COLTS NECK – Residents who go to the polls on Nov. 7 will be asked in a non-binding public question if they want to approve an increase in Colts Neck’s open space tax rate.
The open space tax rate generates revenue on an annual basis that officials use to acquire, preserve and maintain undeveloped property in Colts Neck.
At present, a township property owner pays 1.2 cents per $100 of the assessed valuation of his home and/or property into the municipal open space trust fund on an annual basis. The owner of a home assessed at $800,000 currently pays $96 into the open space trust fund.
If the open space tax rate is increased to 2.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, the owner of a home assessed at $800,000 will pay $200 per year into the open space trust fund, an increase of $104.
Mayor Russell Macnow has said that increasing the municipal open space tax rate will have long-term benefits for Colts Neck in regard to maintaining the township’s rural atmosphere and removing properties from the prospect of development that would require the provision of various services.