JERSEY CITY -- The political chatter over a referendum facing Jersey City voters next month on the timing of municipal elections has largely eclipsed another ballot initiative that would be a goldmine for the city coffers.

The Fulop administration wants to levy an additional tax to create a dedicated fund for funding parks and historic preservation. The tax would amount to two cents per $100 of assessed value, which Mayor Steve Fulop in August called a "nominal" hike. The city believes the fund would generate $1.2 million annually.

The plan has even some of the mayor's critics in support. Ward D Councilman Michael Yun agrees with the mayor that the proposed tax would be a relatively painless way to create a dedicated stream of revenue for creating and maintaining parks and preserving historic landmarks.

"It's a small investment," Yun said, "but the impact citywide next year and in the future is positive."

Today's unseasonable warmth and sunny skies brought dozens out to Hamilton Park in Downtown Jersey City, where voters who spoke to The Jersey Journal said they approve of the ballot initiative.

"Children need more green space," said Mara Mazzartto, 51, a teacher who lives on First Street. "I think it's great."

Nina Marcalle, 48, said the trust fund proposal sounds "awesome."

"The cost seems reasonable," she said.

Both women rent their homes. Patrick Campbell, 82, who owns a Bentley Avenue home where the property tax bill is nearly $9,000, is less enthused. Campbell said he and his wife take advantage of Lincoln Park, a county park a block from their home, and feels if residents of neighborhoods that don't have parks want them, they should pay for them.

"I'm not against money for parks," he said. "We pay very heavy taxes here. We're already supporting the parks."

When Fulop first announced the referendum, he said the fund would be used for parks purposes only. City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said the ballot question as written was modeled after the county's trust fund, which also funds preservation of historic buildings like the Apple Tree House.

The city is planning to create an advisory board that would work with the administration to determine how money from the fund should be spent.

Hudson County voters approved a countywide open space trust fund in 2003 that is expected to bring in $20 million this year (that tax is one cent per $100 of assessed value). This year the fund was used to expand Boyd McGuiness Park, rehabilitate soccer fields at Caven Point, fund the creation of Berry Lane Park and more, according to county spokesman Jim Kennelly.

The only municipality in Hudson County with its own open space trust fund is Hoboken, approved by voters in 2007. The two-cents-per-$100 tax led to an expected $2.24 million this year.

Both ballot questions were popular, with about 60 percent of voters in support. Typically about three-quarters of similar ballot questions pass nationwide, according to Ernest Cook, a senior vice president for the Trust for Public Land, a national conservation group.

Officials can doom such referendums by asking for too much money or not giving voters enough information about how the money would be spent, Cook said.

"People are somewhat skeptical of where their tax dollars are going but if they have a good idea of where the money is going to be spent, and if that money's going to be spent for good things, then voters are much more likely to approve," he said.

Since 1988, the United States has seen 2,524 ballot initiatives approving new taxes for open space, according to the Trust for Public Land. 1,902 have passed. As of last November, voters have approved open space trust funds in 237 New Jersey municipalities and all 21 counties.

The election is Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.