Politics & Government

Madison's Open Space Tax Rate Adjusted

Ordinance approved with a 4-1 vote, with some wording changes suggested by the Madison Athletic Foundation.

Madison's governing body voted 4-1 on Monday to amend the borough's open space tax rate, lowering the rate to partially offset an automatic "stealth" tax hike.

While the rate was lowered, the open space tax bill for the average Madison homeowner still will increase by around $38—to $120—for homeowners with property assessed at the borough average of $667,000, officials have said.

The amount of taxes collected for the Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund is tied to the assessed value of Madison's tax base, which increased by around 60 percent with the borough-wide revaluation this year.

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Without any Borough Council action, an even larger tax hike was poised to take hold automatically.

The larger tax base and new rate means approximately $609,000 in open space taxes will be collected each year—up from the $416,000 a year the fund raised through taxes since it was established by a popular 2003 public referendum.

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The amount takes into account anticipated Madison Recreation Center debt payments while leaving approximately $200,000 to fund new projects at the complex, field upgrades, and environmental remediation and historic preservation efforts. The $200,000 could serve as a "cushion" to cover any unexpected shortfalls in fundraising by the Madison Athletic Foundation, which is partnering with the borough to pay off the debt.

Councilwoman Jeannie Tsukamoto voted against the change, saying she would have supported collecting $494,000 annually, an amount that was given in a previous presentation and that she said is sufficient.

Wolkowitz said he arrived at that earlier figure when he still assumed the council could put triggers into the ordinance that would have the tax rate rise or fall as needed to pay off the debt. Madison's attorney advised the governing body it could not do that.

Councilman Rob Catalanello, who opposed introducing the ordinance because he needed to review the proposal with the Madison Athletic Foundation, was traveling and not able to attend Monday's meeting.

MAF representative Nino Coviello suggested some wording changes, including saying the foundation "endeavors" to raise $934,301 over the next five years instead of "has committed" to raise that amount. Coviello said he had questions about how the fundraising target was calculated and that his own calculation of the amount was "ballpark" with the figure in the ordinance.

Mayor Bob Conley noted the open space fund also supports historic preservation efforts and creates opportunities for Madison to receive matching grants.

By lowering the open space tax rate from 2 cents per $100 of assessed value to 1.8 cents, the council reached a compromise between keeping the amount collected in taxes constant, which would call for a rate of 1.23 cents per $100 of assessed value, and keeping the tax rate at 2 cents, which would have led to an even larger tax levy, Wolkowitz has said. He has called the automatic increase based on property values a "stealth" tax.

The total estimated property tax bill, including school, municipal and county taxes, for the average home in Madison is nearly $11,600.


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