Towns face delay on merger effort
Cherry Hill Courier Post - Julie Shannon
The Merchantville mayor said that community submitted a petition seeking a merger ...Merchantville Mayor Frank North said he intends to discuss what his ...
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I can wait for Council to meet and the mayor to update us on the status of the merger. Remember, the Dept. of Community Affairs notified the towns that the application needed to be matched --petitions or resolutions-- and refiled. Remember, our mayor asked C.H.'s to decide which to submit. And some commenters have suggested that a petition was being collected in C.H.
In addition to that I would like Council to decide to tackle its budget for next year NOW. Recent practice has been to finalize a budget half way through the new year, making the first half retroactive.
Not only is that inappropriate, I would like Alice to tell us it is illegal.
One cannot cut waste or overabundance after it occurs. And we want to continue to assume that Council wants to eliminate both. So when you go to the meeting next Monday to hear about the merger be sure to ask about our budget.
ktbfw - the petition of signatures being collected in cherry hill is for NO MERGER.
This effort is being made by parents of school age children.
Waste and overabundance can not be cut if such do not exist.
If you go to the meeting be sure to commend our elected officials on the good job they have done on eliminating waste and overabundance.
Thank them too for their leadership and efforts regarding needed redevelopment of blighted areas.
I've got news for you. Cherry Hill Township is being overrun by rats. If this merge goes through, how long before we are too. Read this and then tell me if you people are still in favor of merging with Rat Hill:
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Rats-Cherry-Hill-Neighborhood-is-Being-Invaded-102381509.html
Rats carry rabbies and the plague.
Good point Rats. Its pretty safe assume that the Rats are following local politics and as soon as they learn Merchantville is part of Cherry Hill, they will move in like locusts.
haha. i love the anti-merger cats on this blog. They are so opposed to it and their best reason is rat infestations that will surely spread as a result of consolidation.
Some day we'll look back at today as the good ole days. We had relatively affordable housing and friendly neighbors- before taxes went up 500% and all the Rats moved in. I'm out of here.
A point of interest with regard to the Merchantville Facebook page. This page is not an official Borough page ... it's run by the merchantville.com website administrator, Joan Brennan.
There have been some instances in the past month when comments made by members of the town consolidation group have been removed within hours after being posted on the Merchantville Facebook page, giving me the impression that the page simply does not allow any serious pro-merger comments.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, anti-merger comments were posted by Katie Taylor-Whalen, which is her right, of course. Katie used to live in Merchantville and graduated from Merchantville Elementary School in 1993. Her own Facebook page provided that information last month, along with the fact that she currently resides in Audubon Park.
Around 3PM today, Greg LaVardera wrote this on the Merchantville Facebook page: “Katie, you don’t live in Merchantville and you are circulating rumors and trying to scare people. A study will provide us will real answers and everybody can make up their own minds.” That comment had been deleted by 6 PM.
With so much criticism of so-called “newcomers” not having the best interests of Merchantville at heart, it seems only fair to note that Katie Taylor-Whalen is NOT a Merchantville resident. Greg LaVardera IS a Merchantville resident and his pro-merger comments are deleted. Please read the Merchantville Facebook page with a large grain of salt.
Be thankful you have a blogmaster on this blog who allows you to speak freely. Unfortunately, members of the town consolidation group are no longer commenting on the Merchantville Blog, unless they’re making anonymous comments. That seemed to happen in mid August, about the time several critical opinions about Councilman Perno were made.
Our voices are restrained in so many ways. We allow that to happen.
Gail, thank you for your noting the conditions on the Facbbok page and noting it on this blog.
This appeared on the Merchantville Facebook page this morning: (I added the numbers next to the reasons.)
“Reasons why your post was deleted
by Merchantville NJ on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 9:45am
1. When posting a comment you chose to call someone an idiot, a moron, a dope, a dummy, a liar or something else uncivil. No name-calling or personal attacks.
2. You made a rascist, religious or ethnically insensitive comment.
3. You used profanity.
4. You fail to stay on topic and made the post thread incoherent.
5. You complained about deletions in a post. Please email any comments about our censorship policy so that posts remain on topic.
6. Repetition. If many people have already said something already, please don’t say it again.
7. YOU SHOUTED at other posters in CAPS.
8. You posted an advertisement.
This is a community page and we apply community standards to all posts. We support your right to disagree without becoming disagreeable!”
I think the most telling part of the Rat article was how Cherry Hill was going to respond. If this was Merchantville there would have been no article becuase Merchantville would have already responded to an issue like this and addressed it.
The administrator of the Merchantville Facebook page posted this article this morning: (I added the numbers.)
“Reasons why your post was deleted"
by Merchantville NJ on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 9:45am
1. When posting a comment you chose to call someone an idiot, a moron, a dope, a dummy, a liar or something else uncivil. No name-calling or personal attacks.
2. You made a rascist, religious or ethnically insensitive comment.
3. You used profanity.
4. You fail to stay on topic and made the post thread incoherent.
5. You complained about deletions in a post. Please email any comments about our censorship policy so that posts remain on topic.
6. Repetition. If many people have already said something already, please don’t say it again.
7. YOU SHOUTED at other posters in CAPS.
8. You posted an advertisement.
This is a community page and we apply community standards to all posts. We support your right to disagree without becoming disagreeable!”
I nominate anon 3:29 for "Best Parody" post.
Now that's real comedy gold.
Merchantville would have hired a outside consulting firm to study the issue, meanwhile given the rats a 10 year tax abatement and purchased the nearby properties in the hopes of bringing in a exterminating company.
Merchantville would have given the extermination contract to a friend of the mayor's, paid twice the going rate for the contract, and then complained bitterly that newcomers and outsiders just don't understand the real small-town Mayberry we have here.
Merchantville wouldn't have done anything. The rats were newcomers and therefore don't merit the attention of the government.
I'm most concerned about Rats that walk on two legs and drive fancy cars.
And the second nominee is Reality Check! Congratulations!
Also nominated in the category of "Most Opaque and Meaningless Comment"
Well for you newcomers Merchantville did have a Rat problem years ago, and immediately got involved calling in the County Health Department and getting the situation under control.
This is a total change of topic, but I don't know where else to say this.
For the past 5 hours or so there has been a discussion going on over at the Merchantville Facebook page about whether or not that page is the “official” municipal Facebookpage or if it’s a “community” page. How irrelevant that has suddenly become!
Yesterday afternoon Joan Brennan, the Merchantville Facebook page administrator, told us about the tragic death of Jonathan Page and his wife in a head-on collision in California. Jonathan grew up in the Borough and attended Merchantville Elementary School. I remember that he was one of my first Merchantville Beacon delivery kids in 1990. Jonathan went on to graduate from Cornell University and was living and working in Sunnyvale, Calif. He was only 32 and his wife was 29 when they were killed on Friday morning.
Jonathan had a brother, Christopher, and a sister, Carolyn. His mother and father, Nancy and Bob, still live on E. Walnut Avenue. Merchantville is a small, close-knit community ... maybe some of you know the Page family. They’ve been very active in Borough activities over the years ... Nancy also worked at the library and the family worshipped at St. Peter’s church. They must be dealing with unimaginable grief.
Thank you, Joan, for telling us about our neighbor’s tragedy. Maybe we can take a break from our petty quibbling and just be neighbors for awhile. Please let us know if there’s anything this community can do for the Page family.
Gail,
Horrible news, My prayers to the Page Family.
Gail,
Thank you for the notification. This is absolutely devastating news. I know Nancy from my frequent visits to the library where she has been one of the sweetest and most polite people I've ever met. My heart goes out to her and her family.
Mayor North and the council want a study now. From what I heard, at the last council meeting Mayor North expressed his intention to form a committee and create his own application to the DCA for a study. Why are they doing this? We don't even know the cost? When will this happen? North lost my vote and I'm not the only one. This needs to be delayed. This could cost hundreds of thousands.
I attended the 9/13 meeting.
The mayor said he had instructed the solicitor to prepare a resolution which would request a commission/study. The resolution would be presented to Council at its next meeting (which I believe is in October). I took it that the resolution would be the equivalent of the Cherry Hill resolution. There was no mention of whether or not there would be a Council vote on it at the next meeting.
