Business View Magazine | September 2019

269 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019 For almost half a century, Oyster Creek had been a major contributor, along with several other energy and utility companies, including Comcast Cable, New Jersey Natural Gas, Verizon, and Jersey Central Power & Light ((JCP&L), to Lacey’s municipal coffers. According to Veronica Laureigh, the Township’s Municipal Clerk/Administrator, Lacey receives approximately $11.1 million, annually – 40 percent of its budget - in energy tax receipts (ETRs), with the majority coming from Oyster Creek and JCP&L, owner of its electric transmission lines. “So, are we faced with losing ETR money?” Laureigh asks. “According to the legislature, ‘No,’ we’re not, because they would have to change the legislation in order for us to lose that money,” she claims. “Those transmission lines are still there; there’s still power going through those lines because they’re interconnected throughout the state, but the amount of transmission from the plant is not there anymore. We were told that the lowest that our ETR money could be reduced to would be $10.6 million, so could the township sustain with a $500,000 loss, or so? Yes, we could. That’s a little bit over a penny on our tax rate, but we could adjust for that type of loss. We do have this confirmation about the ETR in writing from the state that the formula wouldn’t change and we would still see either $11.1 or as low as $10.6.” The problem, though, for the Township, is the potential loss of $2.3 million in real estate taxes on the site where Oyster Creek is located. “We get about 17 percent of that, and the majority, some 63 percent goes to the schools,” Laureigh explains. “So, they’re the ones going to see the biggest hit if Holtec were to demolish every single building on the reactor site. We could be faced with losing $2.3 million in property taxes, with the schools losing $1.4 million, themselves. That is where our concern is. Holtec is slowly going to be taking those properties offline, so the assessment on those properties will be coming off of the tax role. However, with that being said, the average assessed home in Lacey, at $277,900, would see a tax increase of $170 per year if we lost the assessment at Oyster Creek.” “At this point, they’re saying that they’re not going LACEY TOWNSHI P , NEW JERSEY