Open Space Referendum a Question of Dollars and Cents

Taxpayers of Hillsborough need to focus on the real issues in the Open Space Referendum proposed by the Township Committee for a vote on Nov. 5. During my tenure as Hillsborough Township Committeewoman, I served three years as liaison to the Hillsborough Open Space Advisory Committee. Large acres of open space and farmland in Hillsborough have been acquired and protected from development by both Democratic and Republican administrations. Open space acquisition is not a partisan issue! 

I am convinced that most of our residents supported the acquisition of open space and preservation of farmland when they established the Hillsborough Open Space Tax by referendum almost a decade ago. I am also convinced that most taxpayers want to have access for passive and active recreation on the land that their tax dollars purchased. 

These are not the issues that we must decide in the Referendum which is being fast tracked by the Township Committee with little public information. 

It is the question of how our open space tax revenues are to be used in the future. It is a money issue, period!  All of our parks, trails, ball fields to date have been funded by county and state grants, developer contributions, local property taxes, Green Acres funds, local fund raising and volunteerism.

Now, the Township Committee is recommending that  20 percent of our open space tax money be diverted for poorly defined and unspecified capital projects to provide access to Hillsborough open space. This means that Township Committees, present and future, will have $300,000 of open space tax money annually in perpetuity to use as a slush fund for capital projects. The purpose for the creation of the Open Space tax was to acquire and preserve land. This tax should go out of existence when desirable parcels of land are no longer available to buy or preserve and not diverted for other purposes. 

I urge voters to reject this referendum on Nov. 5.  Instead, the Township Committee should do a thorough needs assessment immediately, obtain the advice of the Open Space and Environmental Committees, Recreation and Parks Commissions as to their

   recommendations for appropriate access projects. Projects should be prioritized and cost analyses completed.

The township should seek and obtain funding from the Somerset County Open Space tax that already has diverted 25 percent of its funds for capital projects. Hillsborough taxpayers for years have contributed both to the county open space tax and our local open space tax and successfully preserved more open space in the county than most other communities. Any access projects to that land should be supported by the county tax.

When the Township Committee determines that a capital project(s) is desirable and if more money is needed beyond existing  and traditional sources of revenue, it should float a referendum with specifics to the voters of Hillsborough for their approval.

The taking down of opposition posters by our Zoning officer, input from open space advocates from a neighboring community, and charges of partisanship by Mayor Del Core are just distractions from the real issues at hand. Let’s keep our eye on the ball and focus on the real issues.  Remember to vote!

 Sonya Martin