The mayor also wanted to clarify apparent incorrect statements which were made in a circular about phone calls between him and the Cherry Hill mayor not being returned. He advised that all phone calls going both ways are returned and there has been no lapse in communications between the mayors.
The opportunity to merge with Cherry Hill is golden. It would be a great win for Cherry Hill and an even greater win for Merchantville. So long as there is a true glimmer of hope that a merger could really happen, Council approval of the commission/study should happen. The benefits of a merger to Merchantville are so great that the cost issue is a miniscule matter.
I doubt Council will vote on the commission/study resolution before the November election. They will discuss it at their October meeting but likely will not vote on it. But if they do vote on it before the election, the folks who vote to approve the resolution will have my vote.
Absent a vote on the resolution, Mr. North and colleagues will have my vote. They have controlled costs and have worked hard to grow the ratables tax base of the community.
We should spend the money, whatever it takes, to make Cruiser the council's press secretary.
Cruiser,
Can you give us a figure on how much the ratables shave grown under North?
Also, when you do that can you explain how you arrived at the figure?
Realist - your questions are good. I will get the data to answer them.
Note that in my comment I did not say that actual ratables have grown under North but rather said that North and others have worked hard to grow ratables. These things take years. The things they have done are a step in the right direction. Taking a risk and doing these things is far preferable to sitting on one's butt and hoping that somehow the readily apparent deteriorating trends of prior years would somehow reverse.
I think the ratables growth question is important in understanding what has been going on and I look forward to your answer.
Cruiser,
There is nothing in this deal for Cherry Hill. This had been reviewed extensively in 1999 with a School Board visit to the school. The school is unacceptable and would not work.
There are several files on the reviews a foot thick. there will not be a study and there will not be a merger.
The citizens of Cherry Hill have no interest and there is a backlash already taking place.
Go to the School Bd meeting, go to PTA meetings. It will never happen.
Anon 9/15/2010 5:40 PM - You could be right. You could be wrong. Times change since 1999. The outcome of analyses change. The facts and circumstances of both communities change. I don't know about site visits since 1999 but there have been M/CH school district merger discussions since then. I partcicpated in them.
If you are just looking at it from the Cherry Hill perspective, the value to Cherry Hill is the taxes which would be raised by about $160 million of ratables at the current time versus whatever the costs are of providing services to those ratables.
In the long run I don't expect the Merchantville school to survive the merger. But it could. Again, facts and circumstances change. That matter will be left to the administration and board of the merged district. That Merchantville school could be lost is one of the negative things which the current Merchantville community has to risk to get the positive aspects of a merger.
If there is no merger, the likely future, five or ten years down the road, is that the same risk will be taken in a merger with Pennsauken. In such a merger, the positive aspects are much less. Already there is substantial concern in Merchantville about the high tax levels. Absent a merger, this will only get worse to the point that more people will become part of the "we gotta do something" camp, enough to sway the community to a Pennsauken merger. If we have to merge, and Cherry Hil is an alternative, then Cherry Hill is the way to go.
I think you are correct that there are files a foot thick on this topic. I probably have a few of them. The commission would certainly review them. My recollection of the merger discussions I was involved in is that at that time a merger would be slightly beneficial to Cherry Hill but it certainly would not have been worth the agony to both communities which would result in trying to get out of the Pennsauken send-receive. That agony would likely be avoided in a complete merger of the M/CH communities.
An example of things which could change in the 8-10 years since prior analyses are the number of schoool age children in west Cherry Hill and the continuing dearth of tax revenues from the race track site; plus the influx of school children which could result from the eventual completion of the race track. While west Cherry Hill is just about completely developed, there are new apartment developments (Bishop's View, two near the Pathmark, the rebuilt Towers across route 38 from the mall etc.; the typical age of homes in the west Cherry Hill area is 40 or 50 years and may have long been childless in the majority but that could be changing with turnover and new families). Times change.
That there is a backlash on the possibility of a merger in Cherry Hill is a normal occurrence and should be expected. Just like Merchantville, Cherry Hill will have to consider, from its perspective, the postives and negatives of a deal. I view Cherry Hill as a savvy, vigorously active community. If it is a good deal for them, they will do it.
School choice bill becomes law in N.J.
Associated Press • September 13, 2010
TRENTON — Parents who wish to send their children to a different public school district now have the chance under a bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie.
The public school choice program allows parents to move their children to schools across district lines, if space is available.
The law expands a pilot program that was in effect for five years. Washington Township in Burlington County and Folsom in Atlantic County were among the 15 districts participating in the pilot program.
Under the bill, which was sponsored by Assembly Democrat Paul Moriarty and signed into law by Christie on Friday night, schools seeking to participate would apply to the state education commissioner, detailing services available to students. They also must account for fiscal issues they may face by taking part.
Students seeking to transfer must apply to the new district, which could hold lotteries if the number of applications they receive outpace the available seats.
Students’ home districts would provide or pay for transportation for elementary school pupils who live more than two miles from the receiving district, and for secondary school students who live more than 2 1/2 miles from their new school.
But they wouldn’t have to pay if the new school is more than 20 miles from the student’s home.
Both the Assembly and Senate passed the bill unanimously in June. In addition, both the New Jersey Education Association and the New Jersey School Boards Association, have voiced support for it.
School choice is limited to 10% of a districts student body. There must also be room in the receiving district. It is more likely that this law will have MES receiving Camden children than sending a significant number to a preferred High School. This will not be a solution.
Not to mention our school board would still have to cover the tuition of any new sending relationship. This does not scale to a solution for Merchantville's High School. There is no budget to pay for sending solution.
I doubt that "top performing" school districts will participate in this program, but this can help bolster the finances of Merchantville's school. Lots of deserving kids from Pennsauken and Camden can come to Merchantville school and pay tuition. If we increase class sizes by 25% or so with tuition students this is the real silver lining.
Realist asked for some figures on ratables under Mayor North. I think the answer more properly belongs in the election thread.
I have posted some figures and a link for exploring them yourselves in the Election thread.
All this talk about schools is sad. The most important institution in Merchantville is the police department. This is a FACT. When I used to live in Merchantville I could count on a patrol car driving by every hour. Do you think the Cherry Hill PD will eyeball ever car driving in from Camden and pull over the undesirable. NO! When was the last time you saw a Cherry Hill police car on the West End of town?
Are you actually saying that Merchantville policemen pull over every car coming in from Camden that seems to be driven by an “undesirable”? How do you define “undesirable”? That’s just a little scary. Maybe you owe the Merchantville police dept. an apology.
Why on earth would Cherry Hill police cars be in the West End of Merchantville? Did you ever see a Merchantville police car in the Erlton section of Cherry Hill? Police cars should be in the town that pays for them.
There are only two things I get for the high taxes in Merchantville; the trash guys take anything I leave on the curb, and an outstanding police department. The vigilant patrols are necessary as we are on Camden's doorstep. If we merge, cops will only go to where there is crime. By the time the need exists it will be too late.
Good point, but trash is about to be privatized and 2 officers will be cut in the next year. Will we still get the same level of service then? We might as well merge and reap the benefits of lower taxes. Cherry Hill has the lowest tax rate in Camden County.
I'm much more concerned about the tenements on the West end than anyone in Camden. People in Camden commit crimes in Camden. Drug dealers operate openly on the West End. The Cherry Hill PD works with the DEA and would clean house. The Merchantville Police only does community policing.
Is there any reason the Merchantville PD can’t work with the DEA and clean house ... so we don’t have drug dealers operating openly in the West End?
What makes you think drug dealers operate openly on the West End? An anonymous comment on blog?
I would guess that the Merchantville police department doesn't have the manpower or resources to fill out all of the forms required for DEA assistance. Cherry Hill probably gets all sorts of federal aid that we don't have access to.
How many of Merchantville's highest paid employees actually live here? Where do the police chief and superintendent live?
Many conversations on the town's official Facebook page are dominated by family members of Merchantville cops that live out of town. I've never met a single person in Merchantville that was against merging with Cherry Hill and I've lived here for almost four years and know all of my neighbors. I'm wondering if all of the anit-merger noise is generated by town employees who stand to lose. I don't blaim them, but if this is put to a vote I can't imagine any other outcome.
