Proposed Bill Could Force Point to Merge with Lower Township

CAPE MAY POINT — A proposed bill, authored by a North Jersey assemblyman, could force the borough to merge with neighboring Lower Township within 10 years.
If Assembly Bill A-3690, sponsored by Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), is passed and the prospect seems unlikely at this time according to political pundits, it would allow Lower Township to take over the borough.
The bill calls for towns surrounded on one side by water and one other municipality on the other side to be absorbed into the neighboring municipality. It refers to those towns as “doughnut holes” and the surrounding community as the “doughnuts.”
“We’ve been fighting the school district issue and this is far worse,” said Deputy Mayor Anita Van Heeswyk, referring to a state bill designed to eliminate municipalities that have school districts but no school buildings.
She called Gusciora’s bill “an incredibly stupid idea.”
The bill is the result of Gusciora introducing Assembly Bill A-3490, which would merge six towns of Long Beach Island and combine Mantoloking, Lavellette, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park into one municipality. He said he proposed the bill at the request of one of his voters in Mercer County who owned property on Long Beach Island but complained he could not vote there.
Seeking retribution, Assemblyman David Wolfe (R-Brick) who represents Long Beach Island, introduced a similar bill, A-3586, which would require the merger of four municipalities Gusciora’s district in Mercer County: Princeton Borough and Princeton Township and Hopewell Borough, Pennington Borough and Hopewell Township
In a surprising move, Gusciora asked to co-sponsor the bill and invited Wolfe to also co-sponsor A-3690, which would cause merger of 20 “doughnut-hole” municipalities including Cape May Point.
Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matt Milam (D-1st) released a statement Feb. 12 saying they would back efforts to oppose the proposed legislation.
“The last thing we need is Trenton dictating how we govern our local communities from 105 miles away,” Milam said. “State government surely hasn’t done a stellar job of managing itself, so what makes anyone think they know how best to govern Cape May Point? If anything, we’ve learned larger isn’t always better, and decisions like this should always, in every circumstance, be made by voters after careful study.”
Gusciora followed with his own press release noting the bill was a work in progress and he vowed to work with Albano and Milam.
Van Heeswyk credited Borough Administrator Connie Mahon for reacting quickly to the matter.
Mahon theorized the proposed bills were the result of a Democrat and Republican fighting with Cape May Point having been pulled into the fight. She said the bill defines a doughnut hole community but does not provide a list of such towns.
Mahon said she and borough commission would continue to protect the rights of the taxpayers of Cape May Point and “maintain the unique character of this beloved town.”
Mergers of towns require the approval of the state legislature and the holding of voter referendums in the towns that would be impacted by the change.
Two years ago, former mayor Malcolm Fraser said the average home assessment in the borough was $440,000, which equaled about $3,300 in yearly property taxes including county and school taxes.
If Cape May Point became a part Lower Township, the tax would increase to $8,387, he said.
This story was first published at capemaycountyherald.com
Contact Fichter at (609) 886-8600 ext 30 or at: jfichter@cmcherald.com