By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE Though one of the driving motivations behind the township name change was eliminating confusion, some residents are still unclear about their township’s identity.
Confusion over the name change, which voters overwhelmingly approved (1,816 to 693) earlier this month, has led officials to send out a letter formally notifying state agencies and vendors of the decision, according to Township Administrator Mary Caffrey.
She said a year-end letter discussing the name change and other township issues will be sent to residents next month.
Now that the Mercer County Board of Elections has certified election results, the township is Robbinsville, she said, however, Jan. 1 will be the “date certain,” as far as state agencies are concerned.
Ms. Caffrey and Township Clerk Michele Auletta likened the township name change to a marriage. After the ceremony, the marriage is effective, but until the paperwork is done and the changes are on file, it is not completely official.
The school district recently passed a resolution to become Robbinsville School District, and Ms. Caffrey said residents should consider their homes as located in Robbinsville Township.
The township has already begun sending notices on Robbinsville letterhead and is awaiting the arrival of the official seal, which was predicted by officials to be the biggest up-front cost of the name change. The bill totaled $796 according to Ms. Caffrey.
The township is also sending out notice to the New Jersey Real Estate Commission in the state Department of Banking and Insurance and taking out advertisements in legal publications to make these parties are aware of the Jan. 1 cut-off date, Ms. Caffrey said.
In regard to signage, the New Jersey Department of Transportation is responsible for replacing Washington signs on state roads, such as Route 33 and Route 130.
If the township submits a request to change the Washington sign on Interstate 195, DOT will consider replacing it, according to Director of Communications Erin Phalon.
However, she said, the sign was recently replaced and still has “useful life” left in it. If the township does not request the change, Robbinsville would appear on the sign until it is replaced in due course, she said.
Ms. Caffrey acknowledged the expense DOT incurred replacing the sign and said the township would send a letter asking that the name change be revised the next time the sign is replaced instead of pushing for an immediate change.
Other township items requiring a name change, such as police cars and uniforms, will be follow a normal replacement rotation, according to officials.
The township is taking steps to update the Web site and change the domain name, more than likely through an interlocal agreement with a larger municipality that has Web design experience, Ms. Caffrey said.
Staff e-mail addresses will also be updated to include Robbinsville.
A number of residents have been pushing the name change for more than five years, hoping to create an identity for the township among six other municipalities in New Jersey bearing the Washington name.
Ms. Caffrey said she attended the New Jersey League of Municipalities conference in Atlantic City last week and was excited to approach the registration table to have the township name on her tag changed to Robbinsville.
”Some of the (administrators from the) other Washingtons came up to me and said, ‘Thank goodness,’” she said. “They were equally as glad to see one less Washington in New Jersey.”

