Home rule wins again: Roxbury-Mt. Arlington consolidation study ends

William Westhoven
Morristown Daily Record

Despite claims it found a path to save $100 million in taxpayer dollars over the next decade, a state-authorized commission to study a merger of Roxbury and Mount Arlington met for the last time Wednesday in Roxbury.

Craig Heard, chairman of the Roxbury-Mount Arlington Consolidation Study Commission, said after more than five years of work, the commission was unable to muster interest in consolidation among elected leaders or residents.

In August, Heard said the commission, authorized by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Local Finance Board in 2014, had hit "a brick wall" and would seek an extension to continue its work until December 2020.

"The local board did not grant them the one-year extension they requested," said Roxbury Mayor Robert DeFillippo, a consolidation opponent.

Roxbury petitioner Craig Heard reviews resumes of applicants for a commission being formed to study a possible consolidation of Roxbury and Mount Arlington during a 2015 meeting in Roxbury.

Wednesday, the commission called a halt to the effort, voting by resolution to dissolve at the end of the year.

"The Consolidation Commission I chaired for over 4 1/2 years completes our mission," Heard wrote in a social-media post on Thursday. "Now it is time for Roxbury and Mount Arlington to use our study reports as a blueprint to find shared services that can be implemented to reduce property taxes for the residents."

Following the guidelines of the Municipal Consolidation Act of 2007, the process began in 2012, when groups from Roxbury and Mount Arlington formed and each collected more than 400 signatures from the respective municipalities.

The petitions moved the Local Finance Board in 2014 to approve their application calling for the creation of a commission to study a possible consolidation.

Heard in August said the commission was "so darn close" to producing a study he feels will project annual savings to the combined towns, ranging from $9.2 million per year, based on their own calculations, to $11.8 million annually, based on a recent independent CPA study ordered by the commission.

But sticking points in the complex state statute guiding the formal consolidation process stalled the efforts. The primary problem, Heard said, are rules regarding the equal distribution of consolidation savings.

Nancy Malool, center, director of municipal consolidation and shared services for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Local Finance Board, conducts a public hearing on a possible consolidation of Roxbury and Mount Arlington in March 2014.

"If we consolidated using the commission's numbers of 9.2%, Roxbury would have an 8% reduction in property taxes and Mount Arlington would have a 10% reduction," Heard explained. "That's great, except the statute requires you to equalize the taxes for both municipalities. And when Mount Arlington goes into Roxbury, the equalization doesn't create any savings for Mount Arlington."

The mayors of both towns questioned the commission's findings, as did many residents who expressed opposition in public meetings and on social media.

DeFilippo said the equalization rules would effectively negate the savings to Roxbury's 23,000 residents, to the benefit of 5,000 Mount Arlington residents.

"That's Craig's claim: If we could only eliminate equalization, then we could claim all these savings," DeFillippo said. "There's a reason why equalization is in there, to make sure each town pays its fair share, that it is equitably distributed."

"I have several concerns. One is the study itself, and the other is: Does Mount Arlington need this or want this?" Mount Arlington Mayor Michael Stanzilis said. "Clearly, Mount Arlington does not want this, and the people are angry that this is even being foisted on them."

Heard also stated at an Oct. 23 meeting of the commission that some of its volunteer members "were attacked online, publicly and had their businesses attacked."

"We started doing shared services long before the commission got involved," DeFillippo said. "We have other shared-service opportunities we are pursuing. I'm pleased the commission is now disbanded, and we can get back to running the communities for the residents."

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com Twitter: @wwesthoven

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