Maybe We Should be Happy in Blairstown
April 23, 2008 at 8:20 am
Pay-for-police picks on little towns
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
tgraber@sjnewsco.com
TRENTON -- Legislators are fighting Gov. Jon S. Corzine's proposal to charge rural towns for state police coverage, saying that it would unfairly impact small communities.
Corzine has proposed that towns with either part-time or no local police departments pay a collective $20.5 million of the $80 million it costs for the service.
Eleven Cumberland towns get state police help.
Local lawmakers said it would be unfair to require small towns to pay for the minimal coverage they receive without charging municipalities with their own departments for state police backup, special task forces or extra police coverage provided to cities such as Camden and Newark.
"State police officers aren't just watching the streets of small towns," said Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd Dist. "If the governor wants municipalities to bolster the state police budget, he should have all 566 communities contribute."
Sweeney was one of several members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee to express opposition to the proposal Monday as Attorney General Anne Milgram testified before the panel on the Law and Public Safety Department's $1.1 billion budget.
"Every community benefits from the work of the state police," said Sen. Steven Oroho, R-Hunterdon/Morris/Sussex. "Why make small towns pay for one kind of benefit, while not requiring larger communities to pay for the state police services they receive?"
Eighty-nine towns receive either full- or part-time state police coverage.
The state has floated the idea of requiring those towns to pay for the protection in past budget seasons.
Those who support the proposal say the initial charge of the state police to protect rural areas has become skewed, since many of the towns receiving coverage have grown substantially and are no longer considered rural.
"The question we are debating ... is whether or not we should be asking for some small contribution," Milgram said.
But legislators say if towns no longer meet the standard required for rural police coverage, the state should re-apply the test to determine which municipalities should be covered.
"This has come up off and on for 20 years," said Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-3rd Dist. "What is the test for towns not to be considered rural?"
Attorney General's Office Spokesman David Wald said the Department of Treasury is currently determining a formula for charging the covered municipalities for the service.
And the proposal has left municipalities with little choice but to begin weighing their options.
"For some reason, someone has established the idea that we are getting something for nothing," said Mayor Donald Asay, of Mannington, whose township is patrolled by the state police. "No one wants to look at all the other items in the budget that go to specific groups."
Asay said that the Riverline in Camden is paid for by state tax dollars, as is a light rail line in Hudson and Bergen County that most people in Salem County don't even know exists, yet Salem County residents contribute to it.
He added that Mannington happens to be one of the lucky towns that benefit from having a few NJ Transit buses come through each day, but the service is much better utilized in other counties across the state.
"No one is suggesting that we should be charging only those towns that use NJ Transit," Asay said. "State police coverage is one of the few services rural municipalities get for the money they send to Trenton."
Mayor Pete Voros of Pittsgrove said any payment a municipality gives toward its state police coverage should be based on the coverage it receives.
"I am in favor of it if they divide it across the board. For instance, we do not utilize the marine division of the state police in Pittsgrove and should not have to pay for that service," Voros said.
He estimated that paying for state police coverage could cost Pittsgrove up to $1 million annually.
"If you are going to cut the pie, be fair -- we should pay for what we use. They say, Hey, Pittsgrove doesn't pay for police,' but that is not true. We pay for it through our income taxes," Voros said.
South Harrison Township Mayor Charles Tyson said the township would most likely elect to expand its own police department, currently staffed by six full-time officers, rather than pay for the coverage.
"We would rather go to 24-hour protection with our own force," Tyson said. "I know the residents here would prefer that."
Officers are on duty in the township 17 to 18 hours per day.
South Harrison Township Police Chief Warren Mabey said the department will expand its coverage to 20 hours per day starting next month.
But he said providing 24-hour coverage would take an additional three officers.
Tyson pointed out, though, that both options would create a burden on the township.
And Third District legislators, who represent South Harrison and 18 other townships that receive state police coverage, said they will continue to fight the issue.
"Why would (the state) decide to target these small communities?" said Sweeney. "The state police was created for rural policing."
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