Middletown's Open Space Tax Increase Overwhelmingly Supported

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Even as Monmouth County is still counting 175,000 outstanding ballots, Middletown's open space tax increase was approved by an overwhelming majority, and will likely pass outright as more votes come in over the next few days.

As of Thursday, 17,125 Middletown residents (66 percent) voted to pay a little bit more in property taxes for open space, compared to 8,642 (33 percent) who voted against it. These are unofficial vote counts not yet certified by the county clerk.

"We are incredibly grateful to the voters of Middletown for supporting the open space tax increase," said Mayor Tony Perry Thursday. "While we are still waiting for all the ballots to be counted, we are very confident the referendum will pass with an overwhelming majority."

What did Middletown voters have to say?

"NOPE. Taxes are high enough, and we have no idea how/where they would spend the money," resident Kenneth Lee posted on Patch. "Just keeping developers out of Oak Hill and off Navesink River Road? Sorry, I don't have enough information and not enough trust to hand them more money."

"I am voting no," agreed Elaine Russo. "This year 2020 our property taxes and gas taxes are going up. This should have waited until 2021-22. A lot of people are suffering from all the problems from the virus."

The New Jersey Sierra Club, not surprisingly, heralded it as a win.

“We are glad to see that the people living in Middletown voted for open space funding. This is critically important because many towns have already succumbed to destructive overdevelopment,” said Sierra Club director Jeff Tittel. “Jackson is one of the places where overdevelopment is happening the fastest. Middletown is also seeing a lot of growth. New Jersey has the highest property tax in the nation, but people are still willing to raise their own taxes to preserve open space because of how critical it is.”

Monmouth County has been aggressive about preserving the area's natural woods and farms — which are the reason many people moved to places like Middletown in the first place.

From 2000 to 2019, Middletown acquired 383 acres of land and set it aside to not be developed, according to the Garden State Preservation Trust.

Countywide, Monmouth purchased 19,523 acres over that same period, according to the same group.

The average Middletown homeowner contributes two cents per every $100 of their quarterly tax bill to the town's open space trust fund, about $89 a year for a home assessed at $447,629. Starting in January 2021, it will be raised to three cents per every $100. The tax money will be used so Middletown can buy farmland, fields, meadows and woods in town and preserve them as open space. The money can also be used to make improvements to Middletown's existing recreational areas.

"I feel the tax increase will be worth it," said Middletown resident Debra Sabino. "We came here many years ago because we love the many parks and trails and don’t want to risk overcrowding and traffic caused by more housing and development. In my opinion we are already overdeveloped and schools are overcrowded."

“We all want to ensure that our children and grandchildren inherit the Middletown we enjoy today," said Perry on Friday, Nov. 6. "Discussions for purchasing well-known properties in every section of Middletown are already underway, and with this approval these acquisitions are now possible.”

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