By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
UPPER FREEHOLD — The township’s Open Space Committee is offering residents the information they need to put their “2 cents” in during November’s election.
Liz Bloss-Kwasnik, chairwoman of the Open Space Committee, presented information on an upcoming open space referendum during last week’s Township Committee meeting.
The referendum, which will appear on the November ballot, proposes a 2-cent increase in the township’s open space tax to be used specifically for farmland preservation and debt service on farmland.
The current open space tax is 4 cents per $100 of assessed value. If passed, the owner of a home assessed at the township’s $519,800 average can expect an approximate $104 increase in the open space tax bill.
Residents approved the 2-cent referendum by 62 votes during the 2007 election, but a misprint in the question asked voters to instead approve a .02-cent increase, which lead to Township Committee scrapping the results. Officials have recognized that the economy has taken a turn for the worse since that election, but voted in July to again let residents choose if the tax rate should increase.
”We are at a crossroads. If we don’t do this now, important lands could be lost to development,” Ms. Kwasnik said. “This is a powerful way to give us — the voters — the chance to weigh in on the community’s future.”
The chairwoman said that local funding is the foundation of preservation because it’s money that Upper Freehold can control. She added that competition for preservation funding at the county and state levels is “fierce.”
During her presentation, Ms. Kwasnik stressed the fact that the cost of open space in Upper Freehold is significantly less than that of residential development. For every dollar of tax revenue generated by residential development, $4.69 is spent on public services, she said, but the cost per dollar of open space is $0.16.
She added that paying off bonds for farmland preservation is finite, while the cost of services for development in the township — infrastructure, schools, fire, first aid — is “unending.”
Upper Freehold has already preserved more than 7,500 acres of land in the township, and 10,300 acres of assessed farmland remains available for preservation, according to the presentation.
Preserving more land will create tranquil areas and prevent pollution, Ms. Kwasnik said. She added that the lands could generate revenue from outdoor tourism, such as fishing, hunting and boating.
Township Administrator Barbara Bascom said voters should be aware there are three land conservation referendums on the November ballot, but that two are state questions.
The Open Space Committee has offered to give the referendum presentation to any interested parties, including homeowner groups. Anyone interested can contact the Upper Freehold Township Municipal Building, 609-758-7738.

