Chad Goerner, Barbara Trelstad, Wendy Benchley of Princeton
The Local Option Municipal Consolidation Act that was passed in 2007 provides additional flexibility to the consolidation process and was created as a direct result of the failure of the last consolidation study in the Princetons. We have gathered some of the concerns and questions that residents have posed to us on consolidation and address how a consolidation study under the local option could address them.
We don’t want to lose neighborhood character or the vibrancy of the central business district. How do we make sure that this doesn’t happen in a consolidated municipality?
A new feature of the local option provides for “Advisory Planning Districts.” Advisory Planning Districts can be established to allow specific areas of town that are sensitive to new development or change with a direct ability to provide input on any new development affecting their district or any master plan changes. Any concerns raised by an advisory planning district must be addressed by the regional planning board in a public forum. Many times when an application comes before the planning board, it is sometimes difficult for neighbors to coordinate their concerns effectively. This innovative structure would enable the newly consolidated municipality to still have specific planning districts that look to preserve the character and uniqueness of either the central business district or neighborhoods.
One of the biggest potential threats to the downtown central business district could be the borough’s ratable base. At 1.8 square miles, the borough has a finite base and may make revenue decisions that could ultimately harm the character of the downtown. An active vibrant central business district is vital for the sustainability of the community. Borough and township residents value the current variety of stores in the central business district for their uniqueness.
Change to building height and character could be a greater potential threat in the years ahead as revenue options become more and more limited and the only way to build is up. This has been discussed by the borough governing body in the past and could very well come to the forefront in future revenue related discussions.
How does each municipality retain its voice in the new government?
What we would hope from this process is that we move away from this “us versus them” mentality and understand that the decisions that each municipality makes affects the other. We are already one area with housing built around a central buisness district and children attending a unified school system. What we need to do is take a 30,000 foot view of what is really happening around us. Township residents have as much vested interest in the vitality of the downtown as borough residents.
Do we really need 12 elected officials to govern a population of 30,000? Do we really need two police departments and two administrations? Do we really need two municipal building complexes? Is this really the most effective and efficient way for us to deliver services to our residents?
The reality is that we are all in this together as one community yet we cannot efficiently act as one with our current structure. The consolidation study would evaluate the best form of government for the new single municipality. Depending on the form of government, certain representation safeguards would ensure that current borough or township residents would have a continued voice in government. Some towns use a combination of wards and governing members “at-large.” This would allow for specific representation of residents in specific areas of town and still allow for broad, at-large representation—a better system than currently in place. For example, Morristown consists of a 7 member governing body: three members at-large representing the entire town and four members representing each of the town’s four wards. This, of course, is just an example but it is an important one in emphasizing that the governing body in a consolidated municipality would certainly be able to represent the interests of different areas of town based on a customized government structure.
As mentioned earlier, advisory planning districts also provide an additional voice for residents in specific neighborhoods. This is an additional opportunity to protect the voice of our neighborhoods and districts for both current township and borough residents.
Ordinances may be different in the township than they are in the borough (i.e. Flood Control Ordinance, Pet Leash Ordinance, etc.) and it may prove difficult to reconcile them. What do we do?
Under the local option, existing ordinances can remain under the borders of the previous municipality. Again, this flexibility is available to help a consolidated municipality move forward without getting stuck on the smaller issues that can take some time to resolve. A systematic ordinance by ordinance review could be put in place at the outset to gradually consolidate ordinances over a period of time. Furthermore, the act requires that any ordinances that remain under the borders of the previous municipality must be reviewed by the new governing body every five years to see if they are still necessary and relevant.
I don’t want to responsible for the debt of the other municipality.
The local option provides for the apportionment of debt so that each municipality is responsible for their own debt pre-consolidation and new debt incurred by the consolidated municipality is then shared equally.
Will consolidation save costs in delivering services?
One main goal of consolidation is to eliminate overlap and streamline the delivery of services to residents. This should certainly result in significant cost savings for the municipality. The Buracker report estimated that the consolidation of the police alone would generate significant annual savings. Add to that overlap in administration, engineering, public works, construction, etc. and those savings should increase.
Please join us on Monday, April 27, 7 p.m. at Township Hall (400 Witherspoon Street) to learn more about municipal consolidation.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This opinion piece was submitted by Princeton Township Deputy Mayor Chad Goerner, Princeton Borough Council member Barbara Trelstad and former Borough Council member Wendy Benchley.

