07/29/2026
PLEASE vote "NO" on the proposed "PRESERVATION" tax for new homebuyers in Chester.
This tax would only provide a new means by which "inner circle" cronies benefit from having taxpayers subsidize their own pet projects through "matching funds" from taxpayer monies, or full funding of pet projects, such as niche farms, farm wineries or simply preserving their own backyard viewshed, at the expense of others.
It also provides a path for the town to hire and pay (with taxpayer funds) more specialized consultants ( who are also in the huddle, as we've recently seen at Knapp's View, etc.) to make (paid) preservation value assessments.
It's critical for Chester voters to understand exactly what this is.
Below are examples of how taxpayer monies were suggested to be abused for pet projects on one preserved
open space parcel in Chester.
This is a very disingenuous form of greenwashing to benefit pals of 'the huddle' with our tax dollars.
Here's something that should serve as a very demonstrative example of how Chester is using its conservation "advisory" board to start expensive grantwriting initiatives that abuse publicly-preserved land in Chester to issue emoluments to personal friends of a town advisory board's member(s); in this case, a consultant was brought to the preserved parcel by the town's conservation "advisory" board in 2024 and the consultant suggested that the scope of her work could cost over 1 million dollars. This proposed local law would only bolster and enhance the town's ability to expend our taxpayer funds on similar projects with more "preserved" land. this was never about preservation or beautification; it's about
putting taxpayer monies into the pockets of advisory board member friends:
