Honey Brook Township Tax Referendum (2009)
| Not on Ballot |
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| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
The Honey Brook Township Tax Referendum was a ballot measure that did not appear on the November 3 ballot in Chester County for voters in the township of Honey Brook. If it had been placed on the ballot, the question to voters would have been whether or not to eliminate part of a 1.5% local income tax levy.
Residents in Honey Brook Township had been paying a 1.5 percent earned income tax for the previous three years. One-third of the money raised through the local income tax levy went to a farmland program, while the remaining two-thirds was split between the Honey Brook township government and the Twin Valley School District.
The Honey Brook Action Committee Association (HBACA) opposed the continuation of the part of the tax that goes to farmland preservation. They began circulating a petition in March 2009 to qualify the tax-elimination measure for the ballot. In July 2009, they said they had collected more than the 90 signatures needed for a referendum. The committee had until August 2009 to submit the signatures to the Chester County Department of Voter Services in order to get the question on the November ballot. According to the committee, the Township's existing plan was already trying to cluster development in certain areas, so raising and spending extra money on open space preservation was redundant.
James L. Forsythe, voter services director, said he hadn't received the petition but that his office was aware of the group's efforts.[1]
It was determined that the Honey Brook Action Committee did not meet the statutory requirements to place their referendum on the fall ballot.
Honey Brook Township, located in southeastern Pennsylvania, had a population as of the 2000 census of 6,278. Chester County, where Honey Brook Township is located, ranked 21st among the more than 3,100 counties in the United States by adjusted gross income for 2007.[2]
Land preservation goals
A "Land Preservation Plan" prepared in 2007 for the Honey Brook Township Board of Supervisors states in its introduction:
"Everything that guides the Honey Brook Township Board of Supervisors, including their mission statement and vision, is geared toward preserving the open spaces and rural character of the Township. This also includes the desires of the majority of residents in Honey Brook. To that end, this land preservation plan is not only consistent with this mission and vision, but – along with the Comprehensive Plan – is the actual conduit through which the greatest desires and dreams for the future of the Township are put into action."[3]
Support
Sam Fisher, president of the Honey Brook Action Committee Association, said he believed it was the wrong time to be taking more money out of taxpayers' pockets.
"People are hurting right now," said Fisher, referring to the general economic decline of 2009.
Fisher and his group believed that the township could accomplish agricultural preservation through strong zoning laws.
Opposition
Chairman of the Township Agriculture Preservation Board John McHugh stated that removing the tax would deal a serious blow to the program. Farmers still could voluntarily give up their development rights in exchange for tax credits, according to McHugh, but the township provides money they can invest in improving their farms.
McHugh said: "From a long-term perspective, now is the ideal time to preserve farmland. Land is cheaper now."
External links
- Official website of the Honey Brook Action Committee Association
- Honey Brook Township Land Preservation Plans
- Honey Brook Township Official Website
- Chester County Official Website
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Official Website
Footnotes
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