Dear Neighbor,           

We would like to start off by thanking all of you who have lent your support to help us get out the truth about the upcoming referendum tax increase.  Because of you, we have the momentum heading into the polls on Tuesday.  Remember to check www.WALLACEVOTERS.com often for our daily updates, which will certainly include a response to our opponent’s final mailing.  We must say that we respect our opponent’s efforts towards preserving “open space”.  We hope through all of this that we can find common ground with them.  We all want “open space” and to preserve the character of Wallace.  Where we differ is that WE are concerned with keeping Wallace affordable for families, having a real plan to preserve “open space” and warning residents of the vulnerability of these land deals.

First, are you thinking of voting yes, because you want to do your part to preserve “open space”?  Well, right now you pay a significant portion of your County property tax (.664 mills - that’s more than half of your Wallace property tax), for parks and “open space” in Chester County.  And it is going to go up, as it has every year in the past.  You have paid and will pay more for “open space” via your County property tax.  Taxes are a serious problem in this township; we need to be exploring tax relief, not pursuing higher taxes.

Secondly, would you be surprised to know that there is no official township plan for what to do with our tax money? As of now, three residents (the supervisors) can make any property transaction and incur any related legal and professional expense with the 2.9 million dollars they borrow with our tax dollars.  While tax payers are paying the interest on the loan, they can indefinitely sit on the money.  They can, as other townships have done, spend through much of the money during failed attempts at negotiating with land owners.  We think there should be a precise plan, properties selected, and public input before they impose a tax and incur 2.9 million dollars in debt.  This is an all out sprint to raise our taxes with no public input into the process and no official plan in place.  Someone is pushing hard to get this passed before anything is set in stone and any public input is received.

Lastly, with the power of “Big Developer” lawyers do they really think these building restrictions put on land owners will stand the test of time?  Once land becomes even more expensive in Wallace, it will become cost-effective for developers to pay lawyers to find a way to build on this property we have set aside as “open space”.  The township could end up in an expensive legal battle.  A legal battle would be paid for using our property taxes and could send our property taxes significantly higher.

In light of these many issues, this tax is not the right solution for “open space” preservation, and it will have little if no impact on preserving “open space” in Wallace Township.  There are many other alternatives to be pursued and some already in place that go far beyond this tax and spend plan.  This Tuesday vote NO to this tax hike until all options have been explored, public input weighed and a plan put into place.             

                                    (SEE: www.WALLACEVOTERS.com for our past mailings and FAQs)

Sincerely,

Robert Jones – Chairman

H. Ward Albert, jr. – Treasurer