If you read the reports in the local and regional newspapers you would be under the misimpression that the hold up in moving a Consolidation Study process forward requires a legislative remedy. You would think that the chances for a study were in limbo because the DCA rejected a hybrid application submitted by a petition group and Cherry Hill Township. In fact, you would never know that there is currently a process in place and that real hold up is actually a hold out, Mayor Bernie Platt.
The truth is that last year both the governing bodies of Merchantville and Cherry Hill passed resolutions enabeling the formation of a Municipal Consolidation Study Commission. And, on September 27, 2010, Merchantville’s Borough Council adopted Resolution R10-103 seeking the formation of a Municipal Consolidation Study Commission, appointing a five member Commissin to study the feasibility of a proposed consolidation with the Township of Cherry Hill. To date, Mayor Platt and Cherry Hill have refused to appoint a Study Commission in order to move the process forward.
In the February 16th issue of the Courier-Post writer Jim Walsh sustains this myth penning a column titled, “Senate bill would ease method for municipalities to combine”. The article it touts Senator Jim Beach’s new hybrid application legislation as a way to facilitate seeking the “OK” to form a Municipal Consolidation Study Commission. Dan Keashen, speaking for Mayor Platt, calls the legislation “common-sense” stating that the bill would provide “representation from all groups interested in improving government efficiency and eliminating local redundancies.”
So, one is inclined to ask the following. If the Borough of Merchantville and the Township of Cherry Hill have both passed resolutions enabeling the formation of a Municipal Consolidation Study Commission with applications submitted to the DCA, and Merchantville has appointed and submitted a study commission what is the real purpose of this legislation? Was this “common-sense” legislation really crafted to move consolidation options forward? Or, was the ultimate purpose to enable Cherry Hill to bypass the elected governing body of Merchantville in order to steamroll the process and absorb our assets.
The truth is that if Mayor Platt wants to enable the process through DCA all he needs to do is appoint and submit a study commission. So, why does Mayor Platt want to develop a study commission with representatives of a petition group favoring consolidation rather than your elected representatives from the Borough? The answer may be found in a facebook entry from petition activist, Greg LaVardera reacting to the DCA ruling denying their petition. Lavardera states, “We are disappointed that the DCA has misinterpreted the law” and to the prospect of contentious disagreements among residents he boasts, “we’ll have to step up the drama a bit for the mini-series that will follow.”
