Western Monmouth mayors discussing shared services
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN - Mayor Andrew Lucas recently convened a meeting of the mayors of area communities in an effort to work toward a goal of sharing services and reducing costs for taxpayers in all of the member municipalities.

Calling themselves the Western Monmouth Mayors Council, the mayors had their first meeting on Feb. 27 at the Manalapan municipal building.

Lucas said those who attended the meeting with the purpose of "discussing our mission statement" included himself, Freehold Township Mayor Dorothy Avallone, Freehold Township Committee-man Anthony Ammiano, Marlboro Mayor Robert Kleinberg and Colts Neck Deputy Mayor Ben Forrester.

Lucas said inclement weather prevented the attendance of Millstone Township Mayor Nancy Grbelja and Upper Freehold Mayor Stephen J. Fleischacker, who will be participating in the council.

He said the group members plan to meet once a month to discuss working out shared services and other interlocal agreements that he believes have the potential to save money for "our collective taxpayers."

Lucas said the group will advocate for bills that have been or may be proposed in the state Legislature that would "benefit our communities, such as addressing transportation issues on shared highways such as the Route 9 and Route 33 corridors."

"[We will] just basically discuss other good governance initiatives," Lucas said, mentioning interlocal agreements revolving around possible low-use capital equipment that could be shared, as well as collective grant submissions. "I think this council can be a great driver in allowing our mayors to deliver the best services to their residents in the most cost-efficient manner possible.

"It doesn't make sense for us to try to reinvent the wheel or to not have our voices heard by trying to solve common problems alone. We all share issues like unfunded state mandates or fighting tax increases due to the rising costs to provide services," Lucas said.

Kleinberg said Lucas is to be commended for working to bring the mayors together. He said oftentimes mayors do not talk to one another, either due to different political party affiliations or just because the opportunity never presented itself.

"I give him a lot of credit for putting this together," Kleinberg said, noting that although shared services will be a new way for towns to do business and keep costs down, some services such as snow plowing cannot be shared.

"When it snows in Marlboro, it snows in Manalapan," Kleinberg said, noting, however, there are items of equipment that could be collectively purchased and shared on a rotating basis such as bucket trucks and paving equipment, thereby saving on each town's outlay for capital projects.

Avallone said this type of regional mayors council has been tried in the past without much success.

"The fact that we are such busy people could prove an obstacle to future meetings, but hopefully it won't," she said.

Avallone said one shared service that came immediately to her mind was the removal of roadside deer carcasses. The state used to provide that service, but has since directed municipalities to handle that chore.