The council voted to draft an ordinance that would place the 2-cent tax on the November ballot.
By: Jennifer Potash
The Princeton Borough Council has moved closer to putting a referendum for a 2-cent open-space tax on the November ballot.
The council voted 5-1 Tuesday to draft an ordinance that would place the tax on the November ballot. Councilman David Goldfarb voted no.
The ordinance is expected to be introduced at the June 20 council meeting, and could be approved as early as July 11.
Under the proposed 2-cent open-space tax, the owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $340,962 would pay $68 a year.
The council spent more than two hours Tuesday on the open-space tax issue, with the bulk of the time spent determining the wording of the ballot question.
At the core of the issue was the objection from several council members that the proceeds from an open-space tax not be used to finance the debt on existing parks and recreation projects that the borough finances out of its annual budget.
After attempting to write the question themselves and rejecting the sample wording drafted by Borough Attorney Michael J. Herbert, the council agreed to use the wording in the state statute that grants municipalities the authority to have an open-space tax, with one exception. The borough’s ordinance would not have an inclusion for acquisition of farmland, which is permitted by state statute. It would include wording for the acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation, maintenance, historic preservation and debt service for the acquired lands.
The proponents of the tax on Borough Council have enough votes to adopt the ordinance.
Two council members oppose the ordinance.
Council President Roger Martindell said he agrees with the idea of an open-space tax, but believes a community group should put the question on the ballot, not the Borough Council.
“I will vote against it,” he said. “I don’t think voting the question on the ballot is a question of leadership. I think it’s a question of followership.”
Councilman Goldfarb, who argued that the Borough Council already budgets more money for recreation lands than a 2-cent open-space tax would raise, does not support the tax.
A longtime proponent of a council-led effort to put an open-space tax on the ballot, Councilwoman Wendy Bentley called colleagues before the meeting to rally support for the ordinance. Councilwoman Mildred Trotman, who during the meeting seemed to agree with Mr. Goldfarb, said Wednesday that she would support the ordinance.
“I am going to support it but it is reluctantly,” she said. “What pushed my vote is that we are going to be eligible for Green Acres funds, which we really need to tap into, if this is at all possible.”
Councilman Ryan Lilienthal also appeared to support the council’s effort to put the question on the ballot Tuesday. He was not available for comment Wednesday or Thursday.
Should a tie vote occur, Mayor Marvin Reed said he would break the tie with a vote to put the ordinance on the ballot.
With an open-space tax, the borough would have access to Mercer County open-space grants and state Green Acres grants and loans, said Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi.
Also, according to Mayor Reed, the Green Acres administration informed him that if the borough were to partner with Princeton Township on applications for those grants, the Princetons would receive a higher priority.
Mr. Goldfarb seemed skeptical about that.
“That’s all been repeated as if it were the gospel from Mount Sinai,” he said.
The joint Princeton Environmental Commission and the Friends of Princeton Open Space have lobbied the Borough Council to put the open-space tax question on the ballot.
The Friends group has drafted a petition calling for an open-space tax that would provide for the acquisition and development of open space and for debt service, but not for historic preservation.
After learning of the council’s decision to move forward with the ordinance, the executive committee of the Friends of Princeton Open Space met Wednesday and decided to go ahead with a petition but “to modify the wording of the petition to conform to what the Borough Council proposes,” said Friends President Wendy Mager.
Getting a jump on gathering the signatures to meet the September deadline for citizens to file for a referendum will provide a backup in case the council does not approve the ordinance, she said.
As the borough does not have any large tracts of land that could be used for recreation, either active or passive, the most likely scenario would be the borough partnering with neighboring Princeton Township to purchase parcels located in the township.
The mayor said that the joint Recreation Department is looking into the possibility of purchasing land in neighboring Montgomery or West Windsor townships, as the land is less expensive.
Princeton Township, which approved a 1-cent open-space tax in 1998, may consider increasing its tax if the borough makes a commitment to a dedicated tax, Mayor Reed said.