10 Burlington County Towns Could Be Eliminated Under State Plan

Ten Burlington County towns could be eliminated and merged with neighboring municipalities under a new plan put together by state officials.

Patch obtained a copy of the letter detailing the potentially dramatic policy changes proposed by the “Economic and Fiscal Policy Working Group,” a panel put together by Senate President Steve Sweeney and other lawmakers.

Here are some of the highlights of the plan:

• Require municipalities with less than 5,000 people to merge with adjacent municipalities.
• Merge all K-6 and K-8 school districts into K-12 regional districts, with option for county districts
• Install tolls on interstate highway "near the state line" to help stabilize the pension system.
• Install high-occupancy toll lanes (or HOT lane) on the New Jersey Turnpike, I-80, I-295, I-287, among others.
• Explicitly authorize county sheriffs or county police departments to assume local police responsibilities to encourage county-based policing
• Mandate countywide tax assessments that follow a consistent structure

Sweeney's office downplayed the plan but didn't dismiss it as a possibility. Read more: Eliminating 191 Towns? More Tolls? Look At What NJ Could Do

The list of Burlington County towns that could be eliminated if the state Legislature followed through on the proposal to merge towns, and their populations can be found below:

1. Fieldsboro, Burlington County 629
2. Wrightstown, Burlington County 764
3. Washington Township, Burlington County 815
4. Woodland Township, Burlington County 1439
5. Bass River Township, Burlington County 1464
6. Pemberton, Burlington County 1511
7. Springfield Township, Burlington County 3363
8. Bordentown, Burlington County 3874
9. Medford Lakes, Burlington County 4081
10. Delanco Township, Burlington County 4513

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