ROBERTS BILL INCREASING FUNDS AVAILABLE TO TOWNS TO START SHARING SERVICES RELEASED BY COMMITTEE

ROBERTS BILL INCREASING FUNDS AVAILABLE TO TOWNS TO START SHARING SERVICES RELEASED BY COMMITTEE

Bill Would Allow SHARE Funds to Pay for More Start-Up Costs

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr., sponsored to give towns greater ability to pay for entering into shared service agreements that can save property taxpayers money was released today by an Assembly committee.

"If the state is going to encourage more towns to look outside their own borders for partnerships that can stabilize or even shrink property tax bills, then it must be willing to give towns access to greater funding to put those agreements into practice," said Roberts (D-Camden).

Roberts is a longtime proponent of shared services and has sponsored multiple pieces of legislation - including the landmark CORE law - aimed at making it easier for towns to combine resources.

Roberts' bill (A-2853) would give local governments greater ability to enter into shared service projects by increasing to a maximum of $200,000 the funding available to communities through the state's "Sharing Available Resources Efficiently" (SHARE) program. SHARE funds are capped at $40,000 and generally are enough to only pay for feasibility studies, leaving towns on their own to pay for capital improvements and other expenses associated with putting an agreement into place.

"It makes no sense for the state to agree to partner with towns to examine potential areas for consolidation or sharing, but to then tell those towns they're on their own in terms of paying to turn the plan into reality," said Roberts. "A shared services plan is worthless if it exists only on paper. Towns need the resources to put a plan into action."

The measure was released 5 - 1 by the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee. The Speaker now decides when to post it for a floor vote.

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