OCEAN CITY — A divided council this week voted in favor of beginning the process of nudging up the beach bonfire permit fee incrementally from the current $75 to $85.
During a budget work session last week, Ocean City Fire Marshal Josh Bunting presented revenue projections for the beach bonfire permit program. At the time, the council requested Bunting return with some more detailed analysis on the program and examine if there was room to increase the current fee of $75.
“You asked for an update on potential revenue and the bonfire fee,” he said. “Those fees are set by resolution. Regardless of what you decide today, we’ll have to move forward with a resolution to change the fees.”
The beach bonfire program began in the 1970s and has steadily increased in popularity over the decades. In 2017, the department implemented a streamlined online permit system that allowed residents and visitors to request a permit and pay for it practically in real time, which caused the numbers to really spike.
When COVID hit, with restaurants, bars and other amusements closed or operating under strict limitations, the number jumped exponentially again. Last year, for example, there were around 3,300 permits issued. Bunting said the current fee is $75 and there has been little pushback about the cost of the permit.
“It’s currently set at $75,” he said. “I can tell you off the top from an enforcement strategy or a safety strategy. In other words, raising the fee doesn’t make it any safer or less safe. In the realm of citizen and user feedback, it still remains more positive than negative. We do receive some complaints, maybe 20 to 30 a year, but I wouldn’t say a lot.”
Bunting half-jokingly said there were come complaints about the bang for the buck from some permit holders.
“The complaints are mostly on what that $75 gets them,” he said, rather tongue-in-cheek. “Some people are a little shocked it is $75, and we don’t actually start the fire for them and bring the s’mores and have everything set up for them.”
Bunting said he did a fee comparison for similar beach resorts up and down the coast.
“From a regional comparison, we’re probably mid- to high,” he said. “Fenwick is $100. Assateague National Seashore is $50 and Lewes Beach is $50. The program costs my office $41,000 per year when you put together the booking software, the inspection staff, uniforms and the equipment we need to police that on the beach.”
The revenues from last year’s permits totaled $247,500. Bunting said it was up to the council to set the policy on beach bonfire permit fees.
“In conclusion, again, I would echo my original statement that I work for you,” he said. “If you want the fee to be what it is, that’s what it will be. To give you a true revenue estimate, I’d rather have a non-COVID year under our belt. I’d like to see what it would look like consistently year-to-year.”
He also pointed out because there were already advanced bookings for bonfires this summer, changing the fee at this point could create some disparity among users.
“Also, if we changed the software tomorrow, we could see some pushback from the disparity,” he said. “We could have people sitting on the beach who paid $75 and somebody sitting next to them who paid the higher rate.”
At that point, Council Secretary Tony DeLuca asked Bunting if he preferred $85, $90, or $100, and made a motion to increase it to $85. Councilman Mark Paddack seconded the motion for the purpose of discussion.
“During the budget debates, there was discussion about a bucket truck needed to scoop up what our customers leave behind that they should be taking with them,” he said. “There is a cost associated with this in addition to your $41,000.”
Paddack said the addition of that equipment and manpower on the public works size would also increase the cost of providing the program.
“The estimate for the bucket attachment is $10,000,” he said. “Then, you’re going to have an employee that’s going to ride nine-and-a-half miles up the beach and turn around and come nine-and-a-half miles back with whatever garbage gets left behind or buried.”
Paddack, however, withdrew his motion to increase the fee at this time.
“I’m not opposed to increasing the $75 to $85,” he said. “However, I’d like to have a little more data about the costs for public works that would justify an increase in the permit fee. Some people aren’t cleaning up the way they should be. Not all of them, some are very, very clean.”
Council President Matt James favored holding the fee at the current rate, but suggested the deposit could be increased to cover the cost of those who don’t clean up after themselves.
“At this time, I’d like to see keeping the fee at $75, but raising the deposit,” he said.
James read a section of the bonfire ordinance that calls for a $100 refundable deposit if the permit holder did not properly clean up his or her area. However, Bunting said when his office went to the online permit booking system, there was no mechanism to collect a $25 fee.
Paddack said the impact of increased costs on the public works side would not come close to the roughly $250,000 in revenue the program generated last year.
“There was $250,000 in revenue last year and you are reporting $41,000 in expenses related to the program,” he said. “Public Works is not going to spend an extra $200,000-plus cleaning this up. What’s the motive for increasing it? Is it revenue?
DeLuca said that was the sole purpose for his motion to increase the permit fee.
“Yes, I just think it’s an opportunity,” he said. “I think $75 is very reasonable.”
Councilman Lloyd Martin said he could not support the increase as proposed at this time.
“I like what you said about waiting until after we have a non-COVID year,” he said. “I think it’s a hit. Right now, I’m not ready to increase it from the $75.”
Mayor Rick Meehan said the program would likely continue to expand and suggested revisiting the issue again after the summer and a return somewhat to post-COVID normalcy.
“I think you’re going to see the number of bonfire permits increase rather than decrease,” he said. “I think you would see the number of complaints go up and I think you’re going to see the use of that bucket truck become a normal procedure at some point in time. I can see where Councilman DeLuca is going with an incremental increase. We should look at it at the end of the summer.”
With DeLuca’s motion still on the floor after Paddack withdrew his second, Councilman John Gehrig entered a motion to begin the process of raising the bonfire permit fee from $75 to $85. That motion passed on a 4-3 vote with DeLuca, Gehrig, James and Frank Knight in favor, and Martin, Paddack and Peter Buas opposed.
