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Supervisors debate putting open‑space EIT referendum on May ballot amid tax and administration concerns
Summary
Township counsel outlined a legal timetable to place an earned‑income‑tax (EIT) open‑space referendum on the May 12, 2026 ballot; supervisors and residents debated fairness, administrative costs, and purchase criteria, but the board did not adopt the tax ordinance at this meeting.
At the Nov. 25 meeting, Attorney David Backenstoe presented the schedule and legal steps required to place an open‑space question on the May 12, 2026 ballot and explained how funds could be used.
Backenstoe told the board the timeline: the board must vote to advertise an ordinance for three successive weeks (vote to advertise needed by Dec. 9, 2025), adopt the ordinance by Jan. 13, 2026, submit the ordinance to the Board of Elections by Jan. 16, 2026, and hold the referendum on May 12, 2026. If voters approve the referendum the board may adopt an earned‑income‑tax (EIT) ordinance on May 26, 2026; Backenstoe said the referendum must remain in place for five years. He also stated recent regulations permit the township to use up to 25% of funds for maintenance of existing open space, but not to create new parks or convert funds to the general fund.
The presentation prompted an extended public and board discussion. Supervisor Cindy Miller said the township had recently approved a 1.3‑mill fire tax and a 1‑mill General Fund increase for 2026 and described an EIT as an additional burden on working residents; she said the tax could hit teenagers with summer jobs and argued the board should not "leave it up to the voters" on what she called another tax increase. Several residents echoed concerns that an EIT places the burden on wage earners rather than all property owners.
Other speakers urged a vote. Supervisor Mike Jones said he would vote no personally but would leave the decision to voters, and Zach Szoke noted the board had previously voted in July to put the question on the ballot. Proponents, including resident Mike Hock, said an open‑space program protects farmland and can reduce long‑term costs from residential development; Hock said many municipalities in the Lehigh Valley have successful programs.
Participants asked procedural and programmatic questions: whether parcels with limited buildable area would receive proportional credit, how a land‑preservation board would rank properties, appraisal rules if asking owners to sell development rights, whether preserved land could be required to provide public access, and the administrative costs of a program (several attendees cited Moore Township’s roughly $3 million open‑space fund as an example of funds that may sit idle when qualifying properties are scarce). Backenstoe said the board must adopt criteria (soils, acreage, bedrock depth, wetlands/Army Corps considerations), create a ranking system, obtain appraisals and then make purchase recommendations to the board; funding could be used for maintenance on township property but not converted to general revenue.
No final vote to place the ordinance on the ballot occurred at the Nov. 25 meeting; the board is scheduled to consider the advertising vote on Dec. 9, 2025. The exchange included both strongly worded opposition from some supervisors and residents and arguments from supporters that a local program would help farmers who miss county program thresholds.
