No Beach Tag? No Problem

Summer's winding down and so is beach tag enforcement in one South Jersey resort community.

Officials in Ventnor say the city used up its $15,000 budget to pay the people who check beach badges and decided last week not to bring them back for the remainder of the season. City Commissioner John Piatt says a limited budget due to a state-imposed spending cap and a long stretch of sunny weather that kept the checkers working almost every day since mid-June contributed to the shortfall.

Piatt said something similar happened two years ago. He said most badges already have been purchased, so the revenue loss won't be significant. Ventnor Beach Patrol Capt. Bill Howarth Jr. said the lifeguard budget is separate and they're not affected.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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