I am hearing mergermania is just about over. difference of opinion about who will pay for study. merchantville payor not very enthusiastic. any truth to this?
The state will pay for it. One of the biggest reasons that NJ taxes are so high is that there are 566 municipalities. So much redundancy and inefficiency. A Merchantville/ Cherry Hill merger would start a movement statewide. The Teamsters, FOP, and NJEA will be here to protest loudly.
Get Kwadz back here to answer some questions. I remember him saying he did not move to Cherry Hill because he could not afford it, although he wanted a better education for his coming children than what Pennsauken could provide. He added, I think, that he went to C.H. high school and was not impressed.
Others on this blog have complained that they could not afford to live in Cherry Hill.
Before we buy the exhaustive consolidation study that Alice is advocating, let me ask how many think that Cherry Hill expensiveness, if that is so, will not creep into Merchantville once the towns are merged.
Merchantville is one forty-eighth the size of Cherry Hill. That's two percent. Alice says, Oh, there will be a commission that will establish conditions for merging, so maybe very little will change. We could keep our police force.
Let me suggest the probability of 2% of a population keeping anything unchanged is similar to wearing yellow rubber rain gear when the weather forecast calls for two percent chance of precipitation. It would be silly.
ktbfw - I believe elsewhere on these blogs it is stated that CH has the lowest tax rate in Camden County. I belive that is true or close to being true. At a minimum the CH tax rate and the M tax rate are very close - in short, no "expensiveness" there. Cherry Hill's tax rate can be low, dspite their quality government services, because they have very significant commercial real estate which pays for a significant share of the overall costs leaving less for residences to pay.
What would likely become more expensive is the cost of real estate. It seems to me to be well established that property inside the Cherry Hill school system sells at higher prices principally because the property is within the CH school system. The phenomenon of school district quality and higher values for real estate seems well established.
With the higher values will come more people at a higher economic level who are able to pay the higher prices. This will improve the economic mix of the community. A good economic mix is important. I think now the situation is that fewer affluent families choose to live here than otherwise might if the school system was better.
Having Cherry Hill's expensiveness creeping into Merchantville is a good thing especially for current Merchantville property owners.
I don't think Alice ever said we could keep our own police force.
I think the things which would remain unchanged are things like zoning, aesthetics, planning, historic preservation, traffic laws, curfews, etc.
And if we don't merge now with CH, we will continue to drift towarda a hapless situation several years from now when a merger with Pennsauken will actually start looking good.
ktbfw
I made no claims whatsoever about what would happen in the event of a merger. I make no claims now.
To discover much of what would change is why we need a Study Commission before any steps are taken toward merger.
The Study Commission is not a merger. After a Study there may or may not be a Merger Plan.
I suggest that people who have particular interests or ideas of what should happen in the event of a merger, should advocate for those ideas to the Commission and to the community. I know I will.
[Cruiser: With the higher values will come more people at a higher economic level who are able to pay the higher prices. This will improve the economic mix of the community.]
I agree with most of what you say, Cruiser. And by "C.H. expensiveness" I was referring to the higher valuations you mention.
Here's where we part company. When you suggest that higher valuations will bring "more people at a higher economic level", and I agree, I see a situation where many present Merchantville residents will be displaced by those newcomers. The vast majority will be displaced because Merchantville is not a wealthy town.
We are not talking about renters. Not only are renters a small percentage of all residents, the rental units do not attract affluent people. We are talking about the majority of current homeowners will be displaced from our community because rising property values will raise taxes and insurance costs and maintenance costs.
Everybody who has said on this blog that he lives in Merchantville because he cannot afford to live in Haddonfield, Moorestown and Cherry Hill WILL BE FORCED OUT OF MERCHANTVILLE IN THE COMING YEARS AFTER MERGER.
As you say, Cruiser, a "better" mix will come. Unfortunately, on my fixed income, that does not include me and does not include most other residents.
Let me make one more point to the Anon who claims the State will pay for the consolidation study.
Are you aware that NJEA is lobbying for restoration of education funding cuts? Hearings are being held on ending N.J. public radio? The Federal government wants states to expand expenditures on highway construction (a 90%/10% match)?
In a tight Republican administration, where does Anon think a consolidation study would rank among financial priorities?
We should demand a permanent council seat in the newly created township.
Municipal consolidations will save the state money.
[Alice said: I made no claims whatsoever about what would happen in the event of a merger. I make no claims now. ]
Alice said: "Many of you seem to miss the point that in a merger plan it is possible for Merchantville people to have control of planning and development in Merchantville. It is also possible for Merchantville to maintain its ordinances.... The statue allows for all of this. We would have to make sure it was part of the plan." "Cherry Hill Unanimously Approves Joint Commission" 8/23/2010 9:21 AM
Merchantville Mom,
I am a resident, not sure if I ever met you. But if I did you would know that I am against consolidation with any town.
This is a good quote because it is exactly correct on what is available to us in the event we progress to a merger plan.
Under the statute there are provisions for planning advisory boards and special service districts. There are provisions for protecting historic districts.
In the event of merger, Merchantville would not automatically lose control of planning. Nor would we automatically retain such control. The statute provides a path and a lever which we can use to get these things included.
I continue to make no claims about what would be in some future merger plan. I will advocate for the types of controls I described.
I know that there are a handful of people on the blog that oppose a merger, but by and large everyone else in town is favorable. I've yet to meet anyone who is opposed. People like me don't go to town meetings, because we have jobs and kids.
What does "expensiveness" refer to?
If you already own a house, the increased value is a benefit to you in greater equity. You don't pay for the increase directly. Are you afraid you might eventually sell your house for more than you paid for it? That doesn't seem frightening to me. The alternative is decreasing values which has an eroding effect on the town.
If you are referring to taxes increasing, then you need to go through the Study Commission process to see whether a merger really results in higher taxes.
The first question is whether taxes would immediately be higher after merger. I think the answer is "no" based upon the current tax and equalization rates but the information required for a more accurate answer would only be available after the Study Commission finished its work.
The second question would be whether taxes would go up at a slower rate in the event of merger.
It looks like it is over. Cherry Hill has come to its senses and realizes there is nothing in it for their town.
There is community push back regarding paying for the study. Now Merchantville doesn't want to pay for the study either ($100k).
Looks like a dead issue at this point.
Funny how people think if they call it dead enough, it might actually die.
Give it a break, your study, stick your head in the sand ways got us in this mess.
The Merchantville Facebook page is an outrage. All benign pro-merger posts are deleted within minutes. Anti-merger posts (mostly from out of towners) with foul language are left alone.
The Merchantville Blog allows you to post pro-merger posts, even ones that are not benign. Why not make your comments here?
It seems the pro-merger people stopped commenting on this blog more than a month ago. You were allowed the freedom to say what you wanted and you could use your own name, a moniker, or even say something anonymously. What more could you ask? If there’s a decided preference for anti-merger comments on the privately-run Merchantville NJ Facebook page, why would you want to make your comments there anyway? You won’t convince those folks that a consolidation study should be done.
We’re waiting to learn if Cherry Hill voters will come up with the required number of signatures or if Merchantville Borough Council will vote on a resolution to form a Consolidation Commission to do a study. Until that happens, what else is there to say?
Can someone explain where the $100,000 figure for the cost of a Study Commission comes from?
The following is from the official minutes of the July 12, 2010 Council meeting:
“Mayor gave report on consolidation. Solicitor Higgins, Mayor Platt, Cherry Hill representative,
Senator Beach, Mayor North and Councilman Perno attended a meeting and below are the results
to date.
To confirm, we have had no prior calls from Cherry Hill. Mayor North offered suggestion number
one to Cherry Hill Mayor Platt to propose taking students from Cherry Hill at Route 38 to
Merchantville boarder and sending them to our school making it a k-5 and to send our students
from Jr. High and High School to Cherry Hill. Cherry Hill was not interested in that option.
Suggestion number two was that if a town merger study would be done it would be in excess of
$100,000. Senator Beach will look at state financing for study.
A study group could be formed
with three people from Cherry Hill and three people from Merchantville. Proposals will be
requested from an outside source for the study and than selection of company to do the study.
When completed, it will be presented to both Cherry Hill and Merchantville, put on the ballot and voted on by both towns.”
