With cuts looming, small towns consider merging
Residents discuss likelihood of Allentown, Upper Freehold reuniting
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer
Gov. Jon Corzine wants smaller municipalities in the state to merge and share services to cut costs.

Allentown Borough and Upper Freehold Township, which existed as one town until the late 19th century and continue to share a school district, may be forced to reunite as the state continues to cut aid to municipalities with populations under 10,000. The Examiner asked various Allentown and Upper Freehold residents about whether the two towns should merge into one again.

Thomas Frascella, of Upper Freehold, said former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman pushed for a merger of school districts with an approach similar to the one Corzine has taken.

"Both governors started with the fiscal fallacy that bigger is better, less costly and more efficient," Frascella said. "Unfortunately, while logic might support that proposition, New Jersey politics does not. You have efficient and inefficient small government, as well as efficient and inefficient large government."

Frascella said Whitman's initiative froze when a merger analysis determined that one school district in a merger would benefit while the other would have no incentive to support such a unification.

"Rather than attempt to force mergers, it seems to me that the state at every level should be auditing efficiencies in government, rewarding efficient governments and discouraging wasteful government," Frascella said. "I would also think that with municipal-specific audit reviews, the state might be able to guide municipalities toward providing the maximum service to its citizens at the most cost-effective levels."

Charles Ottinger, of Upper Freehold, who would support a merger between the two towns, saidNew Jersey's "multiplemunicipal mania" and "home rule obsession" are making the state a high-cost place to live and a nearly impossible place to retire.

"For starters, let's let the two [towns] try a trialmarriage arrangement," he said. "How about a five- or 10-year period of extensively shared services [such as] expanding and extending Allentown's police coverage to the township?"

Ottinger said that the fly in the ointment would be making the arrangement equitable for the taxpayers in both towns.

"Consider howmuchAllentown's school taxes went up when compared to the township's," he said. "Why should I pay to send the kids from the burgeoning suburban community of Allentown to school?"

However, Ottinger said residents would likely paymodestlymore in taxes if they received new services from a merger.

Allentown Councilman Ray Cantor said he looks at Allentown and Upper Freehold as one community.

"We share the same school, same geography, many of the same services andmuch of the same history," he said. "Families often move back and forth as do their children. There is no reason why we don't think of ourselves in that manner other than political."

Cantor said that Allentown already takes every opportunity to share services and would likely take any action to save money or otherwise benefit its residents.

"That includes a merger," he said. "However, there would need to be much more study to determine if there are any benefits to a merger."

Cantor said a merger would obviously result in some loss of autonomy for Allentown and would create other practical issues regarding police coverage, infrastructure and school funding, but it could also benefit the borough.

"Residents would have a much greater say on many of the issues that impact us, such as development that is often placed on our borders and what lands get preserved," he said.

Cantor also commented that mergers would require a change in state laws that make it hard or impossible to share services and take certain actions regarding shared issues.

For Robert Cheff, ofAllentown, who is a proponent of the towns merging, said "the catch phrase is one community divided by two governments." He said he does not think Allentown and Upper Freehold officials would ever vote to accept a merger.

"If they did [merge] and adopted the city form of government, which uses the ward system, the old borough would be guaranteed at least one voice on the council," he said. "It would, of course, finally give the township their official town center."

Cheff said a merger would also affect the school district. He said the district's ability to bond would change due to the town's credit rating. Themerger would also create a single school tax rate that would simplify the board's budget message each year, he said.

"Of course the combined voters would also get to vote for all nine school board members too," he said.

RickWills, owner of Rick's Saddle Shop in the Cream Ridge section of Upper Freehold, said the governor is on the wrong track and that Upper Freehold and Allentown should be in control of their own destinies.

Bob Pinto, of Upper Freehold, said he would like to see all small towns with less than 15,000 people combined.

"This will save a lot of redundant expenses for schools, public works, administration costs, police and fire," Pinto said.

Donna Puhalski, of Upper Freehold, said she considers Allentown her hometown as the two municipalities have worked together for many years.

