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New Milford council votes to draft November referendum to raise open-space trust fund
Summary
Council voted to draft a November ballot question to increase the borough's open-space trust by one-half cent per $100 of equalized property valuation (about $10 per $100,000 assessed value) and asked legal and administrative staff to prepare the resolution for the county clerk's early-August deadline.
New Milford — The mayor and council voted at their June session to draft a November referendum asking voters to raise the borough's Open Space Trust Fund by one-half cent per $100 of equalized property valuation.
Mayor Petrino described the fund as a dedicated revenue stream established by public question in 2000 and renewed in 2012 that supports parks, playgrounds, open-space acquisition and matching grants. He said a one-half cent increase would translate to roughly $10 per $100,000 of assessed value under current assessments and would help pay for maintenance and upgrades to fields and playgrounds, including future work on the borough’s turf field.
The mayor asked the council to vote to have the borough attorney and administrator draft a resolution and to submit the final question to the county clerk before the early-August deadline for the November ballot. Council members agreed and the mayor requested a roll-call. Council members recorded affirmative votes and the council authorized staff to draft the referendum language and begin the county review process.
The mayor said staff will adapt language used in prior referenda and that the council must formally vote again to place the question on the ballot after the resolution is prepared. The exact revenue estimate for individual properties (other than the example given) and the final ballot language will be set when the resolution and legal review are completed.
