Rafano: Open space pledge strong, despite reduction

Freeholders cut county open space tax by 1 cent

BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer

T he Middlesex County Board of Freeholders has reduced the county’s open space tax for one year, a move opposed by a local environmental group.

The board voted 6-1 at its May 6 meeting to reduce the open space tax by a penny, which brings it to 2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Freeholder H. James Polos cast the lone dissenting vote.

Freeholder Director Christopher D. Rafano said the county will still be able to fully fund all of its open space commitments for the year. There is still $92 million sitting in the open space coffers for additional acquisitions and recreational improvements, he said.

“Our policy remains unwavering; we will continue to aggressively pursue the purchase of land for open space preservation,” he said.

Middlesex County voters previously approved a referendum that called for a 3-cent tax to be set aside for open space acquisition.

And that’s what angers Edison Wetlands Association Director Robert Spiegel. The county had no right to go against voters’ wishes by reducing the tax by a penny, he has said. Members of the environmental group held demonstrations to protest the cut outside the county administration building in New Brunswick before the last two freeholder board meetings.

Rafano said the one-year decrease in the open space tax will allow the county to avoid an increase in the overall county tax rate this year.

“We were elected to act in the best interests of all of our residents,” he said. “It is critical to offer needed services. It is critical to offer tax relief. And it is critical to preserve open space.”

Spiegel has accused county officials of “mismanagement” and said they are using the open space funds to balance the budget, a charge Rafano denied.

The county has frozen salaries for the past two years, reduced operating expenses during that time, and cut 45 positions through attrition, he said. The county has also established shared-services agreements that Rafano expects will bring in $25 million over the next 10 years.

And unlike counties that have eliminated or severely curtailed their open space programs, Middlesex has not, he said.

The county has already acquired 7,100 acres of open space and preserved more than 5,000 acres of farmland, Rafano said.

“Our commitment has not and will not change,” he said. “Our goal is to preserve 10,000 acres of open space by 2012, and we are on track to do that.”