WEST AMWELL: Township takes action to preserve 42 acres

With help from Green Acres and the Delaware and Raritan Greenway

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
   WEST AMWELL — The West Amwell Township Committee has adopted an ordinance under which the township can partner with Green Acres and the Delaware and Raritan Greenway to preserve permanently as open space a 42-acre tract in the southern section of the township.
   The committee adopted the measure at its May 13 meeting, Lora Olsen, township clerk, said. The ordinance had been introduced by the committee on April 24.
   The ordinance authorizes the township to contribute $45,000 from its open space trust fund toward the purchase of the property, located off Woodens Lane near Hopewell Township in one of the most scenic areas of the Delaware Valley, with farms among lush, rolling hills.
   The total price of the property is $425,000, officials said, with Green Acres and the Delaware and Raritan Greenway covering the portion of the cost the township will not pay.
   Green Acres, a state agency that works to preserve open space, and the Delaware and Raritan Greenway, a nonprofit organization that has been involved in many open space preservation projects, would pay the balance of the cost of the property.
   SCHEDULED shortly after press time Wednesday (May 22) was a Township Committee meeting during which officials planned to hold a public hearing and adoption vote on its proposed 2013 budget.
   If adopted, the proposed spending plan would lower the municipal tax rate 1 cent per $100 of assessed property. The budget was introduced by the Township Committee on April 24.
   ”If adopted on May 22, the tax rate would drop to 25 cents,” said Tom Carro, the township’s chief financial officer.
   ”The average home, assessed at $400,000, would save an estimated $48 per year.” Under the proposed spending plan, the township’s open space tax rate would stay at 6 cents, Mr. Carro said.
   Local taxes would pay for $1,115,562 of the budget, copies of which are available at the municipal building.
   Miscellaneous revenues would cover $1,625,293. Receipts from delinquent taxes would cover $240,000, and the township would use $408,000 in surplus funds.
   The township, which has 38 employees, would pay $1,271,295 in wages and benefits if the spending plan is adopted. Other expenses total $1,215,639. Debt service totals $663,441, while the reserve set aside for uncollected taxes is $255,000.
   The township’s total debt is $5,874,728. Of that amount, $4,406,046 is principal; $1,468,682 is interest.