Pennington mulls merger with township police

Council seeking state grant to help pay for feasibility study

By John Tredrea
   Pennington Borough is considering the advisability of doing what Hopewell Borough did over 20 years ago – giving up its own police department and getting police services from Hopewell Township instead.
   But before any final decision – which is many months away — is made, the people of Pennington would have their say, probably in a referendum.
   Pennington has hired a consultant to apply for state funding to do a feasibility study of the borough’s getting police services from the township. Like Hopewell Borough, Pennington is completely encircled by the township. Both boroughs are less than one square mile in size.
   Pennington Administrator Eugene Dunworth said Tuesday that Borough Council agreed Monday night to hire the Cranford-based firm of Jersey Professional Management. The borough will pay that firm $500 to apply for a state grant that would pay most of the cost of the feasibility study. If the borough gets the grant, Jersey Professional Management will get another $500. The maximum amount the firm could get from the borough is $1,000.
   Mr. Dunworth said the borough stands a good chance of getting the grant, which would probably be in the range of $25,000 to $30,000. He said this money probably would pay for 80 to 90 percent of the cost of the feasibility study. Under such an arrangement, Pennington would have to pay the balance of the cost of the study, he said.
   The borough administrator predicted it would be several months, at least, before the state responds to the impending grant application.
   Mayor Tony Persichilli said Monday afternoon that, even if a feasibility study recommends disbanding the borough Police Department and contracting with the township for police service, the final decision on whether to make that change should be made in a public referendum. Councilman Weed Tucker said the same during Monday night’s council meeting, Mr. Dunworth said.
   In the early 1990s, the Pennington Council considered disbanding the borough police and contracting with the township. The idea was scrapped after residents jammed Borough Hall to say they wanted their own police department.