At last night’s City Council meeting, I delivered my annual State of the City address. The text is included below, and video of the full address is here.
Our administration also delivered to City Council a copy of the recommended 2026 “mayor’s budget.” This is the first step in an annual budgeting process that will include a presentation to City Council by Finance Director Frank Donato on the details of the proposed budget on March 26. City Council will vote to “introduce” the budget on April 23, and then work to make any potential revisions before a final public hearing and vote to adopt the budget tentatively on May 21. A copy of the draft mayor’s budget is here.
The Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority recently discovered a failed sewer main under West Avenue at 31st Street, and an emergency repair is expected to take up to eight weeks. Work is underway and West Avenue is closed from 30th Street to 32nd Street, along with parts of 31st Street. More information is available here. Because of concerns for health, safety and uninterrupted sewer service, the county could not delay this repair. I want to thank residents for their patience and understanding.
Cape May County is making good progress on elevating and improving Roosevelt Boulevard, and a new traffic pattern will be in place for the next five weeks. See more detail here. A separate sewer repair in the Gardens is ongoing, and detours will be in effect on Gardens Parkway next week. Please use caution in all these road construction areas.
I was proud to join Police Chief Bill Campbell, Fire Chief Bernie Walker and Beach Patrol Chief Erich Becker on Tuesday for our annual Public Safety Recognition Ceremony. The event recognized dozens of first responders for their heroic actions in the course of duty during 29 different incidents in 2025. Please join me in paying tribute to these dedicated men and women. We’re all fortunate to have such an exceptional public safety team in Ocean City.
I want to encourage everyone to support our local merchants at the Market Madness event 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Ocean City Civic Center. The event offers a great opportunity to take advantage of discounts and specials on all your favorite local merchandise. More information is available here. You can also help our local businesses by voting in USA Today’s “Best Main Street” contest here: 10best.usatoday.com/awards/ocean-city-new-jersey.
I also want to encourage you to attend our annual Special Olympics swimming competition at 10 a.m. Sunday, March 15 at the Ocean City Aquatic & Fitness Center (1735 Simpson Avenue). Please come out and show your support for these athletes. The event always offers a heartwarming show of good sportsmanship.
The Ocean City High School boys’ basketball team will play in state Group III championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday on a neutral court at Rutgers University. It’s a chance for the first state title in 61 years for the team. It’s been exciting to watch the team’s run through the playoffs. Coach John Bruno has put together a true team, and the young men are a class act and great representatives of our town.
Check out this week’s edition of the “Inside City Hall” video series below to get a behind-the-scenes look at events, services and projects in Ocean City.
Warm regards,
Jay A. Gillian Mayor
State of the City Address Mayor Jay A. Gillian March 12, 2026
Good evening, Council, city team members, and my fellow Ocean City residents and taxpayers.
It’s always an honor to be here and deliver this annual State of the City address.
Ocean City is an amazing place to live, and the state of the city is as strong as ever.
This administration has assembled a proven city team that delivers for our residents and taxpayers day in and day out.
Taxes are low, and our services are the best. We have invested a lot in improving all the things we love about Ocean City.
All the while, we have maintained perfectly clean audits and a double-A bond rating that highlight Ocean City’s “well-embedded management practices.” Those are the words of Standard and Poor’s. These experts have no worries about Ocean City.
When you consider the “state of the city,” some of the first things that come to mind are our beach, boardwalk and bay.
On the beaches, we’re working closely with all our elected officials to make sure our north end and downtown beaches receive an overdue replenishment project. We’re also stockpiling sand to shore up beaches in the short-term. Congressman Van Drew has said Ocean City will be first in line when funding comes through for a full replenishment. This would allow us to continue a program to protect lives and property from tip to tip in Ocean City.
On the boardwalk, we’re finishing up a complete reconstruction from St. Charles Place to Fifth Street and getting ready to rebuild 14th Street to 16th Street after the summer. This work was funded in part by a $4.9 million grant. We were also able to add a separate project to reinforce and redeck the boardwalk from 12th Street to 14th Street this spring. Combined with work completed less than 10 years ago, these new projects will give us a new boardwalk. That’s in addition to five new pavilions, three new restroom facilities and many ADA improvements.
On the bay, our contractor is currently at work on our annual maintenance program to keep our lagoons and waterways safe and accessible. When we restarted the bayside dredging program less than a decade ago, all of our lagoons needed major work. Now, we dredge as needed, so the lagoons will never get so bad again.
Our innovative flood mitigation projects continue to work well, and we’re planning to add new neighborhoods, including Ocean City Homes and the area from 18th Street to 26th Street. We started with our most flood-prone neighborhoods. Now we’re working on our sixth and seventh projects. We now have 35 pumps working at 15 pumping stations throughout town, and we remain committed to addressing all areas in need of relief. Not everybody remembers what it was like when streets were flooded for days at a time, when residents had to wade home in floodwaters, and firefighters had to carry kids to the Primary School. But these projects have completely changed the way of life in Ocean City.
