The question asks voters to dedicate one-fifth of one cent of the state's seven percent sales tax to open space preservation.
Hunterdon and Warren county leaders are expressing concern that the state Assembly put off a bill that would let voters decide the future of open space funding in New Jersey.
The resolution placing a referendum on the November ballot was pulled from the Assembly's agenda Monday as
concerns mounted about putting the preservation question to voters in its
current form.
The question would ask voters to dedicate one-fifth of every one cent of the state's 7 percent sales tax to open space preservation, which includes buying properties that repeatedly flood and returning them to wetlands. Lawmakers estimate the collections would balloon to about $17 billion over 30 years, which critics say could hamstring future state budgets.
Bill Millette, program administrator for Hunterdon County's agricultural development board, said the county currently relies on the state for roughly 60 percent of all its open space and farmland preservation purchases. The other 40 percent is generated through county taxes.
If state funding is not restored, Millette estimates that the number of purchases the county is able to make in a calendar year will drop by more than half. If the county, for instance, is able to dedicate open space funds for 10 properties right now, a loss of state funding would mean the county could purchase only four properties.
"Without having 60 percent of the cost-sharing that we normally would have, it makes doing projects that much harder and obviously that much more selective," Millette said.
Voters have long liked open space
State funding for land preservation currently comes from a $400 million bond that voters approved in 2009. That approval marked the 13th consecutive preservation spending measure endorsed by voters since 1961.
But Millette believes the open-space account is in need of replenishment."Without either a new ballot question or some sort of dedicated funding, that would obviously hamper our farmland preservation efforts greatly," Millette said.
While the Assembly may be dragging its feet on the matter, the state Senate has already approved the measure in a 36-2 vote last week.
The Senate bill was sponsored by state Sen. Christopher Bateman, a Republican whose 16th District includes part of Hunterdon County.
"With current allocations to preservation now running on empty, the state is at risk of endangering future preservation efforts," Bateman said in a statement. "We need steady, long-term funding to ensure we can continue to protect lands that guard against flooding and protect our water supply."
State Sen. Michael Doherty, a Republican whose 23rd District covers parts of Warren and Hunterdon counties, supports the bill and said it's essential that the Assembly follow suit.
"I think it's been a good program and it seems to be popular with voters," Doherty said, referring to previous referendums.
The best part about it, Doherty said, is that those going to the polls will have the opportunity to choose.
"The voters are going to have the ultimate say here," Doherty said. "What's better than that?"
Awaiting a better version
But Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, is comfortable with the Assembly's hesitation to move the bill.
Though an open space advocate, Tittel said he fears that the $17 billion requested will be "coming out of existing revenue sources that could lead to cuts to other programs."
Dedicating funds to open space is fine, Tittel said, but there are other environmental causes that could also use the funding, especially at such a cost.
Since 1996, he said, the state has only spent roughly $3 billion on 240,000 acres of open space. That's a far cry from the $17 billion that's being requested over the 30-year period.
"I think this delay will allow for something better to be crafted," Tittel said.
The 2009 open-space bond was approved by voters after it had been scaled back from $600 million
Democratic leader Lou Greenwald has said the Assembly remains committed to open space preservation funding and could take up the question again as soon as Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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