Thank Gail.
It sounds like a ballpark estimate. It was made before the parties know what needs to be done. I say this because from the summary it doesn't sound like the second proposal is actually the Study Commission as required by the statute (which would include members of the DCA and the County Superintendent and not just a group formed by the municipalities.)
As such, I don't see that it is a very useful figure.
[Gail said: Merchantville Blog allows you to post pro-merger posts .... Why not make your comments here?]
The pro-merger folks face a double jeopardy.
If the merger succeeds, rich people will start buying up Merchantville Victorians making prices skyrocket as happened in Society Hill, Baltimore Inner Harbor, and Embassy Row in D.C. Escalating taxes will force regular Merchantvillans out of town, INFLUENCING THEM TO STONE THE MERGERIANS.
If the merger fails, Merchantville residents will STONE THE MERGERIANS because of the hundred thousand dollar study everybody will have to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
So the Mergerians no longer want to be known. Ask lavardera what he thinks, if he still lives here.
While Gail may be right about the current dormant peroiod being caused by counting of signatures in Cherry Hill, I think the real reason for the time out is to wait until after the November elections for the next move.
Could the real reason be that it is over?
Merchantville ate a $1.2million bond to buy a bank building and a house.
We got nothing from either of those deals. Barely a peep from the blog-o-shpere anonymice.
But a total guess pulled out of the air of a cost of $100,000 to find out if consolidation can save us money and get us a better high school--that is a problem for you?
It would be $100G well spent. Far better than all the lousy land deals and 4% raises we have put up with all these years.
I would take a higher home value over a declining value any day. You have to be nuts to hope your house goes down in value.
It won't save you taxes--taxes get apportioned over total assessed value. So even if your house value sinks, you still pay the ever higher taxes.
Now try to sell with high taxes and a lousy HS.
[Anonymous: I am hearing mergermania is just about over. 9/17/2010
It looks like it is over. 9/18/2010
Could the real reason be that it is over? 9/19/2010
Alright already! We read your speculation three days running. If it is over, you won't have to tell us again. If it is not, saying it again will discredit you. So talk about something else; things you know about. How about the sky? Hasn't it been beautiful with Seraphim-painted white clouds on azure-blue nitrogen? With clouds it is never over. But don't tell us that, either. We know already.
[Realist: It won't save you taxes--taxes get apportioned over total assessed value]
Aah, you seem to have forgotten, there would be no tax rate change when your section is one forty eighth of the total. If your property value skyrockets, you will pay the full freight plus an insurance hike.
You only win on an escalating house price IF YOU SELL AND LEAVE.
And one more correction, Realist. If you didn't hear complaints about the PNC-purchase bond issue, with other things thrown in thanks to Mr. Perno's grand spending appetite, then you have not been reading this blog for long.
But you should know that already, you and he being in the same Spend-and-Merge camp.
There seems to be a great misunderstanding of how taxes work and how increased assessments effect tax burdens.
You would only have higher taxes if the value of your individual house went up more than your neighbors's homes. If everyone increases the same percentage, then your tax share would not change.
Think of it this way--
If your house is assessed at $100 and your neighbor is assessed at $200 and the tax to be raised is $1000 then you will pay $333 and your neighbor pays $666.
If upon a revaluation your houses are increased to market for your neighborhood and market values increased 50% then you will be re-assessed at $150 and your neighbor re-assessed at $300. If the tax to be raised is still $1000 then you will still pay $333 and your neighbor will still pay $666.
Increasing values alone do not increase taxes.
The only way for increasing assessments to change your tax burden is if your assessment rises faster than everyone else's assessment. Since tax assessor's use a sq foot value based upon all sales in the neighborhood, it is highly unusual for one house to go up faster than the one next door.
[You would only have higher taxes if the value of your individual house went up more than your neighbors's homes.]
What you keep leaving out of your taxation equation is that Merchantville Victorians are far underpriced --so are the apartment buildings-- due to the poor school situation. Cruiser can explain it.
There are four Victorians in Cherry Hill, all on the historical register, so you have to go to Moorestown or Haddonfield for comparables. Theirs are double our prices!
When the This-Old-House aficionados realize that Merchantville homes have access to good schools, they and speculators will be coming here with dollars in their pockets. Our housing boom won't affect Wexford Leas or Fox Hollow prices one wit but their four-thousand-of-the-same will become our tax rate.
It is your argument, Alice.
"You would only have higher taxes if the value of your [Merchantville] house went up more than your [Cherry Hill] neighbors' homes."
I wonder how much of this fear of "increasing value" should really be fear of a revaluation.
I have been looking at assessments to sales price ratios in Merchantville. I noticed homes that were assessed as low as 20% of market according to the recorded sale price when the average in Merchantville is about 50% of market. I also saw homes assessed at 60-70% of the sales price.
This disproportionate assessment to market ratio is typical when there has not been a re-valuation in so long.
Look at your current assessment. If you are assessed at less than 50% of what you think your home is worth, then your taxes would go up in a revaluation, merger or no.
If Cherry Hill has the lowest tax rate in the county, what are we afraid of? Most people won't even notice the difference if there were a merger. So what? I heard that the police chief doubles as the IT guy and Mr. Fixit at town hall. Is that the most efficient use of our taxes? I believe that there are really only a dozen or so really noisy people against this and they probably have relatives that work for the Borough.
@your argument:
Tax assessors cannot by law look outside of your own town for comparables. It would be unlawful for the assessor to compare a Merchantville house to a Haddonfield house for purposes of assessment.
So you start out with a falsehood as your main argument.
Tax assessors use basically a per square foot valuation. They add some for amenities such as central air conditioning.
They don't look at the style of the house at the assessor level. You would have to go to Tax Court (two levels higher) for style to mean anything--and then not much.
So your second argument is also false.
Would Merchantville increase faster than CH in a merger? Who knows? You have a crystal ball, maybe?
CH has several neighborhoods and average prices are different in each one. In 08002 (Erlton-Ellisberg) the median sale price this summer was $208,000. In 08003 (near Vorhees) the median was $309,000. That's a big swing.
Why do you think Merchantville, nestled between Camden and Pennsauken, would go up faster than homes near Vorhees?
Why would you think a large Victorian on Fithian would be more desirable than a junior executive mansion near Kresson Rd?
Do you have some data to prove your point, or are you just making it all up?
My neighbors down the street are in Cherry Hill. They pay $2,000 less per year in taxes for a similar property! All of my neighbors support a consolidation. Our problem is that the mayor and council oppose it and they are the ones that get to appoint the blue ribbon committee.
The easy answer to keeping the values down is: DON'T SELL.
Convince your neighbors to stay. If no one sells, then the prices don't go up, right?
If the prices don't go up then the assessments won't rise to match them.
If your assessments stay low, taxes would stay the same.
The answer is to forget Mayberry--become Brigadoon and never change.
My understanding is that getting out of the send receive with Pennsauken is very popular in Merchantville.
Had the BOE succeeded in recent efforts to switch to Haddon Heights, wouldn't our home values have increased? Wouldn't that have increased taxes on the Victorians? Wouldn't "speculators" have sought after those Victorians in that case? BTW, not everyone in town lives in one of those fancy houses. Some of us are in pretty ordinary ranches.
Did anyone oppose terminating the send receive on that basis?
Why would being part of a combined municipality, the purpose of which is to lower the cost of gov't, make our taxes higher?
I spoke to one of my neighbors over the weekend. Her house is in Cherry Hill, down the street. Her property is bigger than ours and her property taxes are $1300 less per year. If there is a down side to a merger, I don't see it. Maybe I'm missing something...
I object to Merchantville Mom's complaint about the police chief fixing computers and doing handy work in borough hall. Why should anyone be above fixing a toilet or anything else, even if you make six figures. If we contracted that work out it would cost extra and
Chief Bauer is there all day anyway. Cherry Hill probably has an IT guy on staff. Do you think he works for free?
@fiscal conservative
We don't know the effects of a consolidation on costs. We don't know if a combined entity can be run at less cost than each separately. We don't know what level of services we could have or what would need to be done to service the combined entity. We don't know the effect upon taxes with certainty. We also don't know what the County Superintendent will report on the schools.
