The borough had the 20th-highest property tax rate in New Jersey with an equalized rate of 4.442% in 2020, compared to 3.470% in the county as a whole and a statewide average of 2.279%.[21]
History
Mount Ephraim was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 23, 1926, from portions of the now-defunct Centre Township. The boroughs of Bellmawr, Runnemede and Lawnside were simultaneously created during the same two-day period.[22] The borough was named for Ephraim Albertson, who owned a tavern in the area in the early 1800s.[23][24]
In a 1981 decision in Schad v. Mount Ephraim, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision authored for the majority by Associate Justice Byron White, the court decided by a 7–2 margin to overturn the convictions of the two owners of a bookstore where there was nude dancing, despite a prohibition against all forms of live entertainment in the borough's zoning ordinance. The decision cited the First Amendment rights of the storeowners.[25][26]
In January 2014, New Jersey State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney put forward a proposal which was intended to lower real estate taxes in the state and cut state expenses by merging many of the states 566 municipalities. Mount Ephraim was then the 29th largest town in Camden County, so it is very likely that the town would have been merged with neighboring municipalities to cut costs, share expenses, reduce bureaucracy, share resources, and reduce the burden in the taxpayers and the state itself. Mount Ephraim was formerly part of Centre Township, which included all of the neighboring communities, and it is possible that the name may be used again in the future if the merger proposal goes forward.[27]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 0.91 square miles (2.34 km2), including 0.88 square miles (2.29 km2) of land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km2) of water (2.31%).[1][2]
On September 4, 2012, at 6:31 p.m., a tornado touched down in Mount Ephraim, causing damage to trees and homes in the immediate vicinity. It was categorized as F-0 by the National Weather Service, with winds topping out at 70 mph, making it the first tornado recorded in the state in more than a year.[31]
Of the 1,909 households, 26.6% had children under the age of 18; 45.6% were married couples living together; 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 37.5% were non-families. Of all households, 31.2% were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.11.[18]
20.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 93.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 92.4 males.[18]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $61,331 (with a margin of error of +/− $6,103) and the median family income was $73,955 (+/− $4,630). Males had a median income of $51,049 (+/− $3,914) versus $41,087 (+/− $3,242) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $29,885 (+/− $5,190). About 5.6% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.9% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.[37]
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census,[15] there were 4,495 people and 1,174 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,100.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,969.2/km2). There were 1,881 housing units at an average density of 2,134.2 per square mile (824.0/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.51% White, 0.40% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.98% of the population.[35][36]
There were 1,818 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.13.[35][36]
In the borough, the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.[35][36]
The median income for a household in the borough was $44,824, and the median income for a family was $59,468. Males had a median income of $41,455 versus $30,359 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,150. About 2.0% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.[35][36]
Government
Local government
Mount Ephraim has been governed under the Walsh Act by a three-member commission, since 1935. The borough is one of 30 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government.[38] The governing body is comprised of three commissioners, who are elected at-large on a non-partisan basis in elections held as part of the November municipal election to serve concurrent terms of office. Each commissioner is assigned a department to oversee as part of their elected service and a mayor is selected by the commissioners from the three candidates elected.[6][39][40] In January 2023, the commissioners voted to shift municipal elections from May to the November general election, citing the savings achieved as the cost of November elections are covered by the county while May elections are conducted at the expense of the municipality.[41] Term-end dates for those commissioners serving when the ordinance was adopted were extended to December 2023.[42]
As of 2024[update], Mount Ephraim's commissioners are
Mayor Susan Carney (Commissioner of Public Affairs and Public Safety),
Michael Marrone (Commissioner of Public Works, Parks and Public Property)
Joseph Wolk (Commissioner of Revenue and Finance), all of whom are serving concurrent terms of office that end December 31, 2028.[3][43][44]
Federal, state and county representation
Mount Ephraim is located in the 1st Congressional District[45] and is part of New Jersey's 5th state legislative district.[46][47][48]
Camden County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners comprised of seven members chosen at-large in partisan elections for three-year terms on a staggered basis by the residents of the county, with either two or three seats up for election each year as part of the November general election. At a reorganization meeting held in January after each election, the newly constituted Board of Commissioners selects one member to serve as Director and another as Deputy Director, each serving a one-year term in that role.[55] As of 2024[update], Camden County's Commissioners are:
Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. (D, Collingswood, 2026),[56]
Commissioner Deputy Director Edward T. McDonnell (D, Pennsauken Township, 2025),[57]
Virginia Ruiz Betteridge (D, Runnemede, 2025),[58]
Almar Dyer (D, Pennsauken Township, 2024),[59]
Melinda Kane (D, Cherry Hill, 2024),[60]
Jeffrey L. Nash (D, Winslow Township, 2024),[61] and
Jonathan L. Young Sr. (D, Berlin Township, 2026).[62][55][63][64][65]
As of March 2011, there were a total of 3,110 registered voters in Mount Ephraim, of which 1,402 (45.1%) were registered as Democrats, 403 (13.0%) were registered as Republicans and 1,305 (42.0%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties.[73]
In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 60.7% of the vote (1,278 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 37.7% (793 votes), and other candidates with 1.7% (35 votes), among the 2,131 ballots cast by the borough's 3,320 registered voters (25 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 64.2%.[74][75] In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 58.6% of the vote (1,334 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain, who received around 37.6% (855 votes), with 2,275 ballots cast among the borough's 3,086 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.7%.[76] In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 58.8% of the vote (1,309 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush, who received around 39.9% (888 votes), with 2,228 ballots cast among the borough's 2,982 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 74.7.[77]
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 62.9% of the vote (753 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 35.9% (430 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (15 votes), among the 1,222 ballots cast by the borough's 3,353 registered voters (24 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 36.4%.[78][79] In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 47.3% of the vote (621 ballots cast), ahead of both Republican Chris Christie with 42.7% (560 votes) and Independent Chris Daggett with 6.2% (81 votes), with 1,312 ballots cast among the borough's 3,127 registered voters, yielding a 42.0% turnout.[80]
As of May 2010[update], the borough had a total of 16.67 miles (26.83 km) of roadways, of which 13.25 miles (21.32 km) were maintained by the municipality, 2.35 miles (3.78 km) by Camden County and 1.07 miles (1.72 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.[90]
^"Here are the 30 N.J. towns with the highest property tax rates", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, March 15, 2021. Accessed January 19, 2022. "The average equalized tax rate in New Jersey was 2.279 in 2020, according to data from the Department of Community Affairs. Here is the list of 30 New Jersey towns with the highest property tax rates.... 20. Mount Ephraim Equalized tax rate in Mount Ephraim Borough, Camden County, was 4.442 in 2020 Average equalized tax rate in Camden County: 3.470
^A Brief History, Borough of Mount Ephraim. Accessed September 8, 2015. "Originally a colonial settlement, the town Mount Ephraim came into popularity by a man named Ephraim Albertson, who owned the Public House, also called the Old Tavern, a popular meeting place, at Black Horse Pike & Kings Highway, from 1800 to 1825."
