Raritan Township-Flemington merger put on the ballot

• 'Somebody had to take the first step'
• Flemington officials will discuss the issue on Monday

RARITAN TOWNSHIP – There's an ancient proverb that says a journey of a 1,000 miles starts with a single step.

The township committee took that first step Tuesday when it voted 4-1 to place a non-binding referendum on the November ballot asking residents whether they want the township to start discussions on a possible merger with Flemington.

"Somebody had to take the first step," Mayor Craig O'Brien said.

The next step may be taken Monday night when Flemington Mayor Phil Greiner and the Borough Council discuss what the borough's reaction could be.

Greiner said borough officials should gather as much information about a possible merger and present it to residents to start a dialogue.

"We want to gain insight into the issues," he said.

Greiner said that in conducting door-to-door campaigns in recent years that residents have not brought up the topic of a merger on their own.

Greiner said he wants "full participation" in any discussions of a possible merger.

O'Brien has stressed that a positive referendum vote will not lead to a merger, but could be the beginning of "multiple steps" that could eventually lead to referendums in both municipalities on a merger.

"There are many, many steps," O'Brien said., emphasizing that approval of the referendum will only start discussions and research.

"We're at the point of asking whether is interest," he said.

But if November's referendum is defeated, "it won't go any further," O'Brien said.

O'Brien said that a possible merger has been informally discussed for many years. He also noted the the two municipalities already share many things, including a a school district and recreation programs.

"There are many pros and some cons," he said. "Let's find out what the people think."

But O'Brien said,"I don't know how it will turn out."

Though he voted to place the referendum on the ballot, Raritan Township Committeeman Lou Reiner said he was against the merger "due to information I have."

Reiner did not say publicly what that information was.

Flemington was part of Raritan Township before it became an independent borough in 1910.

At that time, Flemington's population was 2,693 and Raritan Township's population was 1,310. Now, Flemington's population is 4,683 while Raritan Township's population is little more than 22,000.

The merger process is long and complicated, involving state approvals, charter study commissions and at least three public hearings in each town and a joint public hearing even before the final referendums that have to be approved in both towns.

Flemington has until mid-August to decide if it wants to place a similar referendum on the November ballot.

Gov. Chris Christie has been a vocal advocate of New Jersey's 565 municipalities considering consolidation and has offered state incentives to municipalities.

The last two New Jersey municipalities to merge were Princeton Borough and Princeton Township.

Staff Writer Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@mycentraljersey.com