Rocky Hill mayor blasts state police fees

By Greg Forester / Staff Writer
   ROCKY HILL — Mayor Ed Zimmerman joined more than 100 officials at The College of New Jersey last week to oppose a state proposal to charge fees to towns that rely on state troopers for police coverage.
   The affected municipalities face a total of over $12 million in charges, and a Dec. 15 deadline to indicate an intention to establish a police department, share police services with another town, or pay the fees. Rocky Hill and its approximately 700 residents face $29,227 in fees that work out to $43.11 per capita, or roughly $100 per household.
   At Thursday’s state League of Municipalities meeting officials voted unanimously to call on the state to postpone the fees for a full year. That demand was based on a need for more accurate data regarding calls for service originating within the 89 towns set to receive the fees.
   Officials said they have experienced difficulty in obtaining the service data from the administration of Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who supported the plan and included it in this year’s state budget.
   ”The state has told us we’re not entitled to that information,” Mayor Zimmerman said. “But our attorneys told us that it is not in the public interest to pay, without knowing what we’re buying.”
   Officials at Thursday’s meeting blasted the plan because it failed to account for revenue received by the state from tickets issued by troopers for infractions that occur within the 89 towns.
   Mayor Zimmerman said that traffic violations in Rocky Hill have resulted in between $44,000 and $65,000 in revenue for the state in each year from 2004 to 2007.
   Over $27,000 has already come in during the first half of 2008.
   ”We’re already paying for it,” Mayor Zimmerman said.
   Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow, R-Hunterdon, said the fees were based not on crimes or calls, but on property values. She also charged that the plan was politically motivated and displayed a map showing that nearly all the towns facing bills for State Police coverage sat in Republican-controlled areas.
   ”These cuts went to the Republican districts,” Ms. Karrow said.
   She noted that the City of Newark, which traditionally supports Democratic politicians, received hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency state aid this year. Places facing increased property tax bills because of State Police charges included “89 towns, with half the population of Newark,” Ms. Karrow said.
   State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, gave those gathered in the campus center classroom an impassioned update on his plans for legislation that would impose a $9 surcharge on all moving violations handed out by the State Police. “We are all in this together, shoulder to shoulder,” he said.
   A challenge filed by Rocky Hill with the Council on Local Mandates is also proceeding, with a scheduling hearing set for Sept. 17.
   That challenge seeks to have the state police fees labeled as an unconstitutional unfunded mandate and thrown out.
   The state police fees come at a time when New Jersey’s municipalities are already dealing with significant cuts to state aid this year. The state Legislature adopted a budget that froze state aid for many towns.
   For small municipalities like Rocky Hill state aid was withheld entirely by Gov. Corzine, as part of a plan to provide incentive to towns to share services or even consolidate.
   But Rocky Hill eventually saw around $28,000 in state aid restored, although borough officials have noted that the restored aid figures are almost identical to what Gov. Corzine proposes to charge the borough for State Police coverage.
   Rocky Hill relies upon the State Police for service calls, in addition to paying South Bound Brook for 50 hours of traffic enforcement per month.
   Revenue generated from tickets handed out by South Bound Brook police also leaves the borough.