State Reaches Milestone in Shared Services Agreements

TRENTON – The Murphy Administration announced Feb. 5 the milestone of 1,000 shared services agreements reached since the beginning of 2019 following Gov. Murphy’s shared services initiative with his appointment of two “czars,” former mayors Nicolas Platt and Jordan Glatt. 
According to a release, with the support and expertise of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) Division of Local Government Services, Platt and Glatt have helped to reinvigorate shared services efforts throughout the state by bringing neighboring communities to the table to find ways to reduce property taxes and make the delivery of public services more efficient for New Jersey residents.
“Shared Services Czars, Nic Platt and Jordan Glatt, along with the outstanding team at DCA’s Division of Local Government Services have proven to be a winning combination,” stated Murphy. “This impressive number of agreements in the books in less than two years shows that when you find the right people to get the job done, anything can be accomplished – and in this case, we are saving New Jersey taxpayers millions of dollars.”
“This milestone is a clear result of the hard work and countless miles driven by our dedicated Shared Services Czars who have been working behind the scenes to help towns and counties broker these valuable taxpayer-saving deals,” stated Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, who serves as DCA commissioner. “I also want to acknowledge our outstanding team at DCA who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the shared services are carried out in such a way that all invested parties feel confident they are reaching an agreement that benefits their residents.”
Examples of the shared services agreements include: Carneys Point and Pennsville, neighboring communities in Salem County that recently began sharing a court system, which will save them $560,000 over the course of three years. 
In Bergen County, Rivervale and Montvale recently reached a public works agreement that will collectively save taxpayers $6 million over a 10-year period. In Gloucester County, Woolwich recently reached a trash and recycling agreement with neighboring Logan Township that will save $65,000 a year – and once the new receptacles are paid for, it will save them upwards of $100,000 a year. Woolwich also entered a police and courts agreement with South Harrison that will save taxpayers approximately $40,000 a year.
In Monmouth County, all 53 municipalities share some type of service with the County, including the Sheriff’s Office 9-1-1 Communications Center which serves as a hub for countywide emergency services.
Recently, Union County has taken on three additional towns in their county-wide shared emergency dispatch for fire and EMS, saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually while providing access to improved technology.
Start-up costs can often be a barrier for local units considering sharing services. To assist, DCA recently implemented the Local Efficiency Achievement Program (LEAP), which will provide $10 million in monetary incentives for towns, counties and schools to pioneer, investigate, and implement meaningful service sharing projects.
“Sharing services offers countless benefits for participating communities and this milestone signals that our efforts are generating real results when it comes to the efficient delivery of services,” said DCA Division of Local Government Services Director Melanie Walter. “We look forward to continuing to help local units work together to forge viable cost-saving solutions while remaining responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
“We are thrilled that towns across the state are embracing the concept of sharing services. We look forward to continuing to provide assistance to make sure towns that want to share services will be successful. With the great staff at DCA we believe we have found a winning formula to garner some real efficiencies,” said Shared Services Czar Jordan Glatt.
“Jordan and I are honored to have been appointed by Governor Murphy to be his bipartisan “Czars” to tackle New Jersey’s property tax crisis,” said Shared Services Czar Nicolas Platt. “Our job is simple. We carry out the Governor’s pledge to use the power of his office along with DCA resources to help facilitate municipal partnerships. The credit for any shared service arrangement belongs to all the elected officials who had the courage to put their job on the line to get it done. This milestone means we have gained the trust of the local communities, which is our greatest reward.”