POLL: Should Local Towns Join a County PD?

A conducted by the Somerset County Prosecutor's task force on whether a regional police force would be better than 19 local departments has been issued — now the towns' governing bodies have until Aug. 1 to give an answer of whether they want to pursue that proposal further.

The report issued last Thursday suggests that a county police department might group all of the five Somerset Hills towns within one "precinct." Currently, serve one municipality, as do police forces in Bernardsville, Bedminster Township, Far Hills and Peapack-Gladstone.

Some members of the , which has the ultimate authority to decide whether to move forward with joining a county force, have said the committee is likely to discuss the issue at its April 24 meeting.

Township Mayor Mary in making the choice.

The county prosecutor's feasibility study, launched in 2010, concluded that a consolidated police department would save county taxpayers $44 million over the next 10 years.

But that may be a “conservative” figure, said Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R- 16th District) who initiated the consolidation study during his term as county freeholder. The savings could range up to $100 million over the next decade, he said.

Ciattarelli emphasized however that municipalities should consider not only the quantitative aspects of a possible consolidation, but also the “qualitative” aspects. “We’re going to take 19 great departments and do everything better,” the assemblyman said, adding that looking at consolidation “strictly from a quantitative analysis is a disservice.”

Savings for Somerset County municipalities over a 10-year period, as determined in the report, would be $1.4 million in Bernards Township; $338,770 in Peapack-Gladstone; $526,513 in Far Hills; $804,983 in Bedminster Township; and $983,417 in Bernardsville.

On Sunday, Bernards Township Committeeman John Carpenter said he has "reservations" about joining a county policing department. He said that Bernards has one of the county's lowest per capita crime rates, and one of the lowest costs per officer. He also said that the town can best decide how to deploy police within the community.

So what do you think? Although this proposal has yet to be discussed — or even digested on a local level — in detail, the idea is now out in the open for consideration. Please vote in our poll below and/or tell us what you think in the comment section. What further questions or aspects of this proposal do you think need to be further explored?