These are things a Study Commission will explore.
I am reminded of the old joke: "Two can live as cheaply as one...Provided they both starve to death."
Let's see what's possible through the Study Commission before deciding for or against a merger.
I posted this on the Facebook page:
"I think it is a mistake to hope for lower home values in order to keep taxes down. Camden has the lowest taxes in the county--and the lowest home values. Who would aspire to achieve this? Your loss of equity through declining value will hurt you far more economically than higher assessments due to increased value.
Taxes are determined by more than one factor. The greatest factor is gov't spending. Once the government decides what to spend, those taxes are apportioned over the assessed values. If everyone is assessed fairly, then no one pays more than their fair share. And if the cost of gov't decreases, then everyone shares that as well.
The consolidation statute provides for using the current assessments and equalization rates or doing a revaluation. Because we don't know the cost of a combined entity and we don't know what the total assessments would be, we can't say with certainty what the impact on taxes would be. Determining this is one major reason I favor a Study Commission."
Why is it best to have a $140,000 year police chief fix toilets and such? Cherry Hill doesn't have six figure employees fixing toilets. How does this make any sense?
Alice: "Tax assessors cannot by law look outside of your own town for comparables."
Your Argument is talking about buyers, not assessors. He is talking about future sale prices resetting valuations. He is talking about particular people in the marketplace who want big old houses with nice trees on quiet streets and with good schools.
They are not interested in Erlton brick cape cods or bungalows. They are not interested in the boxes off of Cropwell or even the Alluviums.
They want the Haddonfield or Moorestown but cannot afford them. They will want Merchantville Victorians with schools. AND THEY WILL DRIVE UP PRICES GETTING WHAT THEY WANT.
Tomorrow's assessor does not have to look far to find higher assessments. They will be on Fithian and Walnut and Volan and St. James and many other Merchantville streets.
Some will shout, "Shoot the Assessor" but he is not the fault. Better to shoot the merger because that will be the killer.
NJ Police Salaries Highest in Nation
By Karen Araiza
NBCPhiladelphia.com
Police in New Jersey are the highest paid in the entire country, according to a lengthy report and data analysis by The Star-Ledger.
But, in the one city where violent crime ranks highest -- Camden -- those officers, on average, are among the lowest-paid municipal police officers in the entire state.
Some of the report's key findings:
- The average municipal police officer in New Jersey made $89,630 last year. The average Joe-Citizen made $50,313. - Three out of 10 officers made over $100,000 in 2009. - Suburban cops make the most money. In Camden, routinely among the country’s most violent cities, the median salary was $79,656 last year.
So stoner wants the school situation to not improve in order to keep down property values?
I was opposed to the merger, but I now think that this is something that could work out for the best. When I went to Merchantville High School kids from Delaware attended with us. This is not ancient history. The times change and we need to change with them.
As much as I love Merchantville, I won't pretend it is comparable to Haddonfield.
The prices in Merchantville depend upon Merchantville conditions. Remember the three most important factors in real estate? Location, location, location. Reasonable buyers would not expect to pay Haddonfield prices for a Merchantville house even if we combined with Cherry Hill.
Haddonfield has not one of the highest ranking school systems in the county, it has the highest. The high school regularly ranks in the top 25 statewide and was 11th this year.
Cherry Hill East ranked 47th and West 91st statewide.
Haddonfield has a train to Philadelphia. So-called "transportation villages" command higher prices.
Haddonfield has about 100 homes valued at more than $500,000. It may be best to think of Haddonfield homes as the cap on Merchantville prices.
Our taxes are going up right now, even though our real property values are sinking. This seems to me to be a worse situation than rising taxes with rising values.
Even better is values rising at a greater rate than taxes increase. It is this last situation that we are looking for and why I think we should have a Study Commission.
If a revaluation were held today, and the tax rate did not change, about 25% of you would see higher taxes, 25% would see lower taxes and 50% would see no change.
Currently in Cherry Hill, there are over 4,000 homes with values in excess of $240,000. There are hundreds of homes with values in excess of $500,000. There dozens of homes with values over $1million, some as high as $5million.
In Merchantville, there are about 160 homes with values over $185,000; There are a dozen homes with a market value over $300,000.
If Merchantville homes increased in value at double the rate of Cherry Hill homes, it would be 10 years before the average values equalized. Even so, the number of homes with values exceeding those in Merchantville would be in the thousands.
And after 10 years, we don't know what the taxes would be. Probably higher than now. But out of proportion higher? Higher than they would be without consolidation? What point of reference are you using to decide that?
Ask yourselves, should we refuse the Study Commission, just to avoid possibly higher real estate values? Because some people think higher values cause higher taxes?
Or should we support the Study Commission and see what the cost, in taxes, in planning, in school, etc., would be before deciding?
I'm a senior citizen and live on a fixed income. I wouldn't have wanted to see Merchantville merged with Cherry Hill, but if this could save taxes, I could stomach it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
I've lived here for less than 10 years. So I don't really count, but to my mind- I can't imagine anyone who works for a living would notice if there were a municipal consolidation. Police patrol, trash gets picked up etc, who cares?
I never noticed that Verona and Cedar Grove were consolidated and I lived next door to these towns for 7 years.
Nevertheless, there are issues where we might notice: cost of government (taxes), planning authority (like redevelopment and what kind of fences we can put up), how successful the school is.
Basically the same things we notice now with Merchantville government.
Police patrol, trash gets picked up etc, who cares?
If you would be happy with the services that Cherry Hill provides, then you could get the same right here in Merchantville if you could get the borough council to cut that deep.
The thing is, they won't. They don't think you want such cuts.
Cherry Hill was once again named one of the Top 100 Places to Live in the United States by Money Magazine.
So the services there are clearly among the best in the nation.
Shared services are not a solution for us. If I have a problem with public works or the school, I can call my council members and they will be accountable. Who is accountable if we outsource this work? We'll be the read headed step child. No to shared services! We need to be self sufficient.
Jim
Do you have any idea what you are talking about?
Merchantville currently shares services with Collingswood. They cut our trees. If we don't like the service we cancel the contract.
We share services, EMT, with Pennsauken. If we don't like it, we cancel the contract.
If we consolidated with any other town we would be part of that town and entitled to call up our council people and complain just like any other resident.
We have no such leverage in shared services arrangements. Ideally, we just merge wholesale.
Are you saying you don’t want shared services and you don’t want consolidation either? We already share some services with other communities, such as the tax assessor, the building inspector, and amulance services. What are you going to do when the budget increase is limited to 2%?
Including the school in your comment is really confusing. If you have a problem with the school your child attends, you would call the School Board for that school, of course. I don’t think anyone is thinking of “outsourcing” the school, unless you’re talking about a send-receive arrangement. We’ve done that for years in Merchantville.
Could you restate your concerns?
You might add financial services, such as the Chief Financial Officer and the tax collector. Since these people actually work for us in our Borough Hall, we have direct communication with them.
Of course we have leverage with shared services.
If we don't like the service we cancel the contract. In shared services, you can shop around and use different towns for different services.
Once you merge, that's it--all your services come from that town. Unless of course, they are using shared services then you can complain and they will shop around for a better deal.
But really--can't you always complain if you don't like the service whether it's your own town or shared? It doesn't seem to me to be a big difference in leverage.
[Cherry Hill was once again named one of the Top 100 Places to Live .... So the services there are clearly among the best.]
If we want to save a bucketful of tac dollars, let C.H. take our policing. They will drop our service from 3.7 police per thousand to their level of 2.4 and we will reclaim more than half a million dollars every year. That would be fifty additional high school tuitions.
Do the same with Public Works.
Budget savings will only get us so far. Eventually we are still faced with too few people paying rising costs.
We are on a slow downward spiral. Our leadership is mainly interested in protecting their turf (look at all the angry trolls on the blog to see how nasty they get when challenged).
I don't know if merger is an answer for us--but I want to see the town taking the idea seriously and start the Study.
The study will be a waste of time and money, because this will never get to be voted on by the people. The council will be sure to stack their committee with oponents of merger- who would never endorse any plan.
I'm sure that one or two of the petitioners will be asked to join the mayor's blue ribbon committee. As long as they are not the majority, it would be a fair gesture.
