If West Windsor residents don’t want the amount they pay in municipal open space taxes to double, they will vote “yes” on a referendum question on the Tuesday, November 8.##M:[more]##
Aside from having an opportunity to vote for or against township resident Douglas Forrester, the Republican candidate for governor, the question is the only local issue on the ballot.
The referendum, if approved, will lower the open space tax from 7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 5 cents, but is not expected to decrease the amount of money collected by the township.
The measure is actually an attempt by the township to avoid a significant increase in the amount of open space taxes residents would pay if the open space tax rate remains at 7 cents after the new numbers from the ongoing township-wide property valuation hit the books next year.
After the revaluation, the value of most homeowners’ properties will double, while the overall tax rate will decrease. The net effect is that the 7-cent rate will be a higher percentage of the overall tax rate and the revenue generated by the open space tax would almost double.
For example, the owner of a home with a current assessed valuation of $200,”000 would pay $140 annually in municipal open space taxes. Because that home is expected to double in value after the revaluation, the homeowner would wind up paying $280 for the tax.
Hsueh urges residents to vote in favor of the question. “If this is not passed, it means that under the new assessments we will collect seven pennies, and that is really much more than we need.”
Since the revaluation is still underway, township officials are unsure of the exact number required to keep the open space tax revenues equal to the amount originally intended. Hsueh and township administration initially recommended 4 cents, but when council approved the referendum in August, it opted to go with 5 cents to insure that open space revenues do not decrease below the current level.
The referendum calls for a one-year adjustment to the open space rate, and would give time for the township administration to calculate a rate for 2007 based on actual assessment. The new rate would need to be approved in another referendum, or the open space tax would revert to 7 cents in 2007.
