A beach badge sign on the Ortley Beach oceanfront. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
It was, generally, a cash-flow-positive summer for Toms River’s recreational amenities in 2023, as the beach season ended with an unexpected uptick in revenue and new investments at the Bey Lea golf course have paid off with those who have hit the links so far this year.
Ortley Beach saw a modest jump in beach badge revenue for the 2023 season despite continuing concerns from residents about the small width of the beach in the absence of a federal beach replenishment project that may now be delayed well into 2024.
Beach badge sales for Toms River Township largely kept pace with the 2022 season, however bested the previous year by a small margin. Last season, the township sold $640,524 in badges while this season, there were $656,243 worth of badges sold.
Pool badge sales declined slightly in 2023. Last season, the township sold $110,298 in badges compared with $99,027 in 2023.
In better news, however, improvements to the Bey Lea municipal golf course have paid off, with an increase in fees collected from those using the course measured in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. So far in 2023, the course has generated $1,570,205 in fees compared to $1,319,126 last tear. In the month of August, the course collected $300,627, compared to $265,580 last August.
Building permits were largely steady township-wide, with year-to-date permits standing at $2,480,492 so far this year compared to $2,360,512 through the same period last year.
