Sussex County residents will decide on Nov. 8 if they want to save 25,000 acres

Associated Press NEWTON - Residents in Sussex County will be asked on Election Day to approve another open space tax that would give the county $2.3 million to save 25,000 acres of land. County officials said they want to preserve the farmland, being eyed by developers, in the northwest section of the state. ``This will give (residents) more direction on where they want to see Sussex County go,’’ Freeholder Director Glen Vetrano told The New Jersey Herald of Newton for Sunday newspapers. ``I keep seeing more and more ‘No Mall’ signs popping up, so what are they telling us?’’ So far, 98 farms have been preserved in Sussex County, amounting to 11,756 acres, plus more than 1,300 acres of open space. The Nov. 8 ballot question will ask voters whether they would support another increase, amounting to about another $30 per year for the average assessed home of $200,000. If approved, the increase would be tacked on to the $40 residents already pay for open space preservation.