Study on Public Purchase of Bancroft Released

The public purchase of the 18.7-acre Bancroft property on Kings Highway East could hike municipal property tax rates by nearly 14 percent over 20 years of financing, according to a borough cost analysis released on Wednesday.

The 14-percent increase is derived from the projected 5.5¢ increase on the tax rate for the $14.2 million in financing of the project. The 5.5¢ would be added to Haddonfield's current 44¢ per $100,000 of assessed value for property taxes. McManimon's analysis added the 5.5¢ increase to the overall tax rate of $2.57 per $100,000 of value, which adds up to a 2.3 percent increase on the municipal, school and county tax rate.

Using either calculation would mean an increase of $271 yearly to the tax bill of the typical borough homeowner with a property valued at the average of $491,000. The typical property tax bill in Haddonfield is $12,000, which includes municipal, school and county taxes.

The cost analysis produced by the borough's redevelopment attorney, Ed McManimon, will be discussed in detail at a Haddonfield Board of Commissioners meeting next Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Municipal Hall.

The Bancroft redevelopment has been a potentially divisive topic for more than a decade. The debate has been framed by whether to use the property for more open space, a high-school expansion and more athletic fields or for tax-generating businesses or housing. Borough commissioners had favored a plan to build an assisted-living retirement complex on the site, but a public backlash about "high-density" development forced them to scrap the plan and start over last December.

"We want to get a lot more input from our citizens about the value they see in an all-public option and what they are prepared to pay in terms of cost," borough Commissioner Ed Borden said Wednesday. 

The cost presented by McManimon are only estimates, based on a set of assumptions, Borden stressed. Some of the assumptions include the purchase price of Bancroft. Officials there want $15 million but the borough assesses the property at $12 million, which might be less than the actual market value, according to McManimon. An additional $16 dollars must be added to the $271 in additional taxes for every additional $1 million of costs.

Other assumptions include a total price of acquisition, demolition and site improvements of $19.52 million, but only $14.27 million to be financed. The estimate includes nearly $4 million in state and county grants. Only about $500,000 in grants have been specifically committed to the project to date.

Borden said the increase in the tax rate could be achieved even with a state-mandated, 2 percent annual tax-rate increase cap. He said debt service is not included in the cap. The $14.27 million needed for the purchase would be considered debt service.

Other considerations for the public purchase include school board plans to build a new library and learning center at Bancroft. Those projects were not included in McManimon's estimate. School taxes make up the majority of the $12,000 annual typical tax bill in the borough.

Haddonfield’s average property tax of $12,088.88 is nearly twice the state average at $7,776, according to the state Department of Community Affairs. Haddonfield has the second highest average property tax bill in Camden County. It trails Tavistock, an exclusive enclave at the tip of Haddonfield, enclosed mostly in an exclusive golf course. Haddonfield's property tax bills are 27 percent higher than Voorhees, $8,777.41, third in the county.

Click here to see the entire McManimon analysis.

Correction: The total price of acquisition, demolition and site improvements at Bancroft are projected to be $19.52 million. An earlier version of this story said the ACQUISITION was $19.52 million.