Shorter Anon 8:44
"Can't win, don't try."
Greg LaVardera posted this comment to the Merchantville NJ Facebook page around 11:20 this morning:
"This research paper provides great insight into the question of merging towns. Every Merchantville citizen should read this:
http://www.couragetoconnectnj.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-Overruled-by-Home-Rule.pdf"
I checked the Facebook page occasionally today and Greg’s comment was still there as late as 6:00 PM. It was gone by 6:40.
LaVardera provided a link to a 64-pg. research paper written by Andrew J. Bruck and H. Joseph Pinto III. (The paper contains 351 footnotes, for those who want more information.) There’s an interesting discussion about Gov. Corzine’s efforts to address the consolidation of municipalities with the creation of LUARC (Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization and Consolidation Commission), originally based on the Federal government’s procedures for closing military bases.
The paper is well worth reading, and I think it's unfortunate that Joan Brennan removed LaVardera's link from her Merchantville NJ Facebook page. It's also unfortunate that Greg hasn't posted a comment on the Merchantville Blog since the middle of August.
I have no allegiance to Brennan or LaVadera. Greg told me to "take a hike" on this very blog and Joan hasn't spoken to me for years. I'm too old to care.
Read the article if you can.
Greg LaVardera posted this comment to the Merchantville NJ Facebook page around 11:20 this morning:
“This research paper provides great insight into the question of merging towns. Every Merchantville citizen should read this:
http://www.couragetoconnectnj.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-Overruled-by-Home-Rule.pdf”
I checked the Facebook page occasionally today and Greg’s comment was still there as late as 6:00 PM. It was gone by 6:40.
LaVardera provided a link to a 64-pg. research paper written by Andrew J. Bruck and H. Joseph Pinto III. (The paper contains 351 foornotes, for those who want more information.) There’s an interesting discussion about Gov. Corzine’s efforts to address the consolidation of municipalities with the creation of LUARC (Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization and Consolidation Commission), originally based on the Federal government’s procedures for closing military bases.
Read it if you can.
Alice,
your comments are commendable but I live in Cherry Hill. What is in for us? Do you know what AYP is? Well, Merchantville school does not meet AYP, Cherry Hill schools do meet AYP. Why do I want students in our schools to pull down our schools? Why?
Come up with the $100k and do your study. We are voicing our opinion to our Council. WE REFUSE TO CONTRIBUTE MONEY TO A STUDY.
Please do the study if you need to but do not expect us to share in the cost of the study or subsidizing your children's education.
Gail, thanks for posting the URL for the paper. I read it (but not the footnotes). I agree with most of it.
Thanks for sharing Gail! I didn't find it to be a very hard read. It took one solid hour. Lavadera should have posted it here. This article really puts things into perspective. 566 municipalities are the reason that NJ has the highest property taxes. We pay more because we have too many levels of government.
How will we survive continued cuts in municipal aid? We already run a $300 K operational deficit. What next? Let's think outside the box.
Anon 8:45:
You could voice your opinion to CH council if you lived there, but you don't. So far CH council has received no complaints on this.
What Cherry Hill could get is several million in taxes at relatively little cost in additional services.
The Study would be able to tell how many millions it would really be.
As for AYP, Horace Mann, Joyce Kilmer and Kingston did not make AYP for 2009-2010 and Beck Middle School is in "Early Warning Status" http://www.state.nj.us/education/title1/accountability/ayp/0910/
Would you pay (and we have no good figure for what it would cost) $50,000 for an investment that would net over a $million per year?
The Study Commission will analyze costs and revenue and also allow us (the public) to question the figures and methodology. We would get a report on the effect of a school district merger from the County Superintendent. We could then discuss these reports in open public meetings with everyone getting a chance to question and have their say.
I support a Study Commission as the best method available to us for uncovering facts and openly discussing them. Without this information, and public discussion, I don't think we can make a good decision on consolidation.
Gail,
The link was still on the "Discussions" tab "Cherryville?" at merchantvillenj when I just looked.
It had been posted 14 hours previously.
Alice: What Cherry Hill could get is several million in taxes at relatively little cost in additional services.
Yes, Alice is correct on the benefits to Cherry Hill. Add together our four-plus million dollar school budget and four-plus million dollar municipal budget. C.H. would get it all, almost free. Add in our public property including the community center and sports fields. Subtract a minor municipal bond debt.
The post office ... would we lose our post office? That's a fair bet. The post office has been losing money nationally and would love a reason to close a small office. Riverton fought losing its post office for several years but ended up losing it to Cinnaminson -- even without a merger.
As to what we would gain, I have a tough time thinking of two things at once. Yes, a minority of residents will get a new school system. But the rest of us? I can't see a study helping out my thinking.
But then, I remember going to the home of a man who started sanding my floors but did not finish. His wife was in the backyard which happened to butt against the Garden State Race Track at the time. Standing near the fence was the wife whom I asked, "Can you tell me where your husband is?" As I was asking, a cat came to the fence from the other side and I reached down to pet it.
The wife answered, "He spends his time at the race track. He comes to the fence crying and I give him milk."
For I moment I thought to myself why would her husband coming begging for milk?
yes, a minority get s a new school system....the remainder get higher property values as a result of that new school system.
that wasn't that hard to think of, was it?
and the minority that really benefits can't even vote.
The postal service is not controlled in any way by either the gov't of Merchantville or of Cherry Hill.
Another non sequitor bought to you by the fantasy of ktbfw.
Maybe he can tell us about how the horseless carriage and the electric refrigerator came to Colestown and changed it forever.
Alice,
You are not getting this. Do you know what the cost would be to us in Cherry Hill to get your student population up to speed with Cherry Hill students? MILLIONS
Do you really believe the Governor will continue to give us the Merchantville aid? NO
This is a lose for Cherry Hill. Concerns have gone to our council privately and there have also been concerns raised at PTA meetings.
This was investgated in 1999 and the CH School Board said "NO".
This will never happen. We will not save or subsidize another town's education.
I understand the bad position your town is in but we must think of our town and its citizens and students first. Pennsauken would be more than happy to merge with you. You are already half way there and your student test scores are right in line with their population.
the post office? are you kidding???
we will lose our school, our identity and everything merchantville.
Anon 5:20 and 5:22 are from the same IP address. One pretends to be a Cherry Hill resident, the other Merchantville. They could be from any where, but they can't be from two places.
Does anyone really believe our taxes will decrease? The problem is not small mmunicipalties in New Jersey it is State mandates and other large government spending. This issue is not about tax dollars it is about getting a better high school. That would be the only benefit from a merger with our neighbor. Be careful what you wish for as we will not only get the filet but the rump roast and end trails too.
Cherry Hill has the lowest tax rate in the county and Merchantville has been burning up it's surplus to delay the innevitable. Taxes are about to spike big time for Merchantville. We're headed for disaster. I prefer the life raft and my kids are grown. Why do the naysayers keep saying that this is about the schools?
The postal service is not controlled in any way by either the gov't of Merchantville or of Cherry Hill.
Right! But it is the toy of politics just as much as the railroads and interstate highways (Route 95 was moved 15 miles from its planned 1960s route to pass by the "South of the Border" motel).
Zip code 08109 is currently Merchantville and adjacent sections of Pennsauken. Drop out the legal name "Merchantville" and what are you left with?
Ironic, isn't it, to become Cherry Hill and keep a Pennsauken mailing address ... will bring tears to the eyes of old towners. And I know the risk of being labelled a "fantasizer" but my bet still stands that USPS will see no need to maintain a little post office with an unloved name.
Any takers?
ktbfw is wrong again - There are numerous post offices which have the names of defunct towns or "towns" which never existed in the first place. The Chestnut Hill post office in Philadelphia is still there over a huudred years since the city-county consolidation. It still says Chestnut Hill on the building and people used Chestnut Hiil, PA as their address. The Glenside, PA post office is named after a 1920s real estate development in the area. The Glenside area is either Abington or Cheltenham township. There is a Glenside Fire Company but no actual town of Glenside; there never has been.
The thing which will drive the continuing existence of the Merchantville Post Office is how much business is done there and the overall challenges faced by the Postal Service. You will be able to use a Merchantville address with 08109 for the long-trem future. The merger or the lack of merger will have no effect.
