By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
LAMBERTVILLE — The city will pay cash, rather than bond, for the purchase of land intended for open space preservation, saving the taxpayers related costs of the bond, according to Mayor David Del Vecchio.
Initially, the city had decided to bond for the purchase of .56 acres behind the CVS pharmacy at North Union and Cherry streets, which was overwhelmingly approved by voters in November.
An ordinance for the bond was introduced Jan. 1 during the city’s annual reorganization meeting. A bond would have been for 20 years at 3.5 percent interest, according to Mayor Del Vecchio.
Instead, the city recently decided to pay for the land outright because there is about $400,000 in collected open space tax funds, the mayor said. That’s about twice what the city needs to make the purchase. The city will pay the assessed value, $196,500.
”It’s like buying your house in cash vs. a mortgage,” Mayor Del Vecchio said. “What do you save? You save a lot of money.”
The cash purchase will eliminate bond counsel fees and interest payments. The mayor did not provide a specific figure for the estimated savings.
The open space tax is 1 cent per $100 of assessed valuation. The purchase of the plot behind CVS will not increase the tax. It will, however, extend the length of time the tax is collected.
Mayor Del Vecchio said the open space tax is governed by “very strict rules” that spell out what the collected money can be used for. Specifically, it may be used for the purchase of land and its maintenance.
The collected open space tax cannot be used to offset other city expenses, such as to keep a police officer on the force or to balance the budget.
Earlier this month, the city had to lay off a five-year veteran of the police force after negotiations failed over contracted salary increases.
Voters approved the land buy 925-492. Many said they wanted to preserve the land rather than see it developed. The plot sits in a floodplain, and neighbors feared development would increase the incidence of flooding and damage to neighboring properties through runoff.

