In a little more than three weeks, residents of Hopewell Township will be asked to vote on whether they should approve or reject the $4.1 million bond ordinance that would reserve 267,000 gallons of daily sewerage capacity for the southern part of Hopewell Township.
In an effort to continue informing these residents why they should vote no on May 8, our organization will respond to some common questions we’ve been recently asked. Will my taxes go up if I vote yes for the ordinance? They will increase since the ordinance requires township taxpayers to pay to reserve the sewerage capacity.
Approval of the bond ordinance will increase township debt about 4 percent from the current $102 million to $106 million. At 3 percent interest on a 30-year bond, township residents will pay more than $2 million over the next decade in principal and interest payments to pay for the reserve capacity.
We believe that the actual users, especially the commercial users, should pay to reserve the sewerage capacity — not the taxpayers. The Township Committee should roll up its sleeves and adopt an ordinance that is user-funded.
Will voting against the bond ordinance result in health problems in the southern part of the township?
During the months preceding the adoption of the ordinance, the vast majority of residents in the neighborhoods where the sewers were being proposed vigorously objected to the high cost to tie into the sewers (more than $40,000/home). Due to these protests, the Township Committee agreed to not require these neighborhoods to tie into the sewer system. If there was a significant health problem in these neighborhoods, it did not factor into the Township Committee’s decision to not compel them from hooking into the system.
Further, we do not see an outpouring of residents from these neighborhoods urging voters to approve the referendum.
Will approving the ordinance result in unplanned development? As discussed above, the Township Committee did not require the neighborhoods to tie into the sewer system. However, the majority of the Township Committee voted to reserve the full 267,000 gallons of reserve sewerage capacity.
Since these neighborhoods were originally planned to use about half of the 267,000 gallons, the majority of the Township Committee (less Vanessa Sandom) essentially caused a surplus of “orphaned” reserve capacity. This surplus is enough to meet the needs of nearly 500 new homes. We believe that developers will be eyeing this surplus, and that the ordinance should thus be rejected.
An improved ordinance that properly accounts for the amount of reserve capacity should now be developed and adopted. An improved and promptly implemented ordinance also would eliminate any potential for the “builder’s remedy” that some critics fear.
We hope our responses to your questions assist you in determining which way to vote on May 8. It is obvious to our organization that the voters should send a clear message to the Township Committee to get to work on a new ordinance that resolves the above issues. Say no to a new tax on May 8!
Robert Kecskes, chairman
Citizens for Tax Choice
