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As of 11:45 p.m., Tuesday, with 17 out of Bedford’s 18 voting districts reporting (94 percent), there were 1,708 votes in favor of the tax and 849 against.
Over the summer, the Town Board voted to lower the tax from a 3 percent to a 1 percent surcharge on property taxes, a condition that would last for five years.
The alternative option on the ballot was to get rid of the tax altogether, thus defunding the town’s Open Space Acquisition Committee.
Since its formation in 2000, the open-space fund has purchased the Tom Burke Preserve, Zima Farms, Leatherman’s Ridge, Vernon Hills and the Ridge Road property, all with the help of various partners such as the Westchester Land Trust and the Department of Environmental Protection.
The fund also has a pending transaction on the 20-acre Twin Lakes property. The five properties purchased comprise 71 acres in three hamlets and are valued at $4.2 million altogether.
The stated goals of the Open Space Acquisition Program are to maintain and enhance the rural character of the town while preserving environmentally sensitive and historically important areas.
It is estimated that the tax will cost the average household in Bedford approximately $20 per year, down from $60 at the 3 percent rate.
With the state-imposed 2 percent property tax levy cap passed in June 2011, town officials have expressed worry that maintaining the tax will force the town to exceed the cap in order to continue to provide Bedford citizens with the services they expect living in town.
The Bedford Town Board will take the voters' decision into consideration when it votes on its 2013 budget next year. The 3 percent tax had been in effect since 2002 until it was lowered to 1 percent this July.
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