Mayors pan merger bill

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Officials do not feel plan is in best interest of public

Local mayors say forced consolidation is a bad idea.
They say legislation currently being considered that would remove local voters from the consolidation process and leave the decision up to the state will be costly and not in the best interests of their constituents.

"We would be absolutely, totally opposed to any decision in which the citizens of Monroe, and in our case, the town of Jamesburg — where citizens in both towns would not be in agreement," Monroe Mayor Richard Pucci said Wednesday.

The Joint Legislative Committee on Consolidation and Shared Services reviewed several bills Wednesday — including bills AJR69, sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole, R-Bergen, Essex and Passaic, and Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck, R-Mercer and Monmouth, and SJR47 sponsored by Sens. Joseph Kyrillos Jr., R-Middlesex and Monmouth, and Stephen Sweeney, D-Salem, Cumberland and Gloucester, — that would create a panel resembling the federal military base-closing commission to decide which of the state's 566 towns should be merged. The panel's recommendations would be sent to the Legislature and governor, who would then vote on the list. The towns would then be forced to consolidate without having an opportunity to vote on the mergers directly.

The committee was created as part of a joint legislative session that kicked off in July. Other committees are looking at state school funding, pension and benefits, the state constitution and a possible property tax convention.

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