WEST WILDWOOD – Police consolidation was discussed at the March 4 West Wildwood Commission meeting when a member of the public asked for an update on a study commissioned by the borough that will investigate the pros and cons of consolidating the borough’s force with other local police departments.
Police consolidation was not on the night’s agenda, but two members of the public expressed worries that consolidation would mean fewer services for West Wildwood locals.
The first woman, a resident, said that a consolidated police force would cause anxiety for the town’s relatively large senior citizen population.
“There are so many senior citizens, and we really do depend on our police department. It is so comforting to see the vehicles drive by, waving, watching over us,” she said.
She added that the West Wildwood police are important in watching “who is coming and going” from the town. This citizen, and another present at the meeting, rattled off a list of police services that they say West Wildwood police are uniquely capable of providing.
Another member of the public, herself an older woman, said that she does not trust Wildwood’s Police Department to meet the needs of West Wildwood.
“In the summertime, I know that Wildwood is crazy,” she said. “I know a lot of people in Wildwood who say there aren’t enough cops over there to take care of even Wildwood, so how would they take care of West Wildwood? We have a lot of summer residents. Who is going to check on their houses? Wildwood isn’t going to go there and check on them.”
Commissioner John Banning, who oversees the borough’s public safety services, said that no real action has been taken towards consolidation at this time.
The borough commissioned a “feasibility study” with the state to discuss consolidation, but the study has not been finished and the findings are not yet ready. The study looks to discover the potential benefits and cons of consolidating with other local police departments.
Banning said that consolidation would not mean reduced services for West Wildwood, adding that the borough would not consider consolidation or a shared services agreement “unless it’s equal to what we have now or better.”
Banning said that, as of March 4, the West Wildwood Police Department is functioning like normal. He said that the borough is “not moving forward in any one direction. We are continuing with our police department and sending people to the academy.”
The two citizens who spoke continued to express worry about consolidation bringing fewer services for residents but Banning repeated his claim that consolidation would preserve the status quo and would perhaps even reduce costs for the borough.
“We are never going to get rid of services in this town,” he said. “If we ever get rid of police in this town, we will either do our services better or increased or we wouldn’t get rid of them.”
Consolidation has been a hot-button topic across Cape May County, which has 11 municipal police departments, five of which serve the Wildwoods and Diamond Beach, an area only five miles in length.
Shared services have proven to be effective across the county in several ways. First, the relatively new central dispatch center has saved municipalities like Wildwood Crest money on services that would otherwise be provided in-house.
Middle Township is the most recent town to join central dispatch. Police Chief Chris Leusner said in a December 2021 meeting that this decision saved the town from costly upgrades to its own, soon-to-be-defunct, dispatch center.
West Wildwood currently spends a significant portion of its annual budget on its police department. The Herald reported in January 2022 that West Wildwood spends about $600,000 on policing each year.
West Cape May, with a smaller population than Cape May, obtains police services for less than they would have to spend to maintain their own department through a shared services agreement with the city.
The Herald will update readers on the West Wildwood study when its findings are made public.
To contact Collin Hall, email chall@cmcherald.com.
