Politics & Government

Township Looks To Adjust Open Space Tax Rate

If the rate is not changed, taxpayers would see an increase in their tax bills, Committee members said.

To prevent taxpayers from overpaying into the land preservation trust fund, the township intends to reduce its Open Space tax rate prior to the Aug. 1 tax bill.

The change, which was announced at the Tuesday Township Committee meeting, comes because of the county-ordered property revaluations.  If the Open Space tax rate were left static, taxpayers would likely end up seeing an increase in the amount paid to the open space tax fund.

The Open Space tax rate was set in 1995 at a rate of 4 cents per $100 of assessed property value and is a fixed tax rate, Finance Committee liaison Carl Suraci said.

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The Township’s Attorney, Albert Cruz, will determine the method that the committee will use to implement the rate reduction, according to Mayor Gloria McCauley.

Citing a March 13 Star-Ledger article, McCauley noted that many New Jersey municipalities with open space taxes that underwent property tax revaluations saw increases from leaving the rate constant.

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“That will not happen in Hillsborough,” she said. “While the total value of property in Hillsborough has increased, the Township Committee is committed to ensuring that there will be no increase in revenue to the government from the revaluation.  To achieve that goal, the open space tax must be reduced by a proportionate amount.”

“In a sense, it is taking in more money for open space without telling the taxpayers,” McCauley said. “The revaluation should not have raised taxes for the taxpayer in any way.”

The open space tax provides funds for preserving open space and farmland in Hillsborough, with about 10,000 acres—about 29 percent of the 54-square-mile town—preserved.

“In reducing the open space tax rate, the annual revenue level should be maintained in order to ensure the township has the funds needed to continue to preserve land,” McCauley said.  “Hillsborough has a very successful record of preserving thousands of acres from development and it must continue.  But it must do so without unfairly overtaxing our taxpayers.”


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