Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Open Space Tax topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Colts Neck committee votes to put open‑space tax increase on Nov. 3, 2026 ballot
Summary
The Colts Neck Township Committee voted to place a referendum on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot to raise the municipal open‑space levy to 2.027 per $100 assessed value; members argued the increase would help preserve farmland and leverage county matching funds, while some urged a smaller levy to ease taxpayer burden.
The Colts Neck Township Committee voted to place a referendum on the Nov. 3, 2026 general‑election ballot that would raise the township's annual levy for open space, farmland and historic preservation to 2.027 per $100 of assessed value.
Committee member Mintavio recommended a 1.5‑cent increase, saying the town faces development pressure and that additional preservation funding — coupled with a county match of up to 75% on purchases — would allow the township to acquire and remove large parcels from the development market. "If we had additional preservation money, some of the pressures that we're having right now and in the future would not be about," Mintavio said.
The township's chief financial officer provided modeled homeowner impacts for several levy options. The report showed the 1.5¢ scenario would cost an example homeowner roughly $369.10 annually; a 1¢ increase was modeled at about $300.75 and a 0.75¢ increase at roughly $102–$206 depending on the calculation used. Several committee members said those amounts influenced their support: one member argued for a lower increase (1%) as a politically viable compromise, while others said a higher levy is the "best line of defense" to protect Colts Neck's rural character.
After discussion, the committee introduced Resolution 20‑26‑141 to place the referendum on the official ballot and approved it by roll call. The mayor thanked administration and finance staff for modeling scenarios and said the committee would run an information campaign in the months ahead to educate residents about the proposal.
The resolution does not itself change tax rates; it asks voters to authorize the increased levy at the election. If approved, the levy proceeds would be dedicated to open‑space, farmland and historic preservation consistent with statutory limits on how those trust funds may be used.
Next steps: the committee will publish voter information about the measure in coming months and the referendum will appear on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot for a public vote.
