The urge to merge

State considers consolidating towns

By: Cara Latham
   New legislation introduced in the last two sessions of the special state committee looking at government consolidation and shared services could mean that municipal mergers are a step closer to reality.
   Even though the bill is in its early stages, during a time when relief for property taxes is a major concern for many New Jersey residents, it could mean that smaller municipalities like Roosevelt Borough — known as a doughnut-hole because it is surrounded by only one municipality, in this case Millstone — could see merging with a neighboring town as possibility down the road.
   The criteria for consolidation might include geographic and economic considerations, and would be used to determine which pairs or groups of municipalities would benefit most from consolidation, said Courtney Fagan, director of legislative affairs for Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, R-13th, who is the chief sponsor of the bill.
   Even though it is still early to tell what will happen with the proposed legislation, both Roosevelt Borough Councilman Bob Silverstein and Mayor Beth Battel said they did not think the residents of the borough would be in favor of a scenario forcing them to merge with another municipality because Roosevelt would lose its character and independence.
   Mr. Silverstein said one of the reasons people moved to a small municipality like Roosevelt is because they like the tight-knit atmosphere as opposed to that of "a big conglomerate."
   "They want to continue living in a small town," he said of borough residents. "It’s a big world, and people like to feel close to their neighbors."
   Mayor Battel said the layout and formation of the town during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt — designated at the Jersey Homesteads — coupled with the Greenbelt design and agricultural character makes the borough unique, and she would fear losing the borough’s individuality.
   "To consolidate (the borough) with other towns, it would lose a lot of its special qualities," she said. "We’ve always been an independent town."
   Millstone and Roosevelt participate in mutual aid already — sharing volunteer fire and emergency services — and the arrangement has worked out well, she said. If municipalities were forced to look at consolidation, Roosevelt Borough would almost certainly merge with Millstone.
   "We help them when we can, and they help us when they can," Mayor Battel said. "We’re always grateful for the assistance Millstone gives us."
   Millstone Township Committeeman Elias Abilheira said the two municipalities have aggressively been seeking interlocal agreements to ease the burden on taxpayers, but he is not sure merging the two would save a significant amount of money.
   While he never evaluated what a consolidation would do for both municipalities, the real reform needs to take place with consolidating school districts and police departments, he said. Millstone and Roosevelt have separate school districts.
   Millstone Township Administrator James Pickering said talk of merging municipalities, particularly Millstone and Roosevelt, took place a few years ago when Millstone and Roosevelt discussed shared services, but no intent to merge came from the talks.
   Mr. Pickering said it is still too soon to tell what would happen, but it’s something "that you would have to take a really long look at."
   "I don’t know if it’s a viable option," but lawmakers need to look to see how it benefits other communities and towns before deciding on a course of action, he said.
   Under the bill, the proposed committee would consist of nine bipartisan, public members with expertise in various local governmental fields, who would ultimately be appointed by legislators, the governor and the chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
   At the special committee on government consolidation and shared services meeting that was scheduled for yesterday (Wednesday) after The Messenger-Press’ deadline, Ms. Fagan said members would be discussing the bill and are going to "really start looking at some plans" for consolidation.
   The bill is styled after the military base-closing commission created under the Base Realignment and Closure initiative adopted by the U.S. Department of Defense, and is meant as part of a solution to the state’s rising property taxes.
   Jon Moran, senior legislative analyst with the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said Sept. 29 that while he had not yet seen the proposed bill, modeling the legislation on the BRAC initiative would not be good for New Jerseyans.
   Since the proposed committee and the standard set of criteria for consolidation have not yet been determined, Mr. Moran said he wouldn’t know which municipalities would be affected, or if there would be any winners or losers if the bill would go through.
   "We have no problem with consolidations that are agreed to by the voters and taxpayers of the elected municipalities," he said. "The Legislature, as far as we’re concerned, has no right to set up a process which would diminish the rights of New Jersey voters to local self-determination."
   Mike Cerra, also a senior legislative analyst with the League of Municipalities, said Tuesday that it’s hard to tell how the proposed bill would affect smaller municipalities that are considered "doughnut holes" like Roosevelt, but it’s a possibility they could be forced to merge.
   The League of Municipalities is concerned about the bill because the way it’s drafted, it would remove the public from the process.
   "The bill seems to be premised on the belief that bigger is better and that some of these smaller communities are inefficient and need to be absorbed," he said.
   Mr. Cerra said what happens with the bill and the effects it will have on those municipalities is yet to be seen, as it is only being discussed currently, but that smaller municipalities have already contacted him with concern about the legislation.
   "We don’t oppose consolidation," he said. "It’s up to the town as far as we’re concerned. It’s a local decision, and we think that’s a fundamental right in the state."
   Mr. Abilheira said that Roosevelt "really is a special town which has its own flavor," and that he understands why the idea of merging into a 35-square-mile township might make them wary.
   However, if such a merge had to take place, he said the Township Committee would make an effort to protect Roosevelt’s character.
   "Roosevelt certainly has a very distinct culture and lifestyle, and I think that if the townships were merged by act of the state, Millstone will make every effort to preserve what makes Roosevelt so special," Mr. Abilheira said. "We would certainly never try and press the issue."
   Mr. Silverstein said keeping a small municipality afloat is sometimes hard because smaller towns are expected to provide the same services a larger town does for its residents, but that residents will want to keep the borough the way it is.
   Mayor Battel agreed.
   "Even if it’s a little more expensive to keep it the way it is, it’s worth it to us."