Others think sharing services will find savings instead
SCOTCH PLAINS ? Fred Lange, a grandfather and amateur magician, was just enjoying his retirement.
Really. The Scotch Plains man, who?s pushing 80 but could pass for a lot younger, was living out his days with his wife, Doris, and paying no mind to local politics.
But that all changed a few years ago with a simple idea. What if, he wondered after hearing a presentation on the topic, his town merged with neighboring Fanwood? What if communities across the state did the same?
That could drive down property taxes and attract new companies to the Garden State, he surmised.
"This would be great for New Jersey ? to be able to have more manufacturing, more business," he said.
With that, he went from observer to activist. Now he?s the front man for a citizen-driven movement to consolidate the two towns, and his push is irritating some people along the way ? even politicians who respect his ultimate goal of tax relief.
Lange, with guidance from a group called Courage to Connect New Jersey, rounded up about 30 volunteers and spent months collecting the signatures of voters from both towns. With more than 1,000 names, he was able to harness a 2007 state law and force a series of public hearings on the topic of consolidation. The last was held Monday.
Residents came out to argue for and against, and now his group will go before the state Local Finance Board in Trenton to push for a study on the feasibility of consolidation.
It?s the early steps in a process that allows residents ? not just elected officials ? to merge their communities. There?s been consolidation already in the state, with the Princetons agreeing to join together last year, following decades of debate. But an effort driven solely by citizens, as this one has been, is different.
"It?s the first in New Jersey, and I believe it?s the first in the country," said Gina Genovese, the founder and executive director of Courage to Connect.
Lange got started with his effort after hearing Genovese speak at his church in Plainfield. He was so struck by the idea that he headed into his neighborhood and started knocking on doors to see if others, too, might buy into the concept. Finding some interest in the community, he invited Genovese, the former mayor of Long Hill, to speak to residents. The movement grew from there.
Now Lange?s name is out there. Politicians certainly know who he is, and many of his neighbors in the two towns do, too. And he?s embraced his newfound role as organizer ? and agitator.
Lange retired in 1998 after decades in various industries, including finance and transportation. The kids long grown and out on their own, he and his wife still live in the split-level home where they raised their family.
The slender man climbed down the stairs in that house last week with a stack of files more than a foot high. He spread them out on a living room coffee table and flipped through, pulling out the appropriate papers to make this point or that point during an interview.
"We have too many municipal workers," he said. "It?s very inefficient."
By merging, he believes, the residents of Scotch Plains ? home to more than 23,000 people ? and Fanwood ? home to more than 7,000 people ? may see their taxes fall.
It?s a point of contention, and particularly not liked by folks in Fanwood, where some fear losing their local identity.
"He and I probably agree on more than we disagree. I agree property taxes are the number one issue for our residents," and that some form of relief is needed, said Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr. "Where we sort of disagree is the root of how to achieve it."
Mahr ? and many others ? believe consolidation is not the way to find tax relief. She says study after study over the years have shown the same thing: Share services, not a name, to find savings. Another analysis, which could cost $50,000 to $100,000, would be a waste, she said.
The two communities already share a school system, and now they?re talking about their police forces joining together. By this fall, there may be one department for both towns, she said, adding that law enforcement accounts for about a quarter of their municipal budgets.
"We?re not talking about low-hanging fruit here," she said.
But Lange is still set on moving forward with his initiative. He believes he?s generated a lot of interest, and that it may just be a matter of time.
Don Parisi, an attorney who lives in Scotch Plains and has been involved with the effort, is impressed by how far his neighbor has made it.
"I give him a lot of credit," Parisi said. "It?s pretty rare for a private citizen to pick up something like this and follow it through with the doggedness he has."
Related coverage:
? Scotch Plains, Fanwood residents begin process of merging 2 towns into 1
? N.J. organization wants a Scotch Plains-Fanwood merger
? Moody's supports merger of Princeton Borough, Township
? Courage to Connect invites Berkeley Heights residents to consider benefits of consolidation
? Budgetary struggles force consideration of municipality and service consolidations
? Advocates for municipal consolidation to hold forums in Union County
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