GOPAL: Consolidate small towns

Former Monmouth Chairman and current State Senate candidate Vin Gopal's op-ed was featured in this past Sunday's Asbury Park Press. Vin focused on municipal consolidation as a solution to curb spending and lower property taxes for the residents of New Jersey.  Vin's focus is on 100 towns which have populations of 2,500 and less and those school districts which have zero schools:

Vin Gopal

It’s no secret: too many New Jerseyans are struggling. Across our state, families are being crushed under sky-high property taxes while they strain to make ends meet in one of the nation’s most expensive states.

It's also no secret that little to no progress has been made, despite politicians’ habit of talking a big game.

This stalemate needs to end. We need to prioritize affordability and approach the crisis with an eye to implementing a variety of effective tools, not continuing to look in vain for a silver bullet.

One of these tools must be promoting and simplifying consolidation of our many towns and municipalities across the state. As state senator, I will be the biggest champion for these efforts.

New Jersey has 565 towns, with more than 100 of these having populations under 2,500. This means we have hundreds of sewage authorities, housing authorities, and other agencies, many of which represent constituencies of only a couple thousand. The costs of these unnecessary agencies are being put right onto our already struggling local taxpayers. Yet small towns seeking a way to eliminate these unnecessary services or to combine efforts with other towns facing a similar situation are left without any options.

Take Loch Arbour in Monmouth County’s 11th legislative district for example. Loch Arbour has a population of 194 residents and the Mayor of Loch Arbour, Paul Fernicola, has been an advocate of consolidation for this small town, even trying to eliminate his own job for lack of necessity. But the State of New Jersey won't allow it.

Sewer authorities, housing authorities and utility authorities are another great example of redundant or unnecessary services. Jersey City recently consolidated one of its authorities with the City's Police Department and saved over 1 million dollars for their taxpayers. Meanwhile, commissioners of the Middletown Sewer Authority in Monmouth County make benefits in addition to their paychecks for attending a few meetings a year.