Passed into law in 2005, the Community Investment Act (CIA) has turned out to be one of the most successful pieces of legislation of the past decade. It mandates a $40 surcharge on real estate recording fees, a relatively painless fee in the scope of these transactions.

A small portion — $1 to $3 —goes to the municipality for capital improvement projects. The rest goes into a dedicated state fund for open space and farmland preservation, historic preservation, agriculture supports and much-needed affordable housing initiatives.

Now Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, in an effort to balance the budget, proposes sweeping all the money from the dedicated fund over the next two fiscal years, approximately $26 million, and using it to cover general government expenses instead of the targeted programs the 2005 legislation intended.

While we agree on the goal of balancing the books and avoiding a tax increase, this is not the way to do it. It turns a dedicated fund into another general-government tax. There is no strategy behind the proposal. It’s just a money grab.

By preserving farms and open spaces, and helping maintain the state’s historic structures, the program contributes to our quality of life and the charm that makes Connecticut a destination for visitors.

A University of Connecticut study of the dairy farm support program funded under the CIA credited it with stemming the decline of dairy farms, resulting in $21 million to $34 million in dairy sales between 2010 and 2012 that would have otherwise been lost.

In Preston, the Mattern Farm received a $35,025 matching grant that allowed it to invest $75,050 to develop a cheese-processing facility. East Lyme used a $5,000 grant towards an $11,400 campaign to promote the Niantic Farmers Market. Norwich Public Schools received a $50,000 grant toward a $103,000 project that converted an underused school kitchen into a processing kitchen for produce from local farms.

Historic grants have included $2,500 for repairs at the Ledyard Up-Down Sawmill; $4,000 to restore the tin ceiling in the 153-year-old former North Lyme Baptist Church in Lyme; and $18,600 to underwrite preservation planning for New London Harbor Light and Ledge Lighthouse.

These are but a few examples. The point is this dedicated fund has meant these vital efforts continued through good fiscal times and bad.

CIA works. Leave it alone and find other means to balance the budget.