9 Gloucester County Towns Could Be Eliminated Under State Plan

Nine Gloucester 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.

The list of Gloucester County towns includes Westville, which was established in 1914 from parts of West Deptford and Deptford. Westville's population is listed at 4,233.

National Park, which was formed from parts of West Deptford in 1902, also made the list. National Park has a listed population of 3,012.

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 Gloucester 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. Newfield, Gloucester County 1668
2. Wenonah, Gloucester County 2163
3. Swedesboro, Gloucester County 2606
4. National Park, Gloucester County 3012
5. Woodbury Heights, Gloucester County 3027
6. South Harrison Township, Gloucester County 3203
7. Elk Township, Gloucester County 4134
8. Westville, Gloucester County 4233
9. Greenwich Township, Gloucester County 4870

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