Mantoloking Storm Damage Increases Tax Rate

Fears of a massive tax hike brought on by Superstorm Sandy might not come to pass in the Jersey shore town hardest hit by the storm.

Mantoloking introduced a budget Monday that calls for a 14.6 percent increase in the municipal tax rate. But since the storm lowered property values in the devastated town and there's been an influx of storm recovery aid, most tax bills will actually be lower this year.

The budget calls for $5.6 million in spending, up from just over $4 million last year.

But the average tax bill will actually be 23 percent less than last year, because property values have fallen by about a third due to storm damage.

Every one of Mantoloking's 521 homes were either damaged or destroyed by Sandy.

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