Ongoing improvement projects at the Ocean City Community Center, Ocean City Music Pier and Ocean City Civic Center have assured that these popular public resources can be enjoyed by all.
Let’s talk about public safety. After many years of discussions, planning and re-planning, we were able to move projects forward to address the needs of our police department. We opened the new police substation this month, and plan to begin construction on a new public safety building at the site of the old police station before the end of the year. We have a first-class police department, and they deserve first-class facilities. That’s what we’re giving them.
In this year’s proposed budget, the debt service increase for projects like these goes down by $1.4 million. This downward trend plays out into the foreseeable future. This is exactly according to plan. This administration set out about 12 years ago to complete desperately needed infrastructure projects, and we’ve completed almost all the major ones. Now we can move into maintenance mode. In crafting this capital improvement plan, our finance team took advantage of what were historically low interest rates during a period of increasing tax ratables. Our double-A bond rating gives us some of the best interest rates available today.
The “state of the city” also includes the many services that our residents and guests enjoy.
We have:
First-class recreational and educational facilities for our children
A wide array of recreational programs for all ages
A great new senior center
Programs for our veterans
A home for Special Olympics
A community center with a library, pool, fitness center, arts center, historical museum, senior center and café all under one roof
A jitney service to help us get around
A new parking app and signs to help people find a spot in real time
More than 60 new parking spots for the downtown with another 66 temporary spots on the way
Our own Pops orchestra
The list goes on
The draft budget you’ll receive tonight is our recommendation.
Finance Director Frank Donato will make a detailed presentation on this proposed budget at the next Council meeting on March 26, and the budget will be yours once you introduce it on April 23. A final vote would be on May 21.
Contracts for city team members, along with health benefits and pension costs, make up most of our annual budget. These costs rise each year.
The administration has been hard at work negotiating the best deals on employee benefits, cutting the capital budget, and trimming the operating budget. We continue to seek grant funding to offset costs. Not including more than $100 million in beach replenishment funding, we have secured more than $60 million in grants since I took office.
Despite all the fixed increases in labor and benefits costs, our proposed tax rate increase this year will be just 1.38 cents.
We’re all very fortunate to live here. It’s a beautiful place in every way. But taking care of our beaches, boardwalk and bay, our 110 miles of streets and alleys, and all of our many city facilities and services takes a lot of hard work and investment.
It’s a challenge each year to tighten our belts while maintaining the services our residents and guests have come to expect. In the winter, we have to be prepared to clear two feet of snow from our streets. In the summer, we have to be ready to pick up trash from the 150,000 people here on a summer day. Our public safety teams have to be prepared to respond quickly to calls not just on our eight-mile island, but in the ocean and on the bay, and sometimes in floodwaters. Not every town faces the same variety of challenges and expectations that Ocean City does. That’s why I’m so proud of the exceptional work of the men and women who make up our city team, and of all the volunteers in our community who help in so many ways.
I look forward to working with the team, our businesses and all of our citizens to continue to build an Ocean City that everybody can enjoy for generations to come.
We will always be “America’s Greatest Family Resort.”
Sign up to receive email alerts about this weekly mayor's update.
Welcome to The City of Ocean City, New Jersey!
Ocean City is a town rich in history and a deep sense of community. Families have been vacationing in Ocean City for generations and many have made Ocean City their year-round home.
Our residents enjoy award-winning schools, world-class recreation facilities and outstanding municipal services from all city departments, including Police, Fire and Rescue, and Beach Patrol. Residents participate in activities for every age and interest including the cultural arts, music and theater as well as sports and recreation programs available at our many parks, playgrounds and city facilities. One of our local treasures is the Ocean City Community Center at 1735 Simpson Avenue, where families and individuals can enjoy the Ocean City Free Public Library, Ocean City Arts Center, Ocean City Historical Museum, Ocean City Aquatic and Fitness Center, and the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center under one roof.
The city also maintains and operates a municipal airport, 12-hole golf course, Aquatic and Fitness Center as well as the famed Ocean City Pops Orchestra.
Ocean City is also host to more than 200 family-friendly special events held year-round. Many of our events are popular family traditions, including the Night in Venice Boat Parade in July, the Baby Parade in August, our mile-long block parties in May and October, and our family-friendly First Night New Year’s Eve Celebration.
If you are vacationing in Ocean City, I know you’ll enjoy our seven miles of beautiful beaches and exciting Boardwalk lined with shops, restaurants and amusements. And be sure to visit our unique and charming downtown shops and restaurants located in the heart of town on Asbury Avenue.
I am truly proud to serve as mayor for this great community and hope you and your family enjoy your time in America’s Greatest Family Resort.
Welcome to The City of Ocean City, New Jersey!