Review of courts merger contingent on more state funding
By Matt Chiappardi, Staff Writer
The governing councils of East Windsor and Hightstown have agreed to amend a contract with a consultant studying the feasibility of the township taking over borough police coverage to include a review of merging court systems if additional state funding is approved.
While the East Windsor council approved the measure 6-0 Tuesday, the Borough Council did so on a 5-1 vote Monday, with Dave Schneider dissenting. He said his no vote was in accord with his overall opposition to having the township provide police services for the smaller borough.
”I don’t believe a larger police force is necessary nor is it necessarily any more efficient,” he said. “Furthermore, I’m inclined to think the borough is not likely to benefit from a larger court system. (The township) would want some claim to some of (the court’s) money.”
Borough Administrator Candace Gallagher said the net revenue from its court system was $74,000 in 2005, $110,000 in 2006, and $179,000 in 2007.
Council President Walter Sikorski rebuffed Mr. Schneider.
”I don’t know why anyone would be against a study,” he said. “It’s a no-brainer to take advantage of this situation in light of the fact that consolidation is the wave of the future regardless of whether we like it or not, or whether it hurts our local pride or not.”
In East Windsor, Mayor Janice Mironov repeated that the court study would simply “broaden the scope of the agreement” with Patriot Consulting Group “to include the feasibility and financial impact of East Windsor providing joint or shared municipal services.”
She also pointed out that courts and police are two separate components of government and added that other towns share one without the other. For example, she said, Plainsboro and Cranbury share a court system but not police. She said she doesn’t see the proposed addition of a court system review as an oversight but does understand why some might wonder why it wasn’t decided when the contract was initially approved.
The two measures approve using an additional $10,000 from the state to pay Monmouth Beach-based Patriot, which is already being paid $40,583 in state money for the police study commissioned in August and expected to be completed sometime next month.
The two towns have been studying police consolidation since 2006 as a means to address about $1.6 million in annual police-related costs in the borough.
Managing Editor Vic Monaco contributed to this story.

