Calling the process of rebuilding Brick and mitigating other impacts from Hurricane Sandy the biggest issue facing the township, Mayor John Ducey said Brick needs a subcommittee to better address its impact.
Ducey, who took the oath of office Jan. 1, said in his first 100 days of office he'd like to create a Sandy Rebuilding and Mitigation Committee to work more efficiently at addressing both residents' needs after the storm and analyzing the impact Hurricane Sandy has on Brick as a municipality.
For example, the township building department, already busy with regular permits and applications, is flooded with questions about rebuilding property applications after Hurricane Sandy. Ducey said the committee could help that.
There is also a lot of applications residents navigate as they solve problems with insurance, or grants. The committee could help streamline the process, Ducey said.
“The impacts of Sandy are still here, still very prevalent,” Ducey said. “Government has failed to help the residents, in some cases government has made things worse.”
Similarly, the impacts of Hurricane Sandy continue to be felt on township budgets, and Ducey said coming up with solutions to trim the budget after the storm took away millions in revenue and created millions in expenses will be a big priority.
With the demolition of property and decreased home values, Brick's number of ratables, which the township property tax is based, took a hit. Ducey said solving the issue long term instead of dramatically increasing property taxes to make up for lost revenue is also a Sandy-related issue.
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