Making a Case Against the OPEN SPACE Tax

The average Gloucester Township household pays nearly $7000 per year in property taxes to fund our schools, township government, county government, and our fire departments.

Also on your property tax bill, there are three more separate line items to collect taxes to fund specific government programs.  One is to fund the county library system (approximately $100 per taxpayer per year). Another is for the county 'Open Space' program (approximately $40 per year). A third separate tax line item is for Gloucester Township's 'Municipal Open Space' program (also approximately $40 per year).

In this article, I will make a case for why it is now time to eliminate the Gloucester Township Municipal Open Space tax.

Background:

In 2001, Gloucester Township was in the midst of a population and a housing development boom. At that time, Township government officials supported a new tax to preserve open space. The tax question was placed on the November 2001 election ballot, and it was easily approved by voters. A Municipal Open Space tax was created. The rate was set at 2 cents per $100 of assessed property value, which, at the time amounted to a tax increase of about $22 for the average Gloucester Township property taxpayer; and would collect about $450,000 per year.

Reasons Why this Tax Should be Eliminated:

Point #1: The boom is over: According to US Census figures, 1990 Gloucester Township population was 53,797. By 2000 it was 64,350. Then in 2010, 64,634. The stresses on government services and on open spaces caused by the 1990's growth period are no longer a top priority. With the recent recession and the resulting financial hardships on the middle class, right now, relieving some tax burden on residents should be a much higher priority than more government land purchases.

Point #2: Our township government can deal with this for FREE: If our township government thinks that over-development and lack of open space is still a problem in our town, then it can always choose to deal with the problem without the need of imposing a tax on the residents. It is the function of the Planning Board and the Township Council to assess the impacts of land development proposals, and to approve or deny proposed development projects accordingly.

Point #3: Our township government is advancing competing, opposing initiatives: With one hand, our township is collecting $900,000 per year from its residents to preserve open space. With the other hand, at the same time, Gloucester Township is aggressively trying to attract land developers. In a 10/05/2010 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer stated that he has redevelopment projects set up because "We need to be prepared if and when someone comes in with a plan." And then, indeed, earlier this year, the farmland around the new Route 42 interchange was approved for building the Gloucester Premium Outlets.

Therefore, it seems that the Open Space tax conflicts with more important township government priorities.

Point #4: From the beginning, the Open Space tax was flawed: It is appropriate, when a new, specified-purpose tax is imposed, that a timeframe or a sunset date is defined. No such date was assigned for this tax. This tax, which was imposed to deal with a specific problem during a specific time of need, will continue indefinitely until someone speaks up.

Also, when imposed, this tax was established to collect $450,000 per year, or about $22 per taxpayer. This tax now collects $900,000 per year, $40 per taxpayer. Why? In 2010, Gloucester Township performed a full property value reassessment. At that time, for every line item on your property tax bill, the tax rate was appropriately adjusted lower so that the effect of the reassessment would be 'tax revenue neutral'. Correction: the tax rate was appropriately adjusted for every line item EXCEPT for the Municipal Open Space tax. In 2010, your Open Space taxes were increased.

Point #5: Township government has no plans to purchase any more open space land: At a recent Township Council meeting, when the question was asked if there are any open space land purchases being contemplated, the answer was "No". Moreover, when a report showing 2012 expenditures from the Open Space account was reviewed, it was noted that just about all of the spending was for upkeep and incidentals - things like landscaping, athletic equipment, Comcast security cameras, hardware store supplies, and such. While these expenditures may be deemed important and desirable for our town; they do not seem to be the types of things that should be funded from a special, separate Open Space tax. Instead, it seems more appropriate that this spending is the type of thing that should simply come out of the general operating budget. If then, the general budget cannot pay for everything that the government wants, spending needs to be prioritized and cuts need to be made. Same as every business, every household, and every well-run government entity.

Point #6: Taxes are just too dang high: Gloucester Township residents, and, for that matter, all New Jerseyans, pay way too much taxes; embarrassingly too much. For an embarrassing variety of reasons. Governments need to make spending cuts until it hurts, and then cut even more. They probably think that they are already doing this. But we know that they really aren't. Eliminating the Gloucester Township Municipal Open Space Tax, while only a baby step, is a good start.