W. Long Branch could hold court in Ocean Legislation calls for shared services to cut costs in municipalities BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer OCEAN TOWNSHIP - West Long Branch could start holding municipal court in Ocean Township as a result of a recent bill signed into law that encourages municipalities to share court services. B ill S-335/A-1518 aims to reduce costs in local government through shared court services among municipalities and was signed by Gov. Jon S. Corzine on March 28. "There were some discussions with West Long Branch about having them use space in our facility that houses our administrative offices," Ocean Township Manager Andrew Brannen said. The proposed agreement between the two municipalities is contingent on whether or not Ocean Township moves forward with plans to construct a new council meeting room and courtroom at the site of the former township library, according to Brannen. The former library, located on the first floor of the township municipal building, has been vacant since the completion of the township's new library adjacent to Joe Palaia Park. Brannen explained that if Ocean constructs a new municipal chambers meeting room, the space currently used for township council meetings could be rented to West Long Branch to hold municipal court. Ocean Township would generate revenue from West Long Branch if the two towns decide to enter the agreement, according to Brannen. Although there are no firm plans in place for the agreement, Brannen said West Long Branch could begin using the Ocean Township facility by the beginning of next year. The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Sean Kean, Assemblyman David Rible and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini. "In light of the governor's plan to slash state aid to municipalities in the upcoming budget, the state needs to give towns all the tools necessary to share services," said Kean, R-Monmouth. "This new money-saving legislation is a step forward in reining in costs at the local level," Kean said. Under current law, two or more municipalities may agree to provide jointly for courtrooms, chambers, equipment, supplies and employees for their municipal courts without establishing a joint municipal court. A 2006 Superior Court decision held that the same law requires that municipalities sharing municipal court services under that provision are to also share a municipal court judge. The Kean, Rible and Angelini legislation changes the current law to provide that towns sharing court facilities can each make separate appointments for judges and administrators. "This lawis an excellent opportunity for us to begin to cut costs," Rible, R-Monmouth, said. "Often, our laws are structured in such a way that actually discourages sharing services at the local level. "It's imperative we take responsible action to start to turn things around. I would hope the Legislature uses this bill signed into law today as a steppingstone to similar cost-saving legislation in the future," Rible said. Angelini (R-Monmouth) said, "This legislation sends a message to towns that they can share court facilities and services without having to surrender their own judge and court calendar. It's a win-win situation and victory for everyone - the state, local governments and our taxpayers."