Study Consultant Proposals due 20Dec11

information from Courier Post Article here:

Ad for merge consultant gets just three responses

Fact Checking:
The RFP was first advertised on 18Nov, with a due date of 20Dec. The article published on 1Dec characterizes the 3 responses 2 weeks into the proposal period as "light", while 3 weeks remain for responses.

Inquirer reports on 6Dec11 Commission Meeting

Kevin Riordan: In Merchantville, mixed emotions about a merger

Fact Checking:
The reporter has misidentified the Merchantville Borough website in the article. He states:

Consider the borough website, where consolidation news appears under a graphic that splices the two towns' logos in a way that seems to suggest mash-up, rather than merger.

He is referring to a town news website owned and operated by the former Mayor Brennan's wife, a site which has consistently voiced opposition to the merger and misreported facts. Because of the vested interest that the owners of that site have in the town merger failing, information posted to the site is unreliable.

The Merchantville Borough web site is Merchantville.gov.

Video of December 6th, 2011 Commission Meeting

The video of the Commission meeting is broken into 10minute segments. Follow the link to the Merchantville Voices YouTube Channel and they will be listed in sequence, and numbered in the title.

Commission Meeting brief

The first meeting of the Commission took place on 6 December 2011. This meeting was primarily an organizational meeting and included the swearing in of Commissioners, election of chair and vice chair, establishment of sub-committees, and a proposed schedule.

Preliminary Commission Meeting Schedule Proposed:
17 Jan 12
7 Feb 12
6 Mar 12
3 Apr 12
1 May 12
5 Jun 12
17 Jul 12
7 Aug 12

There was a brief period of Public questions with people from both Cherry Hill and Merchantville speaking. A video of the meeting of the Commission on 6 December 2011 was made, and will be posted. We'll put a link up when its known.

Meeting Notes:

Neither the Merchantville Mayor nor any of the outspoken Councilmen attended the meeting.

Courier Post Editorial: Merchantville and Cherry Hill shouldn't be alone in exploring consolidation

For taxpayers, study mergers

WHERE WE STAND:Merchantville and Cherry Hill shouldn't be alone in exploring consolidation.

New Jersey has too much government, and consolidation of some of the hundreds of separate municipal governments, school districts, fire districts and other taxing bodies is logical.

After all, New Jerseyans pay the highest property taxes in the nation because of our overabundance of local government.

So it is good that there are towns willing to study what a merger with a neighbor might look like financially. Yesterday was the first scheduled meeting of a panel of Merchantville and Cherry Hill residents tasked with weighing how much savings, if any, there could be from combining the small borough and the large township next door.

Read the entire article

Budgetary struggles force consideration of municipality and service consolidations

Could consolidation among some of New Jersey’s 566 municipalities bring taxpayer relief? Budgetary struggles statewide are leading citizens and elected officials to wonder.

Read the entire article at NJ.com

First Study Commission meeting set for 18 Oct. - rescheduled to 6 Dec.

The first Study Commission meeting has been set for December 6th at 7:30pm at the Merchantville Community Center. The Commission meeting is an organization meeting.

Gov. Christie proposes covering 20 percent of the cost for N.J. towns looking to consolidate

Gov. Christie proposes covering 20 percent of the cost for N.J. towns looking to consolidate

Consolidation has long been looked to as a way to bring down New Jersey's ever-skyrocketing property taxes. But some argue the state's "home rule" mentality is an obstacle that proves almost impossible to overcome. Few consolidation efforts have been successful among the state's 566 municipalities.

"Sensible, locally-driven consolidation must be supported by state government, and that is exactly what we are doing," Christie said in a prepared statement.

Cherry Hill was named Top Large Town in the state to live-in by New Jersey Monthly magazine.

New Jersey Monthly

WHYY's NewsWorks blog on the approval of the Merchantville & Cherry Hill Study

N.J. looks into merging tiny Merchantville with Cherry Hill

New Jersey Department of Community Affairs officials have given-the go ahead for a study of consolidating the tiny town of Merchantville with Cherry Hill.

Inquirer Philly.Com on Local Finance Board's approval of Merchantville & Cherry Hill Study Commission

Application to study merging two N.J. towns OKd

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs' Local Finance Board approved an application Thursday by a grassroots group in Merchantville to form a Municipal Consolidation Study Commission with Cherry Hill...