WILDWOOD — The four municipalities on Five-Mile Island are through with sharing when it comes to the current joint construction office.
West Wildwood Commissioners approved the withdrawal from the Construction Office of the Wildwoods, commonly known as COWCO, and notified them just before the Aug. 31 deadline that they will be looking to drop the shared service by the end of the this year.
North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest made a similar decision at their monthly council meetings.
As part of the interlocal service agreement, any party that wishes to withdraw has to provide a notice of intent on or before Aug. 31, 2009. The agreement would then be dissolved at the end of the year.
COWCO replaced the former Joint Construction Office (JCOW) of the Wildwoods and has been in operation for over two years.
When the old office was disbanded, Wildwood took over the new-shared service as lead agency and currently handles personnel, budgeting and overall responsibility. Funding for the new office is split based on percentages that reflect financial obligations. Wildwood and North Wildwood each pay 34 percent, Wildwood Crest pays 24 percent and West Wildwood pays 8 percent.
Citing the borough’s inability to match the cost increase that would occur from the other two municipalities leaving the office, West Wildwood submitted a letter of intent to with-draw. That letter allows the municipalities to look at other options, including running their own office or sharing the service with another town.
