Trying to put a price on preserving U.F.
Officials consider putting open space tax increase to a vote in November
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD - Residents may get a chance to put their money where the township's remaining open space is this November.

The Township Committee continued to discuss at its Aug. 16 meeting the possibility of placing a question on the general election ballot asking residents to raise the township's open space/farmland preservation tax. Residents currently spend 4 cents per $100 of assessed value on the township's preservation efforts.

Township Administrator Barbara Bascom told the Township Committee that Monmouth County has an Aug. 24 deadline for receiving referendum information for the November election.

The township has more than 7,000 acres in the Farmland Preservation Program, according to Bascom, with another 1,000 acres in the process of becoming preserved.

Resident Phil Sinicropi said the township is very fortunate to have Bascom leading its preservation program and that Bascom has a thorough understanding of the issue. Sinicropi also praised Committeemen David Reed and Bob Faber and Deputy Mayor William Miscoski for putting their own properties into preservation programs.

"You will leave your legacy, as we are at a crossroads here," Sinicropi said.

Sinicropi said he has researched the open space tax issue and that the current 4-cent open space tax nets the township $640,000 per year. However, he said that money is already earmarked for ongoing preservation projects.

"Being at a crossroads and having tremendous opportunities at our feet, I think it is to our advantage to [put] an additional [open space] tax on the November ballot," he said.

Sinicropi suggested raising the tax between 2 and 4 cents more. He also suggested that the township freeze the open space tax at the current 4-cent level for property owners with preserved land and senior citizens.

"In my case, 4 cents [per $100 of assessed value] is $250 a year," Sinicropi said. "For a family of six, $250 is [the cost of] a dinner [out] a year."

Sinicropi said that he is absolutely willing to forgo a dinner out for his children's future. He said no politician wants to increase taxes, but urged committee members to get the issue on the ballot and let the voters decide in November.

Gerry Nathanson, a resident of the Four Seasons active-adult community, said he couldn't agree more with Sinicropi and that he believes others in Four Seasons would accept a reasonable increase in the open space tax.

Reed said the township should vote on raising the open space tax in the fall. He said Upper Freehold is a leader in preservation and that Bascom's work is one of the biggest reasons for that.

"More houses are built on land," he said. "I've yet to see them knocked down [to] put a farm back up."

Miscoski said he has a problem with the open space tax.

"To Phil Sinicropi, $250 may be a dinner out. To someone on a fixed income, it's a lot of money," he said.

Miscoski said that taxpayers will get hit next year with having to pay increased taxes for township bonds and the school referendum.

"The Township Committee will have a real problem keeping taxes stable next year," he said. "The taxes for the school and bonds will knock a lot of people's socks off."

Miscoski agreed with those who commended Bascom and said she has done "a hell of a job" for open space.

"You are the reason we have about 7,000 acres [in farmland preservation] in this town," he told Bascom.

Mayor Stephen Fleischacker said it's the Township Committee's responsibility to educate people in the community about open space costs.

"We need to help define the costs so people are not scared away without having facts," he said.

He said that the township can't take advantage of state and county preservation moneys if it doesn't have its own money to leverage.

"In my opinion, we should give people a choice on the referendum," he said. "It's an important discussion for the community."

Fleischacker said that preserved ground would not have houses built on it that require additional costs for items such as schools and roads.

The mayor also suggested that those residents who have the means should contribute more to the township's tax-deductible open space fund. Voluntary, tax-deductible contributions may be made to the Upper Freehold Township Open Space/Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, P.O. Box 89, Cream Ridge 08514.