NEW BRUNSWICK — Despite cutting its open space tax, Middlesex County will continue to fund land purchases this year, Freeholder Director Christopher D. Rafano said. The Board of Chosen Freeholderswill reduce the open space tax from 3 cents to 2 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation.

“It’s only on a temporary basis,” Rafano said last week. “It’s the board’s belief that in these difficult times, we have to do everything to provide tax relief for the taxpayers of Middlesex County. And with this, along with a variety of other things, we’ve done that.”

The county bonded for $40 million recently in order to continue to make land acquisitions, Rafano said.

“We knew the real estate market would be soft and we would have some deals we would be able to take advantage of during these economic times,” he said. “We have a pool of money to meet our commitments in 2010. Now is a good time to buy.”

Reducing the open space tax by a penny provides residents with $11 million in tax relief, Rafano said.

Middlesex County has already preserved 7,000 acres of open space, not including lands preserved through the state farmland preservation program, he said.

“Our goal is 10,000 acres by 2012,” Rafano said.

Officials held the public hearing on the county budget March 11, but will adopt it at a later date.

The county’s operating expenses will drop by $524,725, below 2009 levels, Rafano said.

The county is in the process of selling its engineering building to New Brunswick for $2.9 million, and the Civic Center parking lot to the New Brunswick Parking Authority for $3.5 million.

The county will use $2.1 million in surplus to help balance the budget.

“Given the current state of the national economy and the unprecedented burden on our taxpayers, I believe that using reserve funds now is the responsible thing to do,” Rafano said in his budget introduction statement. “I am, however, putting county department heads and employees on notice: We must replenish the surplus for the 2011 budget year.”

“Like everybody else, our revenues are down,” he told Greater Media Newspapers. “We have been actively pursuing shared services with other counties.”

Middlesex County just renewed its shared services agreement with Monmouth County for medical examiner services, which should yield $100,000 in revenue, he said. It also just entered into a contract with Monmouth to house out-of-county juvenile offenders in the county youth services center in North Brunswick, a move that will add another $2 million in revenue annually, Rafano said.

“We think that will generate about $20 million over the next 10 years,” he said.

County officials are still discussing other shared services with other counties, Rafano said.

“We have continued to consolidate where we can consolidate,” he said.

The county’s hiring freeze of all nonessential employees is continuing, and some vacant positions are being eliminated, moves that will save over $721,967, Rafano said.

“We’re trying to reduce the work force by attrition,” he said. “Just because a vacancy occurs, it’s not automatically filled.”