Open Space Tax Increase Could Go Before Howell Voters In November

HOWELL, NJ — The Howell Township Council will hold a special remote meeting Monday, Aug. 7, to adopt an ordinance to put an increase in the open space tax before the voters in a referendum in November, the township announced.

The ordinance was introduced July 18, and will be considered for second and final passage at the meeting Monday at 3 p.m. The meeting is remote, the agenda says, but you can access the agenda for ways to join or offer comments here.

Township Manager Joe Clark said the special meeting was necessary because of a change in state election deadlines:

"Some people may be wondering why we are having a special meeting for this one ordinance. The reason is very simple: After our last meeting in July (18th), when the ordinance was introduced, the state passed a new law. That law changed the deadline by which a referendum question has to be submitted to the County Clerk.

"Our old deadline was Aug. 29; under the new law, it is now Aug. 11. We did not have a regular meeting scheduled before then (the next regular meeting is Aug. 15), so we had to call a special meeting," Clark explained.

The proposed Nov. 7 referendum would amend the annual levy for the municipal Open Space, Recreation and Floodplain Protection and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund, according to the ordinance. The ordinance was introduced with four councilmembers voting in favor. The mayor was absent.

The current annual levy of a rate of two cents per one hundred dollars of assessed real property value was approved by voters in 2003 referendum, the ordinance says. The amended amount, if approved in a referendum this November, would add one cent to the tax rate, the ordinance says.

"We value open space in Howell," said Clark.

He said the money in the fund is "already being used to maintain and improve the parks we have, and is used at times to fund the acquisition of properties. If the additional open space monies are approved by the voters, we will be better able to acquire acreage for preservation, host more town-wide events, create more opportunities for our families to spend memorable times together, and increase the recreational possibilities for our residents."

He said that "People in Howell work very hard, and they deserve to have a fulfilling life in the town where they chose to settle."

Regarding the ordinance, the Township Council has determined that it would "be in the public interest to place a binding referendum question on the November, 2023 general election ballot for the purpose of assessing voter preference regarding the question as to whether the Township should amend the current levy for the Municipal Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund with an additional annual levy of a rate of one cent per one hundred dollars of assessed real property value imposed by the Township," the ordinance reads.

The additional funds raised in the amended tax would, according to the ordinance, be used for:

• Acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation purposes.
• Development of lands acquired for recreation and conservation purposes.
• Maintenance of lands acquired for recreation and conservation purposes.
• Acquisition of farmland for farmland preservation purposes.
• Historic preservation of historic properties, structures, facilities, sites, areas, or objects, and the acquisition of such properties, structures, facilities, sites, areas, or objects for historic preservation purposes.
• Blue Acres projects.
• Payment of debt service on relevant indebtedness issued or incurred by a municipality.

The ordinance contains an example of the impact of a tax rate increase, if approved:

"If the referendum is approved, an owner of real property assessed at $100,000 would annually pay $30 per year into the Township’s Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund instead of the current $20."

The ordinance would not take effect unless approved by the voters at the Nov. 7, 2023 general election.