Millstone's open space tax will increase 1 cent Township boasts over 5,200 acres preserved; more in the process BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer MILLSTONE - By a slim margin, voters decided to further build the township's coffers for open space preservation. In the Nov. 7 election, Millstone Township voters approved a 1-cent increase in the open space tax by a margin of 1,506 to 1,426. Township taxpayers formerly paid 5 cents per $100 of assessed property value for the preservation of open space, which meant that a homeowner whose house was assessed at the township's average of $395,400 paid approximately $198 in open space taxes per year. With a 6-cent open space tax, the average homeowner will now pay just under $40 more per year, which totals about $237 annually. The township will use the raised revenue for acquisition, preservation, maintenance and improvement of lands for open space, conservation and recreation, as well as farmland preservation and historic preservation purposes. Mayor Nancy Grbelja, whom voters re-elected on Nov. 7, said the township has more than 5,200 acres of permanently preserved open space and farmland, and that it is in the process of preserving even more acreage. To maximize the amount of land it can preserve, Grbelja said the municipality has partnered with the state and the county, along with organizations such as the Monmouth Conservation Foundation (MCF) and the Delaware & Raritan (D&R) Greenway Land Trust in Princeton. When asked what the township's goal is in terms of how much land it wants to preserve, Grbelja replied, "As much as we can." Township Committeeman Elias Abilheira, who also won re-election on Nov. 7, said he feels voters received all the information the Township Committee tried to disseminate about the open space tax question and that they made an informed decision to support the 1-cent tax increase. Abilheira said he felt the results of the question could have gone either way, but that residents must have recognized the governing body's reform of the township's open space program into a more effective and efficient initiative that would help to preserve more open space. Abilheira said that the passage of the additional penny for open space preservation will permit the township to continue to surpass the preservation milestones that the township's Open Space Committee keeps setting. "Making sure that program keeps moving forward by leaps and bounds will be key," he said. Township voters first approved an open space tax levy of 1 cent per $100 of assessed valuation in November 1995. In 1997, they raised the open space tax levy to 3 cents and in 1999 approved a 5-cent levy.