The 24-percent rate increase comes as New Jersey Natural Gas' top executives saw their executive compensation skyrocket in recent years.
BELMAR -- For Ellen Ramey, the thought of having to pay $21 more a month for natural gas frustrates her.
The 80-year-old Belmar resident said she's on a fixed income, and already has to pay a lot for Medicaid, medicine and other expenses.
"It's truly unfair of them to raise (rates)," Ramey said. "I really disagree with what they're trying to do."
Ramey made her comments at a podium in front of Federici's on 10th pizza restaurant in Belmar, flanked by local mayors and officials who gathered Wednesday morning to speak out against the 24-percent rate hike proposed by New Jersey Natural Gas. As reported by NJ Advance Media, the utility company that serves half a million people mainly in Ocean and Monmouth counties proposed the steep increase as its top executives have seen their overall compensation skyrocket in recent years.
"As mayors, we have to balance our budget every year and we always have to live within our means," said Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty, who is running for Monmouth County freeholder. "We're called upon today to do more with less. And if we ever thought about proposing a 24-percent increase in property taxes ... you'd be reading about us in the most recent obituary.
"What makes the 24-percent increase really outrageous and unacceptable," Doherty continued, "is when you juxtapose it to the excessive increases in compensation for the executives at New Jersey Natural Gas. We're talking about Wall Street-type salaries to manage the smallest gas utility in the state of New Jersey."
New Jersey Natural Gas says the rate increase is its first since 2007, and is necessary to mend its ailing infrastructure. It also contends its uptick in executive compensation has no impact on the rate increase.
Brick Mayor John Ducey said an increase may be necessary, but 24-percent is just too much for the middle class families and senior citizens in his township.
"The concern (senior citizens) have isn't as small as, 'OK, I'm going to spend one less meal a week or something out,'" Ducey said. "It's more of what bill am I not going to pay."
Ocean Township Mayor Chris Siciliano echoed that sentiment.
"What seniors do besides cut back on buying food or going out or doing entertainment, they turn the heat down," Siciliano said. "These folks would rather break down to bare bones than to be comfortable. We can't do that."
New Jersey Natural Gas, which services half a million people in the state, wants to hike its rates by 24 percent. (File photo by MaryAnn Spoto | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) The petition for the rake increase, which amounts to $21.69 increase in an average customer's monthly bill, was filed with the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in November 2015, and is currently before an administrative law judge. In 2015, total executive compensation for NJNG's top five executives was nearly $13 million, up 40 percent from the previous year and nearly double compared to 2011.
A NJNG spokesman, Michael Kinney, said executive compensation and return on investments derive from the entirety of New Jersey Resources, the parent company of NJNG, which has several subsidiaries that provide other services.
Dena Mottola Jaborska, executive director of New Jersey Citizen Action Associates, an advocacy group, said the rate hike is one of the biggest she's seen in a "really long time."
"This is the kind of rate hike that you don't see very often," she said, adding that the increase is just one more way to get New Jersey Resources shareholders more profit.
"Quite frankly, this is not the time to do that," Mottola Jaborska said. "Utility companies are here to serve the public interest."
For local and small business owners, the rate increase will cut into their profits, the lifeline of their livelihood, said Federici's owner Michael Federici.
"As a small business owner we watch every dollar, even small increases can make the difference between turning a profit or not," Federici said. "This much of an increase would be extremely painful for a small business like us."
The increase puts a heavy burden on business that are still recovering from the Great Recession, said Jerome Montes, business representative for the New Jersey Main Street alliance, a coalition of more than 1,600 businesses in the state.
"Several thousands of dollars could mean the difference between staying open and shutting your doors completely," Montes said.
As Doherty was finishing the press conference, about a dozen NJNG workers strolled up and stood in the back. The workers were members of the union, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW, Local 1820.
Local 1820 Vice President Ed Davis, 55, of Beachwood, said the union members took off from work and came to the press conference to show their support for their company.
"We had Sandy, the infrastructure is bad and they are trying to replace it. For us all to have gas, we have to pay," Davis said. "They've upgraded our system tremendously, and they need help."
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.