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VOTERS: REFINANCE OPEN SPACE FUNDS
Date: 24 Oct 2003
From: "carol" {carol@njconservation.org}
NEW JERSEY VOTERS: DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE
TO REFINANCE OPEN SPACE FUNDS!
THE STATE WE'RE IN
By Michele S. Byers, Executive Director
New Jersey Conservation Foundation
October 22, 2003 - Volume XXXIII, No. 41
Did you get in on the recent home refinancing craze?
With interest rates at almost historic lows, millions of Americans
refinanced their home mortgages to stretch their dollars. Some kept
their monthly payments stable and cashed out equity to improve their
homes, making them even better places to live.
Wouldn't it be nice if the State could do the same thing for open
space preservation?
Well, it can, and New Jersey voters can help refinance our open space
funds in this coming election!
Ballot Question #1 on the upcoming general election ballot on
November 4th, asks voters if they want to raise the bonding cap on the
state's open space program by $150 million. A `Yes' vote gives us that
much more money to spend on preserving, protecting and enhancing open
spaces, farmland, and parks.
As I've written many times - New Jersey voters are among the nation's
best when it comes to approving open space ballot measures!
Back in 1998, we approved a decade-long campaign to preserve a
million acres of open space and farmland through the Garden State
Preservation Trust Fund. The fund was to make $98 million available
for preservation efforts each year for ten years, with up to $1
billion in bonds to provide the funds.
However, the lower interest rates available today make it possible
for New Jersey to bond an additional $150 million dollars, still keep
the same payback schedule, and have no new taxes.
That's an infusion of $150 million right now, at a time when the
pressure for more sprawl continues to peak, and we really are in a
"race for open space"!
For example, in the Highlands, a recent U.S. Forest Service study
found that 17,000 acres of forests and 8,000 acres of farmland were
lost between 1995 and 2000. That's 25,000 acres wrenched from the
heart of a region that both purifies and supplies drinking water to
half of New Jersey residents!
Part of the $50 million would go to preserving the Highlands. This
additional funding would also help accelerate Governor McGreevey's
urban park initiatives - expanding and improving community parks in
New Jersey's cities and older suburbs. That's a real investment in the
quality of life in the neighborhoods where most of us in this State
we're in live!
Farmland preservation would also benefit. That's important since our
fertile farmland is also great for new septic systems and homes. If we
want to keep the `garden' in the Garden State, we have to save
farmland faster.
By now, you probably live in a county or town that also has a local
open space trust fund. It's another one of the ways New Jersey voters
are leaders in the race to save open space. By approving Ballot
Question #1, you can help stretch those local dollars too, since they
often rely on matching funds from the State.
So please vote `Yes!' on Ballot Question #1 this Tuesday - help New
Jersey's open space programs take advantage of the same common sense
refinancing that has helped so many homeowners. After all, its an
investment in the future for all of us!
- - -
I hope you'll contact me at 1-888-LAND-SAVE or
info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF's website at
http://www.njconservation.org, for more information about conserving
New Jersey's precious land and natural resources.
* * *
Carol K. Banhart
New Jersey Conservation Foundation
Bamboo Brook
170 Longview Road
Far Hills, NJ 07931
Phone: 908-234-1225 x105
Fax: 908-234-1189
Date: 24 Oct 2003
From: "carol" {carol@njconservation.org}
NEW JERSEY VOTERS: DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE
TO REFINANCE OPEN SPACE FUNDS!
THE STATE WE'RE IN
By Michele S. Byers, Executive Director
New Jersey Conservation Foundation
October 22, 2003 - Volume XXXIII, No. 41
Did you get in on the recent home refinancing craze?
With interest rates at almost historic lows, millions of Americans
refinanced their home mortgages to stretch their dollars. Some kept
their monthly payments stable and cashed out equity to improve their
homes, making them even better places to live.
Wouldn't it be nice if the State could do the same thing for open
space preservation?
Well, it can, and New Jersey voters can help refinance our open space
funds in this coming election!
Ballot Question #1 on the upcoming general election ballot on
November 4th, asks voters if they want to raise the bonding cap on the
state's open space program by $150 million. A `Yes' vote gives us that
much more money to spend on preserving, protecting and enhancing open
spaces, farmland, and parks.
As I've written many times - New Jersey voters are among the nation's
best when it comes to approving open space ballot measures!
Back in 1998, we approved a decade-long campaign to preserve a
million acres of open space and farmland through the Garden State
Preservation Trust Fund. The fund was to make $98 million available
for preservation efforts each year for ten years, with up to $1
billion in bonds to provide the funds.
However, the lower interest rates available today make it possible
for New Jersey to bond an additional $150 million dollars, still keep
the same payback schedule, and have no new taxes.
That's an infusion of $150 million right now, at a time when the
pressure for more sprawl continues to peak, and we really are in a
"race for open space"!
For example, in the Highlands, a recent U.S. Forest Service study
found that 17,000 acres of forests and 8,000 acres of farmland were
lost between 1995 and 2000. That's 25,000 acres wrenched from the
heart of a region that both purifies and supplies drinking water to
half of New Jersey residents!
Part of the $50 million would go to preserving the Highlands. This
additional funding would also help accelerate Governor McGreevey's
urban park initiatives - expanding and improving community parks in
New Jersey's cities and older suburbs. That's a real investment in the
quality of life in the neighborhoods where most of us in this State
we're in live!
Farmland preservation would also benefit. That's important since our
fertile farmland is also great for new septic systems and homes. If we
want to keep the `garden' in the Garden State, we have to save
farmland faster.
By now, you probably live in a county or town that also has a local
open space trust fund. It's another one of the ways New Jersey voters
are leaders in the race to save open space. By approving Ballot
Question #1, you can help stretch those local dollars too, since they
often rely on matching funds from the State.
So please vote `Yes!' on Ballot Question #1 this Tuesday - help New
Jersey's open space programs take advantage of the same common sense
refinancing that has helped so many homeowners. After all, its an
investment in the future for all of us!
- - -
I hope you'll contact me at 1-888-LAND-SAVE or
info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF's website at
http://www.njconservation.org, for more information about conserving
New Jersey's precious land and natural resources.
* * *
Carol K. Banhart
New Jersey Conservation Foundation
Bamboo Brook
170 Longview Road
Far Hills, NJ 07931
Phone: 908-234-1225 x105
Fax: 908-234-1189