Support sought for open-space funding mechanism

We have a chance to strike a positive blow for our county park system. A referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot would authorize a steady source of funds for preserving open space. If approved, we will continue enjoying the finest county park system in the country.

Currently, the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders takes a fixed $16 million a year - authorized by the voters in 2002 - from the county's general budget and applies it to the county's Open Space Trust Fund. This fund pays for a variety of open space programs, including $2 million for county grants to help expand local municipal parks and $8 million to buy additional county open spaces. This is money well spent.

Instead of continuing to tap the general budget each year, the freeholders authorized the referendum to dedicate 1.5 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation for open space. That rate was chosen because if it were in effect this year, it would raise the $16 million. One reason for changing from a fixed-dollar amount to a percentage rate is to stabilize funding. Rising property values have made open space purchases more expensive, which means less land per dollar can be preserved. By pegging park funding to actual land values - especially for acquisitions - the county's open space budget will follow property values. We need this change.

Many other New Jersey counties have similar funding programs. For example, Warren has a 6-cent rate, Morris has up to a 5.25-cent rate, Sussex has up to a 3.5-cent rate, both Gloucester and Burlington have a 4-cent rate, Hunterdon has up to a 3-cent rate, and Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset have 3-cent rates.

In contrast, Monmouth's proposed rate is a bargain. Someone owning a $300,000 home would pay 86 cents a week - less than a cup of coffee.

Monmouth County's citizens have always supported open space programs, just as we all have supported the state's Green Acres program. This program, incidentally, has provided the county with $52 million for open space. Survey after survey, and referendum after referendum have shown that we regard open spaces as an important part of our quality of life. Of all the good things we like about our county, our parks rank very high.

The freeholders and the county Board of Recreation commissioners have aggressively preserved open land. Over the years, the county has set aside more than 14,400 acres, and has set a target of 19,000 acres, which would be about 7 percent of all developable land. Yet, there is a cloud on the horizon. On the one hand, the county's population of 647,500 in 2005 is growing every day and will reach 695,000 in 2020. Yet, the county only has about 55,000 developable acres left. With 7,000 to 10,000 acres being developed every year, open spaces are disappearing very quickly.

We need to act just as quickly, so please go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 7, and approve the open space funding referendum. We owe it to our children and our grandchildren.

Judith Stanley Coleman

president

Monmouth Conservation Foundation

Middletown