Towns may use county contract for deer pickup

Freehold Borough

FREEHOLD - In view of a ruling over who is responsible for removing dead deer from local roads, Monmouth County officials are urging all municipalities requiring this service to take advantage of a contract the county awarded to a vendor who will charge $55 per dead deer.

On Sept. 26, the state's Council on Local Mandates ruled on a matter brought by lawyers representing Monmouth, Morris, Middlesex and Warren counties challenging the Corzine administration's edict that the state will no longer pay for the disposal of thousands of deer killed on local roads each year. In 2005, almost 400 deer were killed on Monmouth County's roads, according to a press release from the county.

The local mandates panel agreed the state could not force counties and municipalities to pay for deer carcass removal, but it also said the state did not have to pay for it, either. The state Department of Transportation has said it will continue to remove dead deer from state roads and interstate highways, but will discontinue retrieving dead deer from local roads on Oct. 1.

"The state essentially said no one has to pick up dead deer if they don't want to," Monmouth County Freeholder Director William C. Barham said. "That is totally irresponsible and unacceptable. We will continue our fight to force the state to continue bearing this burden. In the meantime, I urge all municipalities in Monmouth County to sign onto the shared services contract we brokered for deer carcass removal."

Under that contract, which the county awarded two weeks ago to Kelly Winthrop LLC of North Hanover, every municipality in Monmouth County is eligible to participate for the same rate of $55 for every deer carcass removed. Other bidders were seeking as much as $125 per removal, according to the press release.

"It is a shame that the state continues to transfer its budgeting woes to the backs of the counties and local municipalities," Freeholder Anna C. Little said. "But here in Monmouth County we were proactive and, in the spirit of promoting shared services that produce real savings, we negotiated a contract and made sure all 53 towns in the county can take advantage of this same low rate."

According to the press release, the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders continues to maintain that deer carcass removal is a cost that should be born by the state. The freeholders said they will continue to explore all legal avenues aimed at forcing the state to resume this obligation.