[Adopted 4-4-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-2]
There is hereby created a Stillwater Township Open Space Trust
Fund, whose purposes are set forth below.
The purposes of the Stillwater Township Open Space Trust Fund
are as follows:
A. To acquire lands/properties within the Township for passive recreation
and conservation purposes;
B. To develop lands/properties acquired within the Township for passive
recreation and conservation purposes.
C. 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 Sussex County Board of Chosen
Freeholders or their designees;
D. To maintain lands acquired for recreation and conservation purposes;
and/or
E. To provide funding for the payment of debt service related to appropriations in accordance with the Subsections
A through
D 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 $0.02 per $100 of ratables for each and every taxable
property located within the Township. The rate shall be set every
year by the Township Committee, 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
Township Committee in the annual creation/collection of this open
space tax.
The determination of how the Township Open Space Trust Fund
shall be expended at anytime shall be at the sole discretion of the
Township Committee and it 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.
[Amended 4-19-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-4]
The provisions of taxation to create and fund the Open Space
Trust Fund and the existence of the Township Open Space Trust Fund
shall cease to exist at the close of business on April 4, 2026, unless
the Township Committee extends the duration of this article.