WEST CAPE MAY — County Prosecutor Robert Taylor told Borough Commission and residents his office was ready to help prosecute anyone found stealing water from the borough.
Taylor said he came to a May 26 Borough Commission meeting after reading a story in a local newspaper noting West Cape May residents paid for 121 million gallons of water it did not use, losing 26 to 37 percent of the water it buys from the City of Cape May with no explanation of where it is going.
He offered the resources of the County Prosecutor’s Office “if there is indeed any kind of theft going on in the Borough of West Cape May.”
Taylor said the prosecutor’s office could work with detectives from Cape May City Police to look into the situation. Taylor said he hadn’t reached any conclusion that there was theft of water service.
“I’d like the public to be aware that we are going to take a dim view of anyone that may be stealing public services or public water because of the burden it places on the taxpayers and ratepayers,” he said.
Taylor said it was fundamentally unfair for the taxpayers to have to pay for someone else getting something free.
“It would be hard pressed for somebody from the public to try and come into my office and tell me that they have been getting water coming through a pipe for many months or many years and convince me that they were not aware of the fact that they were getting this water for free and other people were paying for it,” said Taylor.
He said he would stay in touch with Borough Solicitor Frank Corrado and the borough’s municipal prosecutor. If the water situation results in disorderly person’s offenses, Taylor said his office would work through the municipal court to prosecute those matters.
He said if the situation advances to the level of an indictable matter, he would take the appropriate action in front of the Grand Jury.
Borough Commission was preparing to vote on an ordinance that would authorize it, if it sees fit, to declare water amnesty of some sort. Corrado said amnesty could be on any terms and be done in consultation with the prosecutor’s office.
Corrado said the borough does not have the ability to absolve anyone of criminal penalties if a determination is made a resident had been stealing municipal water. Taylor said an amnesty program was a long recognized technique that governments have used. He said the borough could forgive a civil penalty or interest.
Taylor said if it turns out there has been theft of water, the prosecutor’s office would seek full restitution to get the lost funds back in borough coffers.
If cases were developed, the prosecutor’s office would assign an assistant prosecutor to work with the borough’s prosecutor in municipal court to the extent they were disorderly persons offenses while an indictable offense would be dealt with in Superior Court, said Taylor.
Resident John Rowley asked if the borough invited “scofflaws” to come in voluntarily, did not they not still risk prosecution. Taylor said no one would be placed in a position where they would have immunity although “on the civil side of the house, the borough is free to do anything in that regard that they feel is appropriate ,” such as forgiveness of interest payments or part of the interest owed.
“If someone is out there today getting free water from the borough and they are knowingly doing that and they’re not paying for it, I would highly suggest they get a hold of their lawyer and come see us as soon as possible to fess up because if we have to chase them and we have to spend two months tracking them down, were going to be a lot more stern in our prosecution than if they come in voluntarily and make amends,” said Taylor.
He said his office has the authority to determine whether to bring a disorderly persons offense or criminal offense depending on the amount of theft.
Corrado said the borough wanted the ability to offer some sort of amnesty on terms determined on a case-by-case basis.
Resident George Earland said if approximately 150 residents of the borough had wells and were not connected to municipal water, how hard could it be go around West Cape May and check who was using a well and who had municipal water.
“Why are we thinking about giving them amnesty for stealing?” he asked. “If I walked to the Acme Market and walked out every day with a gallon of water, they’re going to lock me up for stealing.”
“If you’re not paying a water bill , I don’t care if it’s for a week or 20 years, you know you’re stealing,” Earland continued.
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