Princeton merger yields tax decrease

WHYY report on the results of the Princeton Merger:

Chad Goerner, mayor of Princeton Township writes about the Consolidation of the Princetons

In the NJ Star Ledger Chad Goerner, mayor of Princeton Township, writes about the Consolidation of the Princetons:

Princeton Township Mayor: Municipal consolidation will pay off

South Jersey Sun provides detailed report of Jan 2012 Commission Meeting

The Merchantville-Cherry Hill Consolidation Commission regrouped last week at the Merchantville Community Center to begin the process of seeking out a consultant to study a possible municipal merge between the two neighboring communities...

read more:
Residents regroup, discuss merger

NJ Today news program covers Merchantville Study

The reporting on the Merchantville & Cherry Hill Consolidation Study begins at 16:30. You can move the progress slider to that time register if you don't wish to watch the entire program.

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.

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

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...