Expert Tells Council—

Time Is Right For Open Space Bond Program

By Jan Howard

Newtown is in good financial shape to pursue bonding for open space because of its strong Aa2 bond rating by Moody’s Investor Services, according to a recent study by The Trust for Public Land.

Tim Northrop, the state director of The Trust for Public Land, presented a plan, “Financing Open Space Protection in Newtown,” to the Legislative Council on Wednesday. Also attending the meeting were First Selectman Herb Rosenthal and some members of the Board of Finance.

The Trust for Public Land works with organizations and municipalities to acquire and protect land.

“We work proactively with communities on how to fund open land,” Mr Northrop said. “We look at how a town can best pay for open space.”

The town’s choices are either to put aside funding to accrue over time or to bond to purchase properties. Because of its bond rating and taking into consideration statutory debt limits, “The town should look at bonding for its open space program,” he said.

The plan notes that currently Newtown has approximately $472 million in debt outstanding. It has no outstanding debt for open space. In regard to statutory debt limits, Newtown has ample capacity to issue bonds for the acquisition of open space, it says.

Newtown has a goal of protecting 21 percent of its land as open space, as recommended by the Ad Hoc Open Space Task Force. Newtown’s current inventory of public and privately protected open space is estimated at 5,788 acres, approximately 14.8 percent of its land area. An additional 2,400 acres needs to be protected by the public and private sectors to meet the 21 percent goal.

The question, of course, is how to pay for the vision. “The town should consider bonding as one way to reach its goal,” Mr Northrop said.

An investment in open space can increase quality of life, he said. He noted that open space should be looked at as an asset, and that local funding is critical to success.

“There are multiple reasons to conserve open space,” he said. If properties are developed, residential development can have a huge financial impact on a town.

The plan notes that Newtown experienced a 20.5 percent increase in population between 1990 and 2000, while Connecticut’s average population increased by 3.5 percent. In the same time period, 1,320 new homes were added, a 15 percent increase, the fastest increase in Fairfield County.

Local funding of land acquisition is an increasingly important topic, Mr Northrop said. Local funding equals local control, the study notes, and leverages private, state, and federal money.

“Once you have some money, you can find other funding from other places,” he said. The town can apply for federal and state grants in addition to bonding, he added.

The study states that communities are affected adversely by the loss of open space, through decreased quality of life, increased demand for costly public services, degradation of water quality, and reduction of wildlife habitat.

Mr Rosenthal noted that he would like to have the town bond $10 million for the acquisition of open space. For a bond issue of $10 million, the plan indicates an estimated annual debt service of $1 million, which would bring about a tax rate increase of 0.37 mill.

“A pay-as-you-go program is less effective than bonding,” Mr Northrop said.

Bonding provides a large pool of funding that allows immediate purchase of land while it is still available and presumably at a lower price than in the future, the plan states. Bonding distributes the cost of acquisition over time so that future beneficiaries also share in the burden. Issuance of bonds is a familiar technique for financing open space in Connecticut.

A disadvantage to bonding, the plan notes, is interest on debt increases total costs.

Advantages of bonding up front in anticipation for purchases provides entry into the marketplace, establishes credibility with landowners, increases opportunities to receive grants, and enables a comprehensive, proactive approach, the plan states.

Through a bonding program, landowners would know the town is interested in open space acquisition and that there is money available, Mr Northrop said. Having money in place makes it possible to approach a landowner before competition begins for a property, he said.

Options for open space include conservation easements, donation, or purchase, the plan states.

Regarding state funding, Mr Northrop said the Department of Agriculture’s farmland preservation program has not been active over the last ten years. “Money had not made it through the Bonding Commission,” he said. He noted, however, that some money is being approved for farmland protection and open space grants. He said there is an opportunity to get 50 percent funding by the state.

Mr Rosenthal said that the Ad Hoc Open Space Task Force has an inventory of potential land purchases for the town, but has not looked at which parcels have higher priority.

The plan states that a $2 million bond per year plus charitable donations and state and federal funds could protect hundreds of acres of land in Newtown, which would bring the town closer to its 21 percent open space goal.

The study also includes examples of recent open space bonds in Connecticut, and reviews bonding by other towns, such as Glastonbury, Tolland, and Trumbull.