$60 million to help tide Shore towns over revenue declines

Some of the Jersey Shore towns that were hard hit by Sandy are getting grant money to provide essential public services.

Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable says $60 million of the $1.8 billion in federal Sandy aid the state received is being used to help to coastal communities get back on their feet.

“What we want to do is make sure that municipalities that were devastated by this storm aren’t in a position where they have to lay off firefighters, police, lifeguards if they’re on the coast, simply because they don’t have the income coming up,” said Constable. “A lot of municipalities lost ratables.”

Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long says the million-dollar grant her town received allows the town to maintain its public safety operations at a time when the community is trying to pay for repairing all the damage caused by Sandy.

“Without it we might have had to consider laying off, reducing hours, or furloughing personnel,” she said. “This grant also allowed us to hire lifeguards to keep the beaches protected and safe during this summer season which would have been a challenge for us otherwise.”

Long says the grant money means the town will have a balanced budget this year.