Bipartisan legislation that would exempt flood-prone properties acquired by municipalities from county and school taxes was approved by the state Assembly earlier this week.

The legislation would exempt from county and school taxes for the following tax year.

Currently, if a municipality acquires a flood-prone property after Oct. 1 it must pay county and school taxes owed on the property for all of the remainder of the following tax year.

Wayne is in the process of purchasing dozens of homes in areas that flood regularly. Once acquired, the homes are knocked down and the properties left to nature.

Assemblyman Scott Rumana (District 40) is one of the legislation’s sponsors.

“This legislation will encourage towns that chronically deal with flood-prone areas to acquire these properties without incurring an immediate tax liability,” Rumana said in a statement. “The buyout program is one more way to fix the problems created by flooding that have existed for generations in our state.”

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