Laptop Battery Jefferson Township has so far leveraged more than $500,000 from residents through its open space trust fund tax to reap another $2.7 million in state and county grants to preserve 355 acres of land.
Voters in Blairstown, Frelinghuysen and Greenwich townships approved increases to their local open space funds Tuesday. With an overwhelming majority approving the tax increase, 364. The tax was 3 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Now, it will be 4 cents. Open Space Preservation Committee members said the extra cent is necessary to continue their efforts. The tax will bring in $210, 000 annually.
Thinkpad The township enacted its open space tax of 1 cent per $100 of assessed valuation in 1998 after 70 percent of voters supported it in a 1997 referendum.
Warren County voters approved an open space referendum Tuesday that will allow the freeholders to raise the open space tax an additional 2 cents. The freeholder board will make the decision on raising the tax, which is now 4 cents per $100 of assessed value. If the addition is adopted in January, the tax will be 6 cents per $100, or $60 for a home assessed at $100, 000. Both freeholder candidates supported the referendum, but neither campaigned actively for the ballot question.
Microsoft Voters will face the question again this fall. On the ballot will be a nonbinding referendum to increase the open space tax by another 1 cent per $100.
Voters are being asked to create an open space, recreation and farmland preservation fund. The issue before voters is a proposed expansion of uses of already approved local open space dollars, to add farmland preservation, maintenance of open space, and paying off open space preservation debt. Residents are being asked to allow the township council to double the open space tax, which could raise a potential $248, 000 next year.
Laptop Computers Jefferson is one of 23 towns in Morris County with an open space trust fund. Morris County has had its own special tax since 1993. The township council voted June 5 to continue the 1-cent tax, which was subject to review this year.
# Earlier this month, voters in Oakland, Bergen County, and New Jersey all agreed on one thing. They voted to spend more money on acquiring open space before it is too late. The state open space measure earmarks $50 million for the Highlands. Oakland voters went so far as to specify that their open space money be spent only on passive parkland like Camp Todd. And the state's Green Acres open space program reportedly said that it wants to purchase the property.
Laptop Computer If voters approve the additional 1 cent, the tax would not be automatic. Approval would give the council the option to enact it, Councilman Robert Birmingham said. The council's goal is to be prepared to acquire more open space should prime properties become available, he said.
According to the indictment, Jones would steal various IBM and Penguin computer servers from Verisign's warehouse in Virginia and sell them to Johnson. Johnson would then sell the servers to several individuals, who would sometimes place them for sale on eBay. As a result of this scheme, the indictment alleges that Jones and Johnson caused Verisign to lose more than $120, 000 worth of computer equipment. In the indictment, Jones and Johnson are charged in three counts with causing the interstate transportation of stolen property, namely IBM 330 and 335 servers, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
Desktop Computer "We've already received $2.7 million from the county and state Green Acres in the first four years because we were able to use our current fund as seed money," said Birmingham.
Notebooks Some of those funds -- including the Morris County Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund -- are available only to municipalities with their own open space trust funds, he said.
Lenovo "We're hoping people can see our past track record and what we've been able to do," said Birmingham.
Hard Drive The goals of acquiring open space include protecting the environment, preserving the township's ridges and rural areas and controlling growth, he said. The township has seen a spurt of residential development in the last few years, according to Birmingham.
Travelstar A 416-house development called Sunrise is under construction off Edison Road, near Route 15. Another 200-house development is proposed for Holland Mountain Road, Birmingham said.
Gateway The township issued building permits for 111 new houses last year and has issued 81 building permits so far this year, according to township records.
Laptop Parts The population of the 40-square-mile municipality was 19,717 in the 2000 U. S. Census, an increase of 10.6 percent over 1990. The population is up 20.1 percent over the last 20 years, according to U. S. Census figures.
Software "We're going to continue to move forward in the acquisition of open space," said Council President Richard Yocum. "It's been very successful to this point, and we plan on continuing with an aggressive approach to acquire open space."
Hard Drives The 1-cent tax raised about $124,000 this year for the trust fund and slightly smaller amounts in the preceding years, said Township Administrator James Leach. The 1-cent tax translates to $16 per year for the owner of the average home assessed at $160,000, he said.
Electronics Since Jefferson's open space trust fund was enacted, the township acquired the 97-acre Camp Jefferson for $875,000, which included $500,000 from Morris County's open space trust fund and $175,000 from the state Green Acres fund, Leach said.
Canon The township acquired 147 acres on Lake Hopatcong, called North Shore Estates, this year for $1.25 million, with $750,000 coming from the county and $182,000 from the Green Acres program.
Desktop Pc The township is moving ahead to acquire another 107 acres on Lake Hopatcong, Leach said. The township had reached an agreement with the owners to acquire the land at fair market value, but the owners backed out, Leach said.
Desktop Computers The township filed a condemnation suit. The owner, Consumer Coal and Ice Co., sued the town but has since agreed to drop the suit, Leach said. The township posted $825,000 on May 31 with the courts, its original appraisal, Leach said. An updated appraisal will be done and a condemnation commission will set the final purchase price.
Think Pad The township has received $600,000 from the county for the 107 acres and will get $250,000 from the state, Leach said.
Repair The township also acquired a 4.5-acre parcel for Oak Ridge Park for $265,000, including $150,000 from the county.
Data Recovery Jefferson officials are looking at two open space parcels to acquire, one is about 95 acres and the other 50 acres, Leach said. He did not identify the tracts because the acquisitions are under negotiation.
Cisco By Jean Mansur
Star-Ledger - 6/16/2002
Topic: Highlands
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