TRENTON — Senate President Stephen Sweeney said this morning he will introduce a bill encouraging towns to share services – even if it has to be with a stick, not a carrot. Sweeney (D-Gloucester) told Eric Scott of New Jersey 101.5 FM he does not have a bill right now, but will have one soon, and is open to...
Senate President Stephen Sweeney says a bill will soon be introduced to withhold state aid from towns that won't share services.TRENTON — Senate President Stephen Sweeney said this morning he will introduce a bill encouraging towns to share services – even if it has to be with a stick, not a carrot.
Sweeney (D-Gloucester) told Eric Scott of New Jersey 101.5 FM he does not have a bill right now, but will have one soon, and is open to penalizing towns with cuts in state aid if they do not share services in areas where they could.
“Shared services does save real money. I mean, big money,” said Sweeney.
Sweeney, the outgoing freeholder director in Gloucester County, said residents in that county’s towns have saved an average of about $275 through sharing services, including sharing school superintendents and garbage pickup services.
He said the state should beef up the Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization and Consolidation Commission, a panel that examines government functions and recommends where they can be streamlined or shared. The commission was de-funded in this year’s budget.
Sweeney also said he would seek to revise the state’s law on carrying handguns in the wake of the case of Brian Aitken, whose seven-year prison sentence was commuted to just four months of time served this week by Gov. Chris Christie. He was released Tuesday.
Aitken had handguns he purchased in Colorado locked and unloaded in his car’s trunk, but was arrested in January 2009 after his mother, concerned for his well-being, called the police. They searched his car and arrested him upon finding the guns because he did not have a carry permit.
Sweeney said the prosecutor had discretion and should have decided not to prosecute Aitken.
“Obviously we have to make a correction to the law and I’m going to work with Sen. (Jeff) Van Drew to craft a solution,” said Sweeney. “That was truly a tragic case where a young man, trying to do the right thing… We’ll clarify the area that put this young man in jail. I spoke to Jeff Van Drew about this recently… about crafting language based on what happened to spell it out.”
Previous coverage:
• N.J. municipal officials focus on cost-cutting, shared services at convention
• Municipal officials accuse N.J. lawmakers of stalling on passing key 'tool kit' measures'
• N.J. Sen. Sweeney's shared services push gets mixed reception at League of Municipalities convention
• N.J. municipal officials weigh in on master plan proposal
• N.J. Sen. Sweeney says Gov. Christie's 'toolkit' misses sharing services component