HOBOKEN MUNICIPAL CODE
Chapter 55. Open Space Trust Fund [HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the City of Hoboken 122008 by Ord. No. DR343.]
§ 551. Trust Fund for Open Space Acquisition. There is hereby established a reserve in the General Capital fund which shall be known and designated as the “Trust Fund For Open Space Acquisition” (hereinafter referred to as the “Trust Fund”). A special bank account shall be opened and maintained for this purpose. Funds from the Trust Fund may, as directed by the Mayor and City Council, be utilized exclusively for the following purposes: A. Acquisition of lands, improved or unimproved, exclusively for recreation and conservation purposes; B. Development of said lands for recreation and conservation purposes; C. Payment of debt service on indebtedness issued or incurred by the City of Hoboken for the purposes set forth above; Provided however, that a minimum of 75% of the annual amount raised by the Trust Fund shall be utilized for the acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, or the payment of debt service on indebtedness issued or incurred by the City of Hoboken for the acquisition of said lands.
§ 552. Funding of the Trust Fund. The Trust Fund shall be funded through the dedication to the fund of an amount of $0.02 per $100 of assessed valuation of each annual tax levy commencing with the first tax quarter in calendar year 2008. The Trust Fund shall also be permitted to accept testamentary bequests, any other donations, and such supplementary funding as the Mayor and the City Council may elect, in their sole discretion, to authorize and appropriate. Any and all interest accruing with respect to the Trust Fund shall be added to the Trust Fund.
§ 553. Sale of property. No property acquired with funds from the Trust Fund shall be leased or sold, unless action has been authorized by the Mayor and City Council and by referendum in the manner prescribed by law. The deed of any property acquisition with funds from the Trust Fund shall contain the specific notation reflecting that the property was acquired with funds from the Trust Fund, and are subject to the limitations contained herein.
Note: In March 2011, the Hoboken City Council approved a bond ordinance appropriating $20 million for acquisition of open space to be paid for through the Open Space Trust Fund.
Hudson County Open Space, Recreation, & Historic Preservation Trust Fund In June 2003, the Hudson County Executive requested, and the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved a resolution authorizing the placement of a public question (referendum) on the general election ballot for the establishment of a County Open Space Recreation & Historic Preservation Trust Fund. On November 4, 2003, the ballot question was approved by a two-to-one majority of County voter participants. The Board of Chosen Freeholders, by resolution dated December 23, 2003, voted to establish the trust fund. The Trust Fund is funded through a property tax assessment to be approved by the Board of Chosen Freeholders, at a rate not to exceed one cent ($0.01) per $100.00 of the Total County equalized real property valuation. These funds will become a dedicated trust fund to acquire land for conservation, open space purposes, recreational facility enhancements, and farmland and historic preservation.
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