By Stephanie Simonetti
Every other Thursday morning, old couches with busting out springs, broken children’s toys, and broken dining rooms tables and chairs line both sides of the street in Raritan, N.J. Big garbage day is not something all municipalities participate in, and if the Shared Service bill passes Raritan will lose their big garbage day and recycling.
The State of New Jersey has proposed a bill that will reward counties and towns that participate in sharing services with other nearby towns. Six months ago Somerset County made a push for the residents of Raritan and Somerville to combine garbage pickup and their police force. “Tax payers are being hit hard in New Jersey, and one way that can be cut back, is by enrolling in the shared services plan,” said certified, Raritan Boro tax collector, Lisa Latora.
Raritan Tax Collector from Stephanie Simonetti on Vimeo.
The state is giving more funding to counties that have towns that participate in the sharing services program, and the county is coming under more pressure to get its municipalities to participate. If the towns decide not to join the program there will consequences from the county. “If Raritan does not participate, the county will lower the amount of funding the town gets,” Latora said in an interview. “This will give a push to taxpayers to join the sharing plan, instead of to not back it.”
Raritan is a 2.1 square mile town with a population of just under 7,000. It has been proposed that Raritan share with the town of Somerville, New Jersey, which is about 2.5 square miles with a population of nearly 13,000. The town of Manville has also been mentioned in the proposal when it comes to sharing a police department. Raritan shares a police disbatch with the rest of the county, because it saves the town money when it comes to employing another worker. That however is not apart of the shared service program proposed by the state.
Photo slideshow: Tour of Raritan and Somerville
Most residents support the service share if it means taxes will go down. “If they will lower our taxes I don’t know why we wouldn’t want to join the program,” said 64-year-old Raritan resident Connie Comandini. “I have lived here [in Raritan], most of my life and it would be nice to get a tax cut instead of an increase.”
On the other hand, if Raritan does share, there may be some services that the residents will be missing out on. “Raritan has big garbage day once a month, whereas Somerville doesn’t have big garbage day. Instead Somerville makes residents pay for large garbage items,” said Latora. “If we were to share our public works and garbage collection, Raritan residents would also have to pay for big garbage.”
While some residents who are eager for the plan take effect, others are not. “I don’t think that the small tax break we would be receiving would be worth the loss of our perks such as free big garbage day, and a close relationship with our officers,” says 25-year-old Somerville resident James Lambert. “The state and counties seem to be pressuring and bullying small towns like Raritan and Somerville into sharing services by saying they will pull aides and funding from the towns.”
Not all residents think the state and counties are trying to bully the towns. “New Jersey is definitely influencing the towns and municipalities with funding, but I think that it will help out the long term taxpayers in the town, which is who we should focus on,” said Comandini
New Jersey’s Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization, and Consolidation Commission (LUARCC), conducted a poll in Raritan to see if the residents would be on board with the proposal. They found that approximately 60% of taxpayers are in favor of the shared services plan while around 40% oppose it. “Sharing services is designed to save the tax payers money, but the saving will not start happening until a few years after the plan is voted into effect,” said councilwoman Stephanie Garra. “The plan is a good one, however I don’t think it’s fair for the state to penalize the municipalities and their residents, that do not vote this plan into action. They should not dictate the small local governments,” Garra added.