Kevin Corbett is the man responsible for making NJ Transit’s trains and buses run on time, but he is also a gentleman farmer, according to Morris County tax records. And that saves him a bundle in property taxes.

Corbett paid a mere $19.42 in taxes for the five acres of his Mendham Township property that’s assessed as farmland, according to Morris County tax records. By comparison, Corbett and his wife paid $20,609 in taxes in 2018 for the other less than one acre on which the family home is located.

Corbett makes $281,000 as CEO and president of the embattled state mass transit agency.

Corbett’s farmland assessment was first reported by NJ Globe. NJ Transit officials did not immediately respond to emailed questions from NJ Advance Media. However, a spokesman told the Globe that Corbett raises and breeds sheep on the farm and sells products from their wool.

On his financial disclosure forms for 2018 and 2019, Corbett lists “residential” as the current use for the family real estate. County tax records said the five acres have been in farm use since 1950.

County records said the farmed acres have a value of $900 for tax purposes, compared to an assessed value of $973,500 for remaining land and home.

Farmland tax exemptions are intended to lessen the property tax burden on farmers, who in many cases are considered “land rich and cash poor.” The question of abuse by some landowners led to reforms that took effect in 2015, which increased the gross sales of farm products from the land from $500 to $1,000 for the first five acres to qualify for a farmland assessment.

Land owners have to show receipts for the sale of agricultural products or crops from their land. An NJ Transit spokesman told the Globe that Corbett sold $900 worth.

One of the trade-offs for the reduced assessment is keeping the land in farming and reducing the temptation for farmers to sell to developers, which could cost taxpayers in other ways, especially if enough new homes were built that could cause the need to expand or build new schools.

But abuses of the program also prompted the call for reform. Former Gov. Christie Whitman came under fire during her tenure for reducing taxes on her two estates by selling firewood to relatives and friends. Some landowners lease the farmland to farmers and let them keep the crops in exchange for meeting the intent of the law.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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