Sources for open space funding are looking slim after the state Assembly failed to vote on a bill, as of Thursday, June 27, that would provide more funding to the Green Acres program. The Burlington County Freeholders also reduced the county open space tax by more than $5 million.
According to Burlington County spokeswoman Charlene Webster, the freeholders reduced the open space tax to help relieve a budget burden caused by the decrease in ratables, resulting in a general revenue loss of $7.6 million. She said the freeholders analyzed three areas to help ease the burden for the taxpayers — general operations, the library system and open space programs.
Webster said the open space tax is being reduced from 4 cents per $100 of assessed property value to 1.5 cents, or $5.3 million.
Although the significant decrease may pose as a threat to some, Webster said the county has $48 million available for open space funding, approximately $20 million more than in 2008.
“This year it is not going to affect things at all. We are still doing all of the projects that we have planned and all the programs we offer,” she said, adding three new projects are being added to the plan.
The county is planning to fund the Underground Railroad Museum at Historic Smithville Park, the conservation of the Mount Holly Library as a museum and aiding other organizations to keep the Rancocas Nature Center open.
She said municipalities could apply for $250,000-per-year grants that can be applied to municipal park improvements.
The county has $5 million per year set aside for all Burlington County municipalities.
Barbara Rich, Moorestown resident, member of the Moorestown Environmental Advisory Committee and liaison to the Open Space Advisory Committee, said she is not convinced the freeholder’s decision to reduce the open space tax was the right move.
Rich said the county has played an important role in open space funding’s existence, but the reserve should have been used for more projects.
“In my opinion those monies could have been spent . . . we could have had a lot more accomplished by now,” she said.
Webster said the open space tax reduction is not going to affect municipalities such as Moorestown.
According to the information presented at the county meeting on Wednesday, June 12, approximately $36.07 million will remain in the Open Space, Recreation and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund by 2014.
“Nothing is going to change. Nothing is going to happen. We are still doing everything we did before,” she said.
According to Tom Ford, Moorestown’s director of community development, Green Acres funds up to 50 percent of land acquisition, the county funds up to 25 percent and the municipality must come up with the rest.
Moorestown established its own open space tax in 1999. As of this year, $387,816, based on a 1-cent levy, is paid toward municipal open space, township CFO Tom Merchel said.
The township currently has $2.2 million set aside for open space use and the recent reassessment caused the overall amount for municipal open space to be reduced without changing the local tax rate.
Rich said her concern not only lies with the possibility of the county running out of funding and local municipalities left to pick up the tab, but also on the state funding level.
Jeff Tittel, state chapter director of the Sierra Club — a national environmental organization “which seeks to influence public policy in both Washington and the state capitals through public education and grass-roots political action” — said the state DEP has approximately $100 million in Green Acres funds until next year.
“After that, the state, for the first time since 1988, will be out of money,” he said.
Green Acres is a state-run funding program that was established to help maintain, protect, preserve and enhance the state’s natural environments along with its historic, scenic and recreational resources for the public’s enjoyment, according to the Green Acres website.
According to Tittel, there is enough funding to continue current projects for this year, without adding new projects to the list.
A new project could be added if a current project is dropped.
But there is some hesitation coming out of the Legislature, he said.
“They are taking all of that money out of existing revenues and cutting other programs,” Tittel said.
He added he foresees the $17 billion, 30-year bill not making it on the ballot in November.
He said at this point, Green Acres needs a “long-term, stable course of funding.”
State DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said the state is currently looking into long-term funding for the program, but could not release details.
“We do have enough money in the Green Acres program that we can continue to work with. But we clearly recognize that it needs to be replenished,” he said.
Hajna said a majority of the focus is on “Blue Acres” programs, which was created under Green Acres in 1995 for municipalities and counties to acquire costal areas that have been damaged by storms, are prone to storm damage or areas acting as a buffer zone that would help protect other areas.
He said after Hurricane Sandy those projects became the main focus. Although there is no major concern at this time, Tittel said Green Acres funding is “running on vapors,” and the funds need to be replenished by 2014.
“If we are not on the ballot by next year, we are in serious trouble,” he said
