Guía de Votantes

Borough of Bernardsville Public Question Shall Bernardsville Borough amend the permissible uses of monies by the current annual Open Space levy of two($.02) cents per one hundred ($100) dollars of assessed valuation to permit up to 100% of the monies, so collected on or after January 1, 2020, when appropriated by ordinance, to be used either for the acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation purposes; the acquisition of farmland for farmland preservation purposes or the acquisition of properties for historic preservation purposes, or for the development of any lands or properties included in the Borough's Recreation and Open Space Inventory and/or acquired with Borough open space trust fund money for recreation, conservation, farmland or historic preservation purposes, or for payment of debt service on indebtedness issued or incurred by the Borough for any of those purposes? Interpretive Statement At the present time, Bernardsville Borough's annual Open Space levy of two ($.02) cents per one hundred ($100) dollars of assessed valuation is collected for the purposes of acquiring lands for recreation and conservation purposes; acquiring farmland for farmland preservation purposes or acquiring properties for historic preservation purposes with up to 20% of the monies collected to be used for the development of any lands or properties included in the Borough's Recreation and Open Space inventory and/or acquired with Borough open space trust fund money, or payment of debt service on indebtedness issued or incurred by the Borough in connection with the acquisition of property for those purposes. If this question is approved by the voters, up to 100% of the open space trust fund monies, collected on or after January 1, 2020 may be used, at the sole discretion of the governing body, for either acquisition of property for the purposes set forth above or for the development (but not maintenance) of any lands or properties included in the Borough's Recreation and Open Space Inventory and/or acquired with Borough open space trust fund money for recreation and conservation, farmland preservation or historic preservation purposes, or payment of debt service on indebtedness issued or incurred by the Borough for any of these purposes. For the purposes of this question, "Development" means any improvement to a land or water area of eligible Borough property that is designed to expand or enhance its utilization for outdoor recreation, conservation, farmland preservation or historic preservation purposes and shall include the construction, renovation, or repair of any such improvement including but not limited to athletic fields, parks, playgrounds, and walking trails. This term may include any of the following types of ancillary improvements to eligible Borough properties: roadways, parking, landscaping, fencing, lighting, utilities, structures, and any other improvement that expands or enhances the use of property for outdoor recreation, conservation, farmland preservation or historic preservation purposes. Even if not required by law, all monies appropriated from the Open Space Trust Fund will be authorized by ordinance. If this question is approved, there will be no increase in the current two ($.02) cent tax. REASON TO VOTE YES A vote of "YES" would allow the Borough Council greater discretion as to how to allocate money from the Borough Open Space Trust Fund. This expands flexibility as to how the funds are used.REASON TO VOTE NO A vote of "NO" would tell the Borough Council that you do not support the change and want to continue the current funding formula used in the Borough Open Space Trust Fund.