Council overrides mayoral veto

The Vernon Township Council voted on Tuesday night to overturn on a mayoral veto on a ballot question to establish a tax to raise money for recreational activities, with an eye toward future turf field replacements at Maple Grange Park.

The Council voted 4-1 in favor of overturning Mayor Harry Shortway’s veto of an ordinance that puts before voters in November a question of levying 10-year tax of ½ cents per $100 dollars of assessed property value for 10 years.

The ordinance, which was approved by a 4-1 margin – Councilwoman Sandra Ooms voted against it – is binding a referendum on the ballot in the Nov. 5 general election.

According to the ordinance, the money will be placed in a dedicated account only to be used for recreation purpose, like equipment or building or maintaining fields.

Council President Jean Murphy floated the idea of this tax after the township approved a $872,750 bond issue to replace two of the turf fields at Maple Grange Park.

Murphy said the tax will prevent the need for future bonding the next time the fields need to be replace and could leave the township with some cash when the turf football field at Maple Grange needs to be replaced.

Murphy said the football field will about $525,000 to b be replaced.

“If the ballot question passes in November a sufficient amount of money will not be collected in time to pay for the third field but the amount of that bond would be substantially reduced,” Murphy said. “However in 10 years there would be adequate funds available the next time the two soccer fields need replacement.”

In vetoing the ordinance, Shortway proposed a hotel occupancy tax and a short-term rental plan that he said would raise $1,000,000 to support the field replacements.

He said that could support the field without a property tax increase.

Councilwoman Sandra Ooms was concerned that the ordinance did not specify the collected money was for replacement of the turf fields and expressed concern that people were going to come to the ballot unaware of how much the township spends on recreation.

“The tax doesn’t sit right with me because we already spend a lot on recreation,” Ooms said.

She also said with the broad wording of the ordinance, there is nothing to stop a future administration from using the money for something else and there be few funds left when the fields need to be replaced.

To have another tax, no. We’re being taxed enough,” Ooms said. “We should have the revenue to pay for these things.”