FROM THE NEW JERSEY HERALD (Quincy Newspapers, Inc.)
August 23, 2006
By BILL WICHERT
Herald Staff Writer
Two welcome signs might soon not be needed to greet drivers entering the Sussex-Wantage area.
More than a century after Wantage was split in two with the creation of Sussex Borough, officials are now considering the possible merger of the township and borough into a single municipality -- a move whose fate ultimately depends on potential tax savings and emotional ties to each area.
"It's not only an economic issue. It's a personal issue that residents of both communities are going to have," Borough Clerk Vito Gadaleta said. "They're not only going to vote their pocketbooks. They're going to vote their hearts as well."
The consolidation proposal was made by Wantage last month to answer Gov. Jon Corzine's call for greater shared services across the state at a time when municipalities are being asked to cover more costs, from deer carcass removal to reduced state aid for area schools.
In addition to possibly reducing costs faced by both municipalities, a merger could bring additional state aid to the new municipality and turn Sussex Borough into both a hamlet and town center of the greater township, Wantage Mayor Jeffrey Parrott said.
"I'm looking at it from a business standpoint for the benefit of the taxpayers in both Sussex and Wantage," Parrott said. "To me, it's not brain surgery."
Sussex Borough Mayor Katherine Little said she is not convinced that consolidation would benefit her municipality.
"I have said before, I do believe we will lose all control of what happens in the borough of Sussex. We would cease to exist," Little said. "To me, it's very upsetting. I have no problem with (shared services). Merging or consolidating is a different story."
Consolidation of municipalities remains somewhat rare in New Jersey. The last merger took place in 1997 between Pahaquarry and Hardwick Townships in Warren County. Before that time, a merger occurred between Vineland Borough and Landis Township in Cumberland County in 1954.
Merging Wantage and Sussex Borough would be the final step in the township and borough's ongoing relationship with shared services.
The two already share two regional school districts, state police coverage and several other services, including animal control, construction, planning board and recreation. Discussions are also underway to consolidate municipal court services and both towns' volunteer fire departments.
With many of these services provided by Wantage, the borough has been able to control the tax impact on a municipality with increasing costs and no new taxpayers coming on board.
"We are a fully developed community and there are very few new ratables we can generate," Gadaleta said.
To determine if a merger makes financial sense for Wantage and Sussex Borough, a consolidation study commission needs to be formed by either an adopted ordinance or a ballot question put before the voters. The Sussex Borough Council instructed Gadaleta Monday night to investigate state grants available to do the study.
With five members from each municipality, the commission would evaluate the feasibility of consolidation over a 10-month period. If the commission recommends consolidation, a referendum question would be put on the ballot. A majority of voters in both towns would have to approve the question in order for consolidation to take effect, and a new municipal government would be created.
The consolidation of the two towns was previously analyzed in a 1973 feasibility study conducted by consultant J. Peter Braun, who concluded at the time that consolidation should take place. A merger would allow both towns to expand their development areas and utilize their close-knit communities, Braun concluded.
"From a financial standpoint, a consolidation will provide both Sussex and Wantage with benefits, particularly when considered from a long range view," Braun wrote in his report.
That consolidation effort failed, Parrott said, because of the emotional attachment of municipal officials at the time.
"I think emotions got in the way of reality," he said.
At Monday's Sussex Borough Council meeting, Councilman Frank Dykstra said the potential consolidation should not be an emotional issue, but instead a factual one based on the findings of the commission study.
"We have an obligation to the public to do this," Dykstra said. "That doesn't pay your tax bill -- the identity of the town."
The difference in opinions on consolidation was clear Tuesday afternoon, from a bakery in Wantage to Main Street in Sussex Borough.
"I think it's a good idea. There has to be synergy if you're going to combine two towns," said Wantage resident Martin Finn, while sitting in the Clove Brook Market on Route 23. "There should be more of it going around the whole state."
A few miles away, Sussex Borough resident Pat Lyons said he does not think consolidation would benefit him and his neighbors.
"I can't see if it would help anybody around here as far as decreasing their taxes," Lyons said. "Most people that live in this town, I would say they'd want to keep it the same."