Wayne Candidates Want To Overhaul Open Space Plan, Taxes

WAYNE, NJ — A group of candidates is pledging to create a property tax relief program for senior citizens as part of a larger open space plan if elected.

The New Vision slate of candidates wants to create an Open Space and Parks Master Plan for the township. Wayne already has an open space and recreation plan that applies to the 1,800 acres of parkland the township owns. That plan was approved in 2005.

According to mayoral candidate Lonni Miller Ryan and her runningmates, Jim Marrocco, Matt Rosenthal and Kevin Kearney, Wayne taxpayers pay $2 million annually — $1 million each — into municipal and county open space funds. They said in a press release Tuesday that Mayor Chris Vergano and his administration have $5 million in open space funds and no plan in place to use it.

"Taxpayers are being deceived into thinking they are being taxed by the county and the municipality to protect open space from development," Kearney said in the press release. "Taxpayers need to be told the truth about where their tax money is going and decide how to best direct their tax dollars."

Vergano campaign spokesman Dan Knitzer said that Ryan's plan is "typical of the type of misinformed pandering that characterizes" her campaign.

"All of our open space funds are already targeted for renovating and expanding our park system. In fact, we are using $3.4 million to build a new multi-purpose recreation complex on Alps Road that automatically qualifies Wayne for $825,000 in additional state Green Acre funding," Knitzer said. "Her plan would lose the state funding and force us to abandon the project or raise taxes to pay for it."

RELATED: Work Begins On New Alps Road Athletic Fields

As part of their master plan, the candidates claim they would ask other municipalities to help challenge the Passaic County open space tax, which they said does "little to preserve open space."

The candidates also said the county took $6 million in county open space funds from 2010 to 2015, but only gave the town back $2 million in grants, and none of them were for open space preservation, according to a press release.

The team would also put a referendum to voters asking them to dedicate a portion of open space tax dollars to create a municipal senior property tax relief program.

Ryan's team is running against incumbent Vergano and his slate of Councilman Joseph Schweighardt, Jill Sasso and David Varano. Vergano is a 10-year incumbent.

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