Mayors plan meeting to fight consolidation Metuchen will host summit to rally towns against state bill BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer Boroughs and townships similar to Metuchen will come together the first week of January and fight the state’s proposals for consolidation. “These penalty clauses, specifically S-1 and S-38, show no concern for the voters and are being fought by the League of Municipalities,” said Mayor Edmund O’Brien. State Sen. Robert Smith [D-17] and State Sen. and Assemblyman John Wisniewski [D-19] co-chair the consolidation and shared services committee. “The average Metuchen homeowner paid approximately $297 more in taxes than the average Edison resident,” said O’Brien. “Metuchen residents receive a better quality of services. This is why I am perplexed why Metuchen has been the prime candidate to be singled out for consolidation.” O’Brien said the legislation is using a military commission type approach to consolidation similar to what’s done on military bases. “This is the state’s attempt to circumvent democracy,” he said. “This is inappropriate for the communities.” O’Brien said that Metuchen is a “more efficient” municipality than neighboring Edison and that the borough should receive more state aid, saying it is currently “almost on the bottom” in the amount of aid it receives. “I would say that the important number is the per-capita cost of government per homeowner,” he said. “The cost of government per homeowner is lower in Metuchen, meaning we are more efficient in Metuchen to some extent. “Also, the city of Hoboken gets 23.6 percent [of its budget] in state aid, which is more than double what we get,” he said. “Now, there is something wrong with that calculation in terms of how aid is distributed.” The state Senate bill S-1 — the Municipal Consolidation State to Deny State Aid on Consolidation Vote, which also creates a “Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization and Consolidation Commission,” punishes voters who decide to reject consolidation. Section 8 of the bill reads: “... If consolidation is not approved, the state aid for which [insert the name of the participating local unit] is eligible shall be withheld for five years and thereafter shall be subject to significant reductions.” Section 9 of the bill reads, in part: “In the event that the majority of the voters in a municipality do not approve a consolidation proposal put before those voters..., the municipality shall for a period of three State fiscal years, commencing from the first day of the fiscal year next following that election be ineligible for “Supplemental Municipal Property Tax Relief’ extraordinary aid ...” State aid to municipalities is revenue generated by taxpayers. Metuchen received $500,000 of extraordinary state aid last year. “If we vote for consolidation, we lose to Edison, and if we vote against consolidation, we lose state aid,” said Council President Richard Weber. “It’s a lose-lose situation.” O’Brien has already been in contact with mayors from Glen Ridge, Chatham, Cape May, Westfield, Maplewood and Fanwood and is in the process of contacting more mayors. “Metuchen will be the cross section for these mayors to meet and fight these bills before the state Senate votes on the bills on Jan. 8,” he said. “We haven’t set a date yet, but the meeting will either be held on Jan. 4th, 5th or 6th. I haven’t heard back from all the mayors yet.” The bills were supposed to be heard before the state Senate on Dec. 14, but have been tabled until Jan. 8. Members of the Municipal Government and Board of Education came together as well as state Sen. Barbara Buono on Dec. 6 for a presentation on school system consolidation issues held at the Moss School to voice their concerns. On Nov. 15, the four state bipartisan committees led by a Democratic majority released a total of 98 proposals, which are meant to bring reform to the state’s property taxes, with the goal of reducing property taxes for residents by an average of 20 percent. Metuchen resident Kim Brenneman said she was particularly concerned by one bill, named S42 in the state Senate and A4 in the Assembly, that expands the powers of the county superintendent of schools. “These county superintendents would consolidate school management and recommend districts for consolidation,” she said. “These super-superintendents would be a political appointee, not necessarily an educator, and would be chosen by the governor. A two-year appointment for this position also does not appear that it would provide for continuity.” State Sen. Barbara Buono [D-18], Assemblymen Patrick Diegnan [D-18], and Peter J. Barnes [D-18] have been voting against the bills, but they have been lone voices. The S42 bill was approved through the Assembly on Dec. 12. “A pilot program will be implemented in a Union County school district,” said Board President Ronald Grayzel. “These townships like Westfield and Mountainside are not aware of what’s going on. The local community will lose the authority over school districts. If this becomes a county wide system, then decisions will end up to be at the hands of the Middlesex County Freeholder Board.” “It will be a system where the politicians hire the bureaucrats,” said Grayzel. “Can you imagine what will go on with the textbooks? All of a sudden, you will see school textbook publishers going to political fundraisers.”