Officials says any charter study recommendation
must hit residents’ ‘margins of expectations’
By:Paul Szaniawski
After weeks of interviewing speakers from other towns who successfully changed their municipal governments through charter studies, the Hillsborough Charter Study Commission received some seasoned advice from Hopewell Township’s deputy mayor who saw his town’s charter fail.
"Keep in mind the size of the task you’re taking on and also to convince your voters the change is worth it," David Sandahl said.
Before elected as deputy mayor in 2004, Mr. Sandahl served on the Township Committee and was a part of a movement that called for a charter study to change Hopewell’s government.
Hillsborough’s commission members listened wearily and warily June 20 to how Hopewell voters rejected the study’s recommendation in November 2005.
To restore stability and control to its government after some embarrassing moments in 2000 and 2001, Hopewell Township chose to take up a charter study a few years later. Mr. Sandahl, who wasn’t on the charter commission, felt a change could reinvigorate and restore the town’s government.
A similar feeling wasn’t shared by the township’s residents who didn’t see a clear reason to change its government to a mayor council administrator form.
"I think they failed to make a case that was persuasive to the public," said Mr. Sandahl. "You really need to make a case for change."
His advice included to base conclusions predominantly on facts, something his town’s charter didn’t do enough in its recommendation report. Mr. Sandahl remembered the report being less than stellar and how it failed to hit residents’ "margins of expectations."
Chris Jensen, chairman of Hillsborough’s Charter Study Commission, suggested a way to ensure that wouldn’t happen.
"Out of all the five people on this commission I would think all five members would write at least a typed page on their thoughts and how they came to their opinion," Mr. Jensen said.
Besides warnings and advice, Mr. Sandahl was also the first guest speaker to provide a relative and concrete answer about cost. The highest expenditure in changing forms of government is attorney fees for updating the town’s legal code, he said. The process would have cost Hopewell $20,000-$30,000.
To redo legal codification for a town half the size Hillsborough size would cost $60,000-$80,000, according to Mr. Sandahl. Only a week earlier had the commission heard from Joseph Bruno, a guest speaker from Berkeley Heights, that its government change had only cost $35,000 thus far.
The charter study commission was scheduled to hold a public hearing last night (Wednesday) and will meet again July 11.