"We have shared schools and athletic fields for years, it would only make sense for the two towns tomerge," Puhalski said.

John Nanni, of Upper Freehold, said there have been a number of issues that that have affected both communities over the years, which have shown that individuals from both communities can work well together for positive results.

"I personally have made a number of good friends with Allentown residents through working on issues like the warehouse and new middle school," Nanni said.

However, Nanni said he feels it would be difficult to get the political leaders of both towns to come to terms with merging. He also said that both communities already share a number of services and would likely not save that much money if they merged.

Micah Rasmussen, ofAllentown, said it might be more beneficial for Allentown to merge with Robbinsville instead of Upper Freehold.

"The lion's share of both towns'municipal costs would still need to be covered by the new, merged town," Rasmussen said. "In the case of Upper Freehold and Allentown, that's $8,026,363. Spread that across the new town's 2,239 homeowners and you get a total municipal cost per homeowner of $3,584. Not a winner - at least not for Allentown."

He said if Allentown and Robbinsville merged, the combined municipal costs would be $11.8 million.

"Spread that across the new town's 4,723 homeowners and you get amunicipal cost per homeowner of $2,499," he said. "Still not a perfect fit but it is a far cry from the $1,000 increase that Allentown homeowners could [see with Upper Freehold]."

Allentown Councilman Dan Zorovich, said the idea of a merger presents more problems than advantages.

"For one, I don't believe that Upper Freehold is interested in merging with Allentown," he said. "The two towns separated in 1889 and have been independent ever since. There are too many differences to make the merger work efficiently and save the taxpayers money."

Zorovich also said that the towns share a history of divergent viewpoints that would be difficult to resolve.

"Despite these potential problems, I would be willing to study the possibility of a merger in more details," he said.

BrentMunster, ofUpper Freehold, said it could be fiscally irresponsible not to thoroughly explore reducing duplicate municipal costs.

"Today, it's all about creating efficiencies and economies of scale," he said. "I can't say at the present time that I'm 100 percent for merging Allentown and Upper Freehold but there are some key surface items that stand out, like police, fire, planning and the loss of state aid that should be researched."

Doug Walsh, of Upper Freehold, said a merger between Allentown and Upper Freehold seems like a logical idea that needs further discussion.

"We all know the burden caused by rising fuel costs and increased taxes attributable to fuel costs," he said. "I see more upside under consolidation than downside. This would be a win/win forAllentown and Upper Freehold."

Walsh only questioned what town's name would survive after the merger.

Elaine McMinn, of Upper Freehold, said she does not think a merger is a good idea for Allentown and Upper Freehold.

"Allentown has a long history and his- toric value," she said. "The people ofAllentown, I feel, deserve to continue preserving what is there. I don't feel the need to combine the two in this case."

McMinn also noted that Allentown is almost built out andUpper Freehold is not.

"I don't feel it would be fair to the residents whenUpper Freehold starts to really develop in later years," she said. "The services the township might eventually need will be costly andmaybe some families will still be able to afford to live in the quaint town."

Marc Covitz, ofUpper Freehold, said he is generally a proponent of small towns merging but not in the case of Upper Freehold and Allentown.

"I would not want to merge withAllentown because I would not want to pay for their police force," he said. "MergingAllentown and Upper Freehold would certainly require a larger and more expensive police force."

Covitz also said that he would not want to be responsible for paying forAllentown's septic plant, which will need to be upgraded, or for its trash collection.

"Having one town council and set of professionals could be a cost savings but I think the other costs I outlined would outweigh the benefit," he said.

JoeAngelhone, ofUpper Freehold, said a merger between the two towns won't likely happen in his lifetime.

"The tax base is too divergent as well as the lifestyles," he said. "Each entity faces different problems with different solutions needed for their residents. Hightstown and East Windsor, Cranbury and West Windsor [are other] examples of towns that split based on the divergent needs of their residents. Cultural differences tend to dictate home rule."