^Prowell, George Reeser. The History of Camden County, New Jersey, p. 711. Richards, 1886. Accessed September 8, 2015. "A public house has been kept in this locality from a period so remote that the memory of the oldest citizen does not reach it. The first keeper is not remembered, but it is believed to have been Albertson from whom the village obtained its name and who owned the land."
^Greenhouse, Linda. "High Court Rejects Ban On Live Entertainment", The New York Times, June 2, 1981. Accessed January 20, 2022. "The Court, voting 7 to 2, reversed the convictions of two owners of a so-called adult bookstore in Mount Ephraim, N.J., who were fined $300 for exhibiting a live nude dancer in a glass booth in their shop. While the bookstore was licensed to show films of nude dancers on coin-operated machines, Mount Ephraim's zoning ordinance banned all live entertainment.... While today's opinion, by Associate Justice Byron R. White, stopped short of defining the permissible limits of zoning regulation, it rejected the New Jersey courts' premise that zoning laws exist apart from First Amendment considerations."
^Hudson Jr., David L. "Schad v. Mount Ephraim (1981)", The First Amendment Encyclopedia. Accessed January 20, 2022. "The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Schad v. Mount Ephraim, 452 U.S. 61 (1981), that a municipality cannot impose a complete ban on live entertainment, including nonobscene nude dancing."
^via Associated Press. "Tornado confirmed in Mount Ephraim, New Jersey", WABC-TV, September 5, 2012. Accessed June 5, 2013. "The National Weather Service says a tornado touched down in southern New Jersey, the first confirmed one in the state in more than a year. Meteorologist Mitchell Gaines says it was an F-0 twister - the lowest classification."
^"Ordinance Adopted to Move Municipal Election to November", Borough of Mount Ephraim, January 23, 2023. Accessed June 8, 2023. "The Mayor and Commissioners adopted an ordinance at the February 2 commission meeting to move the municipal election from May to November. The reason for this change is because of the budget savings. May municipal elections are paid for entirely by the municipality whereas a lot of the costs of the November election are borne by Camden County. For this year, the town anticipates saving about $12,000 in election costs."
^Biryukov, Nikita. "Incumbents narrowly re-elected in Mt. Ephraim Gies replaces retiring commissioner", New Jersey Globe, May 14, 2019. Accessed September 18, 2019. "Incumbents have won re-election in Mt. Ephraim. Mayor Joseph Wolk and Commissioner Traz Tovinsky were re-elected Tuesday. George Gies, a newcomer running on their slate, won the seat held by Commissioner Andrew Gilmore, who did not seek re-election."
^Full Biography, Congressman Donald Norcross. Accessed January 3, 2019. "Donald and his wife Andrea live in Camden City and are the proud parents of three grown children and grandparents of two."
^Biography of Bob Menendez, United States Senate, January 26, 2015. "Menendez, who started his political career in Union City, moved in September from Paramus to one of Harrison's new apartment buildings near the town's PATH station.."
^Nicolosi, Peggy. "Report on Non-Operating School District: Audubon Park", Camden County Executive County Superintendent, June 30, 2009. Accessed December 13, 2014. "In addition to students from Audubon Park, Audubon also receives high school students from Mount Ephraim Public Schools."
^McPherson, Chris. "Dan Baker: The Man Behind The Voice"Archived 2018-02-16 at the Wayback Machine, Philadelphia Eagles, September 6, 2014. Accessed February 16, 2018. "He was born at Woman's Hospital in the East Falls section of Philadelphia and raised on Springfield Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia before moving just across the Walt Whitman Bridge to Mount Ephraim, N.J. in his youth."
^Clarke, Bob. [1], New Jersey Monthly, November 15, 2010. Accessed September 20, 2021. "The people were nice to us, so South Jersey became home. I bought a house in the early 1970s in Mount Ephraim, right on the main street, Kings Highway."
^Associated Press [2], South Coast Today, August 3, 1997. Accessed September 20, 2021.
United States
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