A Monmouth County borough will receive over $60 million as part of an agreement with Netflix to build a new movie studio in their backyard.
Oceanport Borough Council voted unanimously to enter into a PILOT, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes, agreement with the streaming giant at a meeting Thursday.
"We are now prepared to welcome Netflix into our municipality," Oceanport Mayor Thomas J. Tvrdik said.
The movie studio will be built at former military base Old Fort Monmouth.
Neighboring municipalities who are also near the former base, like Eatontown, have negotiated similar agreements.
However, Oceanport's deal is unique.
"Eatontown is taking 47, almost $50 million up front for infrastructure improvements, whatever they may be," Tvrdik said on Thursday. "Oceanport felt we were in a great position over the last years with the roads, the parks, the brand new municipal complex, our police department where we didn't try to take out a bond or pull any money up front out of this and spread it over the 30 years."
The borough will receive a total of $64 million over the next three decades, and Oceanport Borough Council said it plans to use the Netflix money to lower taxes.
"It is especially meaningful that this investment is occurring on property that, as a former military base, has never contributed to our tax base. For the first time, our residents will benefit from meaningful tax revenue from this site," the mayor said.