Anon 5:20,
The Study Commission requires a report from the County Superintendent of Schools. That office will have access to the facts and statistics needed to determine what would happen in the even of a school district merger (as part of the muni merger).
When you say it will "cost millions" where do you get your figures from? Is that one year or several? When you say there won't be school aid, what amounts are you calculating? What formula are you using?
Or like the former "your argument", are you just making it all up out of the air?
JAMR
I think it will take a detailed financial study, such as can be produced by a Study Commission, to find out if taxes will decrease. It may be that they increase but more slowly.
It may be that they decrease initially and then go up. It may be that they are higher from the beginning.
Until we know the projected costs of a merged entity, and what items are projected to be in the taxable base, we can't say what the answer would be.
Everytime someone claims to know the answer, challenge that person to explain how they calculated the tax. For eg, merchantville.com had a tax answer which was clearly wrong because, among other deficiencies, it failed to use the equalization rate.
Change is a funny phenomenon and it still surprises me how adaptive we are to it.
Alice says she never noticed that two North Jersey towns were merged. That's typical of many things we encounter I suppose.
The other day a nun picked me up to go look at a rehabilitation center for an elderly relative. She apologized as we approached her parked car for it not having remote controlled door locks. I quipped that I had to roll down my window by hand to open one door on my vehicle. She apologized a second time for the air conditioner being turned off (she asked if I wanted it turned on.) I countered that my bus has not had a heater because I never got around to soldering the leak. Nine years agi I disconnected the hoses temporarily.
We get used to changes good and bad. Somebody eliminated the car window vents we called butterflies which were perfect for directing air around a car's cabin. Why would they do that? You crack open a window today and must suffer wind noises. Butterflies were quiet and moved more air. But we got used to style over function easily enough.
A recent blog comment calls for doing away with small school districts in Jersey. Hey, good educators know that local control is the greatest single factor/asset for producing the best-educated children. That's why Haddonfield ranks tops with towns all around sinking. Fifty years ago it was Wenonah on top with Englewood Cliffs.
Yes, it is unfortunate that districts like ours are failures but that is because the locals don't care enough, or are not smart enough, to bring about excellence. For any reason, or none worthy, consolidation is now fashionable and that's probably what will come.
When I lived in Cherry Hill for twenty years residents east of the brand-new turnpike had a Marlton post office. Erlton may have had its own post office; I don't remember. We went to Haddonfield High School and joined the Deer Park Fire Company. Our telephone was a Haddonfield number starting with HA9 but later, maybe, that exchange was routed through Merchantville. There were lots of changes we witnessed but never thought much about. Big changes. That fire company moved five miles to Cropwell Road.
The Delaware River Port Authority did not exist when we had one bridge across the river south of Palmyra. And we thought things were fine without it and the bridges. The opening of the Walt Whitman was a big event and we all drove down to Deep Water to cross the new Memorial Bridge that finished off the NJTP. Of course we drove through all the little towns, the prosperous little towns like Paulsboro, because Route 130 ran through all of them. I cannot tell you when those bridges changed from novelties to necessities.
I told this blog that I had a boss who once said no one could obey all the laws that exist so pick the ones you like and obey them. We can do that if Merchantville merges. Many will stay, no doubt, and either ignore or enjoy the changes. Some might move away to find laws they prefer. That's what I did out of Cherry Hill when it grew too big. And I can tell you that many a moon rises and sets without me even thinking about walking the old railroad bed that ran across Kresson, Marlkress and Springdale Roads from Haddonfield to Marlton.
What railroad? everybody asks today.
What laws drove you out of Cherry Hill, ktbfw? What laws attracted you to Merchantville? Are the statutory schemes that different?
I didn't notice Cedar Grove and Verona were merged because the town businesses retained all their own names: The Verona Diner, the Cedar Grove Pharmacy. The "Welcome to Verona" and the "Lions Club of Cedar Grove Welcomes You" signs remained and were kept in repair.
I didn't notice they were merged because those two towns held onto their separate identities after they combined administrations.
My point is that people worried about "losing our identity" should remember that no one can take that from you. If you want to retain a Merchantville identity after a merger, you can do it. Verona and Cedar Grove have.
I have no argument that our surplus has dwindled. I am glad we had the surplus to get us through these difficult times. It is not because we mismanage our money. W e are in a recession everyone is hurting. Hate to bring it up again but Cherry Hill had to sell a road to the County just to balance their budget. No Alice I can not quote laws and make legal arguments as you do. I am a simple person with simple ideals. I have found that Merchantville fits my simeple life. I like our town just the way it is and have no interest in Cherry Hill or any other large community. Yes it would be nice to solve our High School Issue, but my gut tells me the consolidation of our community is not the answer. I am sure there will be a study done and that is when the real debate will begin. But for me I don't believe the sky is falling, stay the course, sound fiscal management and we will be back in the green as soon as the economy turns around.
What laws drove you out of Cherry Hill?
Unreined DEVELOPMENT and its sister, REDEVELOPMENT, drove me out of C.H. It also drove out every farmer. Mayor Gilmore was the last farmer/entrepreneur to guide the township and his term ended before 1970.
Alice, I am talking about unrestrained development with no master plan. Maybe the area was too big to govern holistically with caution for natural resources and environmental integrity. Rolling fields were leveled; forests cut down; streams and ponds filled and piped away.
There was a pristine stream from Rte 70 across from the tip of Greentree Rd that ran parallel to Marlkress Road, a block from it, all the way down to the branch of the Cooper Creek that I used to set muskrat traps in. And a swamp through a woods with Venus Flytrap plants and wild orchids. The entire half mile was dug and drained and piped and filled for things like parking lots and houses and office space.
On the opposite side of that dendritic drainage parcel, a few miles away, the Sergi farm had a pond home to innocent fish, frogs, waterfowl and birds which is today a drainage detention basin for a thousand rich houses. I wanted to go back to see the pond 40 years later with an old photo of me and friends ice skating. I had to ask an owner for trespass through his backyard to its edge. How could they have allowed this to happen? It would have been so easy to protect Cherry Hill's natural landscapes. When my grandfather rented the farm now known as Garden State Plaza and Pavilion, there was a small stream that meandered across its middle. For decades part of it became a landfill -- most recently parking lots with underground drains.
There came corruption. I may have told the story of my uncle wanting his property rezoned "commercial" to conform with variances issued on both sides of him. The zoning officer expected $30,000. Fortunately he was prosecuted although I don't know if successfully.
So I left.
What laws attracted you to Merchantville? Mistakenly, I thought Merchantville was developed, well designed and stable. I should have met Cruiser before deciding to buy and retire.
What laws drove you out of Cherry Hill?
Unreined DEVELOPMENT and its sister, REDEVELOPMENT, drove me out of C.H. It also drove out every farmer. Mayor Gilmore was the last farmer/entrepreneur to guide the township and his term ended before 1970.
Alice, I am talking about unrestrained development with no master plan. Maybe the area was too big to govern holistically with caution for natural resources and environmental integrity. Rolling fields were leveled; forests cut down; streams and ponds filled and piped away.
There was a pristine stream from Rte 70 across from the tip of Greentree Rd that ran parallel to Marlkress Road, a block from it, all the way down to the branch of the Cooper Creek that I used to set muskrat traps in. And a swamp through a woods with Venus Flytrap plants and wild orchids. The entire half mile was dug and drained and piped and filled for things like parking lots and houses and office space.
On the opposite side of that dendritic drainage parcel, a few miles away, the Sergi farm had a pond home to innocent fish, frogs, waterfowl and birds which is today a drainage detention basin for a thousand rich houses. I wanted to go back to see the pond 40 years later with an old photo of me and friends ice skating. I had to ask an owner for trespass through his backyard to its edge. How could they have allowed this to happen? It would have been so easy to protect Cherry Hill's natural landscapes. When my grandfather rented the farm now known as Garden State Plaza and Pavilion, there was a small stream that meandered across its middle. For decades part of it became a landfill -- most recently parking lots with underground drains.
There came corruption. I may have told the story of my uncle wanting his property rezoned "commercial" to conform with variances issued on both sides of him. The zoning officer expected $30,000. Fortunately he was prosecuted although I don't know if successfully.
