Community Corner

Referendum Would Allow Flexibility for Tax Funds

Driving around Hillsborough I started to see signs saying to vote no to the “diversion” of Open Space Tax. Maybe it’s me but I don’t like being told no; so seeing these signs made me look into things.

Turns out, in my opinion, we should be voting yes.

The Open Space issue allows the township committee the latitude to take up to 20 percet of Hillsborough’s incoming Open Space tax and use it toward capital improvements of these properties. Whether its parks, trails or sports fields why not take broader advantage of the Open Space Tax and use it for both open space acquisition and open space improvements.

Find out what's happening in Hillsboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Did you know that the county has adopted a similar process and uses 25 percent of Open Space Tax for capital improvements? And Bridgewater uses 25 percent of incoming Open Space Tax as well as 25 percent of their existing funds for improvements. Hillsborough is not looking to use any existing funds, only incoming funds.

As I continued to research I found that Hillsborough has a solid pool of existing funds for future acquisition of open space. So again why not allow flexibility for 20 percent of the incoming tax funds to be put to work improving what Hillsborough has already acquired. The Open Space change will provide the township committee the ability to continue improving Hillsborough by better utilizing current tax dollars versus having to raise taxes. So in my book saying yes to the Open Space Tax change and putting a small but effective portion of incoming Open Space funds toward continued improvements make sense. 

Find out what's happening in Hillsboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jeffrey D. Meissner


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here