[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of River Vale as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-23-2009 by Ord. No. 204-2009]
There is hereby created a River Vale Township Open Space Trust Fund, whose purposes are set forth below.
The purposes of the River Vale Township Open Space Trust fund are as follows:
A. 
To acquire, develop and maintain lands/properties within the Township for recreation and conservation purposes;
B. 
To assist in the preservation of farmland within the Township wherein there is a funding necessity, either through matching grants for farmland preservation/acquisition or through funding for the reservation of farming privileges and/or the acquisition of development rights as established by state law and/or the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders or their designees;
C. 
To acquire or preserve historic properties; or
D. 
To provide funding for the payment of debt service related to appropriations in accordance with the subsections A through C above.
The funding source for the Township Open Space Trust Fund shall be the establishment of a separate Township tax line item at an annual rate not to exceed $0.01 per $100 of ratables for each and every taxable property located within the Township. The rate shall be set every year by the Township Council, by resolution, during the existence of the Township Open Space Trust Fund, no later than the meeting at which the Township budget shall be introduced. The Township Chief Financial Officer, the Township Auditor, the Township Tax Collector and the Township Tax Assessor, where applicable, shall assist the Mayor and Council in the annual creation/collection of this open space tax.
The determination of how the Township Open Space Trust Fund shall be expended at any time shall be at the sole discretion of the Mayor and Township Council and they shall be the final determiners of the allocation(s) of the trust fund during its existence. The Township reserves the right to establish an Open Space Advisory Committee to assist the Township in addressing the provisions of this article.
The provisions of taxation to create and fund the Open Space Trust Fund and the existence of the Township Open Space Trust Fund shall be perpetual, unless terminated by the Township Council.