Watchung Votes Against Police Consolidation

The Watchung Borough Council unanimously approved a resolution declaring the borough will not participate in the at its meeting Thursday.

The vote came after members noted they heard no support for the plan when speaking to residents or during .

"There's a public perception that we have superior service with our current police," Councilman Stephen Pote said. "Under this consolidation, I think the service level would go down." 

Councilman William Nehls said the plan has been a dominant topic of conversation around town, including residents at Little League games that he spoke to.

"And I have not found one person in favor of this," he said.

With the vote, Watchung joins a growing list of municipalities voting against the plan, including Bedminster and Peapack-Gladstone. The council planned to send copies of its resolution to other municipalities in the county, in addition to the county.

 "With all those already rejecting this, you couldn't even implement this," Councilman Thomas Franklin said.