Politics & Government

Bloomingdale Recreation Tax May Be Lowered in Future

Councilwoman wants discretion to decrease amount of money collected from taxpayers for ROSE Fund.

The Recreation and Open Space Establishment (ROSE) Trust Fund tax is for the average household this year under the council's adopted 2012 municipal budget.

While the fund helps pay for field maintenance, open space acquisitions and could even help the borough fund flood mitigation efforts, Councilwoman Linda Shortman said Tuesday that the council should have the ability to take less from the taxpayers some years.

Particularly this year, when the borough and many taxpayers saw a general increase in taxes, Shortman said she would have liked for the council to have been able to discuss a smaller increase in the ROSE Fund tax per household.

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The ROSE Fund is a dedicated tax collected by the borough annually. It was approved by referendum in 2001.

Shortman asked for a consensus from the governing body on whether council members would be amenable to Borough Attorney Fred Semrau amending the ROSE Fund referendum to include the words "up to" before the collected rate of 2.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. She said Bloomingdale is collecting more money through its ROSE Fund than neighboring municipalities and the language she suggested was modeled after West Milford's referendum.

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"It gives the council flexibility from year to year," she said.

Mayor Jonathan Dunleavy was apprehensive about the councilwoman's request and expressed his concern that her interest is more so in the elimination of the ROSE Fund altogether.

"This is your only source of revenue in the borough, why would you cut it?" he asked.

Shortman admitted that she would like to see the ROSE Fund cut, and has publicly stated that when she originally voted in favor of the ROSE Fund referendum as a taxpayer, she thought more money would be spent on open space. Still, she said, the amendment would be a compromise.

"I definitely would like to cut it, but I think meeting halfway is giving flexibility," she said.

Dunleavy explained that without the ROSE Fund, the projects and maintenance work currently funded from the dedicated tax fund would have to be approved out of the general operating budget. However, Dunleavy did not have a problem with the amendment to allow the council to consider, on a yearly basis, what amount per $100 of assessed valuation the borough collects up to the 2.5 cents. Councilman Ray Yazdi agreed.

"I would look for every angle to give back to the residents," he said.

No formal action was taken, but the issue will be discussed further at the Aug. 14 meeting.

What do you think? Is the ROSE Fund worth the cost to the taxpayers? Participate in our poll below and tell us your thoughts in the comments.


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