From today’s Asbury Park Press op-ed “Time to end beach fees“:
Supporters of beach fees insist that a fair user fee offsets costs that would otherwise fall more heavily on local residents. That, however, ignores the fact that most beachgoers, even out-of-state tourists, are already doing their part, through state and federal tax dollars that go toward the beach replenishment projects.
Beach-fee revenue is also too often abused, with local officials redirecting the money toward other budget items not intended under fee provisions. That problem has only been magnified by Christie’s elimination of a state government division that had formerly scrutinized the beach-fee spending.
But the primary resistance to eliminating beach fees is simple tradition. Shore towns have relied on that source of revenue for so long that it’s difficult for officials to think beyond that process in search of a better way that also keeps our beaches free. We hope Sweeney and other agitators will succeed in generating some fresh thinking, with a needed sense of urgency.
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I can tell you one thing…..With regards to the beach utility, things will not be the same as before. I think we’re going to regret not looking at alternatives to taking FEMA money.
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