Brigantine, for far too long, has suffered from a serious lack of proper marketing, promotion and awareness. Ask the average person in Philly or Jersey what they know about Brigantine, and they’ll either have NO idea…or they’ll mention the long departed Brigantine Castle or the overblown issue of green heads. Those types of answers are too common for our taste and they have a direct affect on your Brigantine home value.
Why should you care? It impacts the financial well being of everyone that either lives, works or invests in Brigantine. It contributes to the recent tax increases and property value declines. It keeps retail properties like the old Burger King and 7-11 sitting empty. It doesn’t have to be that way.
We could, once again, write about the in-effective Brigantine Chamber of Commerce, scaring away Ron Jaworski from saving our golf course, and the various economic committees in town, but we won’t.
Instead, we’ll point the finger at those who look the other way while our Brigantine’s leadership regularly drops the economic ball.
As Councilman Sera openly admitted, he believe the real economic driver of Brigantine is 2nd home-owner rateables (Real Estate taxes)….not tourism. The revenue that comes from 75% of Brigantine taxpayers….that don’t cast a vote in Brigantine….is what pays for a bloated public employee staff.
These issues are rarely discussed at City Council meetings, even though tourism & Real Estate have a direct connection to EVERY taxpayer on the island. These items even affect the second homeowners who can’t vote.
And for those that think BrigantineNOW’s goal is to turn our island into a crazy Wildwood…..you’re doing your neighbors & friends a great dis-service with that propaganda.
The goal of BrigantineNOW is to boost property values, retail traffic and overall awareness of Brigantine Beach. That’s why we take pictures, do videos, write stories…. and post them online for all to see. Not just those who live full time in Brigantine. And yes, we often highlight negative stories showing complete disregard for 2nd home-owners who foot 75% of the town’s bills. the most recent Mad Dog Morgan / Golf Course scam is one such example.
We really hate seeing empty store fronts and mediocre home sales, especially since Brigantine has an array of unique assets that can’t be found anywhere else: big & healthy beaches, a beautiful golf course, superior fishing, family friendly environment, under-values Real Estate, 4×4 beaches, 2 minutes to Atlantic City…….etc….
Was it a good idea to let the past police chief maintains the BB-NJ website? Did promoting non-Brigantine business help grow the Brigantine economy? We’d be happy if they would just use the spell checker every so often.
Remember when a city union employee attacked Brigantine’s City Manager with a full page newspaper ad….during 4th of July weekend? Complete lunacy, but typical in Brigantine. Why air your dirty laundry in front of those who spend money here? The Public Safety union head was free to get angry at the city manager, but geez, do it behind closed doors.
And shame on the ‘Brigantine Times’ for running that ad. They took the money and turned their head. Shame on you, Brigantine Times.
Another classic Brigantine economy killer of the past: Placing a giant sign for all to see…announcing your shoobie party. Pretty dumb. Have your party, but don’t do the big sign. Common courtesy.
Ok. We’re done ranting. For now.
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Just look at pg.5 of this week’s Beachcomber newspaper.It lists all the residents who can’t afford to pay their taxes.Hundreds of homeowners on a small island that can’t afford the taxes tells you something about the economy & the tax rate.Everything possible should be done to encourage business & get the best deal for the golf course to help the middle class who live here….
Yes Brigantine needs more marketing, promotion and awareness. Brigantine Now needs to get a handle on it.