We established a "211 Call Center" by consolidating existing county and community resources. This is now a convenient and valuable information and referral tool. Just as a citizen can dial 911 to report an emergency, they are now able to dial 211 to access Human Service information 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our Department of Planning will continue to work with municipalities to assist in implementing new state and federal mandated Stormwater Management rules.

Our efforts to help promote tourism in Atlantic County have been successfully received in the community. Our Tourism Advisory Board has established greater awareness of the importance of on going courtesy training with our "Courtesy is Complimentary" campaign. In the coming year we will continue designing publications that promote greater awareness of the cultural, recreational and natural resources available in Atlantic County. A new "Guide to Atlantic County Antique Shops" will be made available this year along with our guides to Farm Markets and Birding, our Cultural and Historical Map, and Regional Family Vacationer Guide.

We will continue to train all key county employees in the requirements of the new "Pay to Play" law. Although this requirement did not become effective until January 1, 2006, we have abided by the requirements of "pay to play" for a number of years.

We will work with Atlantic Cape Community College to obtain $6 million in Chapter 12 financing to expand its Atlantic City branch to accommodate a Health Services Program.

These are just a few of our past accomplishments and some of the objectives that I have laid out for 2006. A full list of all our objectives is included in the printed copy of the Executive Budget that you received today.

As I have said before, as elected officials our jobs require leadership. Our positions demand that we make decisions that do not always make everyone happy. We are called upon to balance competing priorities and to implement policies we believe to be in the best interest of our citizens. Nowhere is this responsibility more evident than in developing the county budget.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the members of the Board of Freeholders, especially the members of the Freeholder Budget Committee, Freeholders Joe Silipena, Jim Curcio, Frank Finnerty, and Joe Kelly, who worked diligently on this budget throughout the year. Your interest, level of participation and spirit of bipartisan cooperation is commendable. You may feel assured that your hard work and dedication are appreciated and reflected in this document.