So I left.
What laws attracted you to Merchantville? Mistakenly, I thought Merchantville was developed, well designed and stable. I should have met Cruiser before deciding to buy and retire.
OK flyer says meeting October 6 7-9 Merchantville connecting to the future. "Gina Genovese will present how "Municipal consolidation is vital to the future of Merchantville, Cherry Hill, and New Jersey.
...how "Municipal consolidation is vital...
Well, today I am convinced that Mr. Gregory La Vardera [non-conforming pigeon coop], Mr. Anthony Perno [new street, curbs, walks, speed hump at front door], and all their friends, with petitions saying one thing and they saying another, are just asking for a STUDY.
LIAR, LIAR, SHIRT'S ON FIRE.
NOW IT'S OUT!
Look, Alice, the petitioners who said we need a study now say they already know the answers: "consolidation is vital to the future of Merchantville, Cherry Hill, and New Jersey".
Where did they get the research you say is so important?
"consolidation is vital to the future of Merchantville, Cherry Hill, and New Jersey
again, what's in it for Cherry Hill? Dumbed-down schools, more older and poorly maintained infrastructure. Millions in educating students to get up to speed in our schools.
CAN'T WAIT!!!
I'll be there. I'm interested to hear what they have to say.
I did not initiate the petition drive or any movement toward consolidation.
I believe a Study Commission is necessary to uncover facts and to allow public input in the process.
You can support the Study Commission without supporting consolidation, or supporting consolidation or even being against consolidation.
In all these cases, facts and public input are still vital.
ktbfw,
I asked about laws because one of the facets of the Study Commission is to look at how the statutory schemes of each community could be reconciled. This would have been the type of information to bring to a Commission and possibly make sure Merchantville retained those laws in special planning districts.
It seems, however, that you were being hyperbolic and not really referring to the "laws" of Cherry Hill as the reason you left, or the "laws" of Merchantville as the reason you moved here.
The agenda for the September 27th Council meeting includes a vote on Resolution 10-103, Merchantville-Cherry Hill Study. You can find the agenda on the official Merchantville website, merchantvillenj.gov, along with the complete text of the resolution.
Here’s an excerpt from it: “Borough Council of the Borough of Merchantville wishes to propose the formation of a Municipal Consolidation Study Commission with the Township of Cherry Hill, to study the feasibility of a proposed consolidation of the Borough of Merchantville and the Township of Cherry Hill; ...”
Thanks Gail! I can't find it though. Does the tesolution name the committee members? They've had plenty of time to think that over.
They should name their committee members beforehand. This is backhanded sabotage. Very clever.
Here's the link to the Resolution.
http://tinyurl.com/28p43vo
None of the 5 committee members have been named. Why don't you just ask?
I don't think that's backhanded sabotage or clever. How can the Mayor name members to a committee until the resolution establishing a committee is approved?
On the merchantvillenj.gov website, just click on Local Gov't., then scroll down to Resolutions. There are a few other resolutions on the agenda you might find interesting.
Alice: I believe a Study Commission is necessary to uncover facts and to allow public input...
Alice makes a good argument for finding facts.
I am troubled by the politics that the study would not reveal. I am troubled by the merger-study group, including Councilman Anthony Perno, who gained signatures on a petition by saying they wanted a consolidation study when --before any study can address the issue-- that group will present a political pitch (October 6) to abolish our municipal government.
I hope Merchantville residents will not be misled into thinking that Gina Genovese and her "Courage to Connect NJ" organization are unbiased and nonpolitical. They are not. They are lobbyists. They are organizers. They actively support the consolidation of small, independent governments into larger units with centralized political and economic power.
Also, I distain Mr. Perno's campaign to get himself reelected to Council in November. He appears to be "Hamas" wanting local power to override local power. It may foster his own interests, as did his supervision of the Public Works Department, but his reelection would not be an asset to Merchantville in maintaining its 125-year identity.
Why is council passing a resolution to study consolidation? They are against this and the petitioners already have an application in to the state government.
The resolution seems fine. It is a step in rhe right direction to get the entire matter resolved. It should conform to the resolution previously passed by the Cherry Hill council.
Either a resolution or a petition from Cherry Hill is necessary according to the DCA.
There is politics behind the effort to stop the Study Commission as well, and it is not pretty either. So what? We can still have the facts out in the open and debate them. We can even debate the lack of facts and the reasons for it.
ktbfw, I have my criticisms of the Mayor and Council as well. But your comparison is far over the top and uncalled for. I hope you wrote out of ignorance. It would be the only excuse.
[Alice said: ktbfw, ...your comparison is far over the top and uncalled for.]
Hamas has a charter and the mergers have their petition(s). Show me the difference between the two movements outside of American prejudice.
Quoting Wikipedia: "The Hamas charter/covenant issued in 1988 calls for the eventual creation of an Islamic state in Palestine, in place of Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and the obliteration or nullification of Israel." [Wikipedia]
Quoting the Mergers using Wikipedia's phrasing: The Merger petition of 2010 calls for the eventual creation of an enlarged Cherry Hill township, in place of the Merchantville and Cherry Hill municipalities, and the obliteration or nullification of Merchantville.
That is a direct comparison, Alice. Notice that Hamas supporters got themselves elected into the Palestinian government just as Anthony Perno is bidding for reelection to Council.
Different groups; same objectives. Don't be persuaded that hiring "Courage To Connect NJ" is less lethal than guns.
Well if ktbfw is againt the re-election of Mr. Perno that virtually assures that Mr. Perno will get re-elected. It only adds further to my reasons for supporting Mr. Perno.
The petitioners are being compared to Hamas and over on Brennan's facebook site someone is comparing the potential merger to the Nazi annexation of Austria. Maybe we should calm down folks. It's just a study and nothing is going to really happen anyway. If you disagree with your neighbors on this- just agree to disagree and be good neighbors.
[Cruiser: if ktbfw is againt the re-election of Mr. Perno ...]
Don't get me wrong, Cruiser. I am not against anyone running for public office. I think his motives are pernicious, to get into office to abolish it, but Perno and pernicious have a catchy assonance together. He might post a sign on his new sidewalk about what he stands for. "Pernocious for Privilege to Preempt!" or something.
No, Cruiser, in my thinking you can support any candidate you want. Maybe somebody really in Hamas?
It is not American prejudice to report that Hamas has engaged in terrorist acts according to a reputable independent organization.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE21/001/2009/en/9f210586-f762-11dd-8fd7-f57af21896e1/mde210012009en.html
Kneecappings, beheadings,torture and assassinations are well documented.
It is an offensive comparison, ktbfw. An apology rather than an apologia is called for. You have really gone too far.
Since we are coming close to proving Godwin's Law for this thread, I will go ahead and create a new thread.
I will keep this thread as/is for posterity's sake, but I would urge commenters on curtailing some of the more extreme analogies when it comes to discussing Merchantville politics. I still reserve the right to subjectively delete comments that are deemed inappropriate.
letter to the editor courier post 10-1-10
I'm not surprised that many Merchantville residents are in favor of merging with Cherry Hill. It circumvents the state commissioner of education's repeated denial of Merchantville leaving the Pennsauken school district and merging with a highly ranked school district. As better schools produce better property values, merging would likely be a boon to Merchantville homeowners.
However, other than charming architecture and an equally charming population, what does Merchantville bring to the table? Cherry Hill does not need another bedroom community with very few commercial ratables to offset its general service needs. When the Cherry Hill/Merchantville school districts looked at merging several years ago, the physical plant of Merchantville's only and very old school building was found to be severely lacking compared to all other Cherry Hill elementary schools.
No Cherry Hill elementary students eat in their school's basement. The Merchantville school, located in the center of town, is totally blacktopped with no grass and heavy traffic. At the time, there were bus location issues along with parental pickup problems that were already chaotic.
It wouldn't be fair to redistrict nearby Cherry Hill neighborhoods to a building that isn't comparable or needs costly upgrades to bring it up to par. It's been reported that only a handful of students would be added to Cherry Hill secondary schools.
I must question that analysis if Merchantville becomes viewed as a quaint community with great schools. How much do we need to spend on an analysis of this "no win" for Cherry Hill?
CAROL WALVOORD
Cherry Hill
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