Authority may be dissolved
By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer
MONROE — Township officials are conducting a study that could lead to dissolving the Monroe Township Municipal Utility Authority.
Mayor Richard Pucci appointed Township Council President Gerald Tamburro, Chief Financial Officer George Lang and Township Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton to oversee the study.
Mr. Hamilton said the focus of the study is to see whether, by absorbing the MUA into the rest of the municipal government, the township could eliminate a level of government.
The MUA, 143 Union Valley Road, manages water and wastewater services in Monroe. It is an autonomous agency and gets no funding from the township.
”The bottom line is if we were to, in fact, incorporate the (MUA) into the township, we would pass an ordinance and dissolve the authority, creating a dedicated water and utility,” Mr. Hamilton said. “In essence, you would be eliminating a level of government.”
Some of the more obvious savings would be from eliminating money paid to five MUA commissioners and their associated professionals, he said.
Outside of those positions, Mr. Hamilton said, he could not foresee eliminating employees at the MUA as their function within the organization would still be necessary for day-to-day operations.
Since the Township Council created the MUA, only it has the power to dissolve it, Mr. Hamilton said.
An additional step in the dissolution process would be to get the Local Finance Board’s approval, Mr. Hamilton said.
”The purpose of bringing this to the Local Finance Board is that the township would have to guarantee (that) it will assume all of the debt and contractual obligations (of the MUA),” he said.
If the municipality does absorb the MUA, the council and mayor would assume the role of the commissioners while the township’s professionals would handle the tasks that MUA professionals are currently responsible for, Mr. Hamilton said.
Mr. Hamilton said the process, if it were to happen, would be a gradual transition and he does not expect rates to increase as a result.
Several phone calls to MUA officials were not immediately returned.
The study is expected be completed by Dec. 1 and if the municipality sees fit to dissolve the MUA, action could be taken as early as that day.

