Englewood — Council members recently passed a law that would allow city financiers to borrow $9.5 million to buy land and construct roads off Route 4.

Although the City will front the money by taking out a loan, property owners who directly benefit from the new traffic and easier highway access will pay the final tab, officials said.

The City Council adopted a law March 18 that allows for the purchase of land and construction of roadways south of Route 4 to Sheffield Avenue through major developments under construction.

City officials previously adopted ordinances in 2003 and 2005, approving the money to buy the land and finance the road project. The most recent bond ordinance allows the city to borrow additional money for the project and apply special tax assessments on development projects and other properties that benefit from the roads.

The price tag is an estimated $10 million. City officials paid approximately $500,000 and took out a loan for the remainder of the money, which they expect the developers or property owners to pay. In the end, the city should be responsible for only about $1.5 million of the total project cost, according to the ordinance.

The developments that benefit from the road, valued at roughly $300 million, will be specially assessed for taxes, through a local improvement board the Council has established, according to the plan City Engineer Ken Albert and interim City Manager Robert Casey presented.

Through those assessments, property owners will pay the city back until the loan is paid off and they will also pay the cost of maintaining the board.

City officials are planning to keep track of the assessments and the flow of money from property owners’ pockets to the city’s treasury by forming the board, which will act as a debt collector.

The assessment will act as a lien, put on the property to ensure that developers pay the special fees and accrued interest, officials said.

According to Albert, the local improvement board is a "very useful, functional and rational mechanism" to ensure money gets collected and used to pay off the construction costs of the roads.

"The developer has extensive financial obligations to the city," Albert said. "The total amount to be assessed will be determined by the tax commissioners appointed by the City Council. The commissioners will review the value of the proposed road to the surrounding properties and assess the surrounding properties for the beneficial impact of the roadway. Both the total amount of the assessment and the individual property assessment cannot be determined at this time and will be determined on an objective basis that will be implemented by the commissioners."

E-mail: kumka@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6705