Lower Salford Township<\/p>\n
Ballot question<\/p>\n
Do you favor the imposition of an additional Earned Income Tax at the rate of one quarter of one percent (0.25%) by Lower Salford Township for the purpose of acquiring the Allebach property (460 Stover Road, Harleysville) and other lands and interests in real property for open space to protect the Township\u2019s farmland, scenic views, historic sites, and rural character; to protect the woodlands, wetlands, and the Skippack and Perkiomen Creeks and their tributaries; to enhance and create community recreation opportunities; to retire indebtedness and to pay transactional fees incidental to such acquisitions; to pay other expenses for the preparation of resource, recreation, or land-use plans related to such acquisitions; and to finance the expenditure of up to 25% of annual revenue for the development, improvement, design, engineering, and maintenance of lands acquired for an open space benefit or benefits?\n<\/p>\n
Interpretative statement<\/p>\n
Under the authority of the Open Space Lands Act, the Board of Supervisors of Lower Salford Township is seeking voter approval to increase the current one half of one percent (0.50%) Earned Income Tax (EIT) already levied annually on residents of the Township by one quarter of one percent (0.25%). The EIT applies exclusively to earned income and does not apply to pensions, Social Security, or other fixed-income sources. If approved, the Township\u2019s EIT would rise from 0.5% to 0.75%.\n<\/p>\n
The revenue generated from the proposed increase in the EIT shall be used to acquire open space land and interests in real property in Lower Salford Township, including fee simple purchases, agricultural easements, and conservation easements or development rights, as well as to pay for related acquisition expenses, such as appraisals, legal fees, title searches, survey costs, and closing fees. The Township may incur debt to acquire open space land and the revenue from the tax increase can be used to pay off such debt. The Act allows up to 25% of the annual open space tax revenue to be used to develop, engineer, design, improve, and maintain property acquired for an open space benefit or benefits. The revenues from this earned income tax increase would be used only for the purposes provided for in the referendum question, which include\u00a0 preserving the 62-acre Allebach Farm and other lands to protect the Township\u2019s rural character, woodlands and creeks, and enhancing and creating recreation opportunities for residents. The open space land acquired shall be used for open space preservation and\/or for both passive and active recreation purposes, in strict compliance with the Act. The Township would also be required to establish, by ordinance, procedures to review, rate, and value properties prior to acquisition.\n<\/p>\n
The context<\/p>\n
Lower Salford Township has reached a $21.5 million sale agreement<\/a> with the Allebach family to purchase their 62.65-acre farm<\/a>, in order to preserve it as open space. According to the township\u2019s website, the \u201chighly visible and historic property\u201d will increase the municipality\u2019s current preserved open space by more than 3%.\n <\/p>\n The township expects to fund $7.5 million of the purchase through grants. The remaining $14 would come from the township\u2019s increase of its earned income tax by .25 percentage points, which would cost the average worker in the township an estimated $203 per year.\n<\/p>\n If voters pass the ballot measure, the township\u2019s earned income tax will rise from 0.5% to 0.75%.\n<\/p>\n