Does New Jersey really need four tiny towns all called Wildwood? If you ask one of the mayors on this seaside island, he’ll give you a direct answer. Merge them.

During a Borough Commissioners meeting earlier in June, West Wildwood Mayor Christopher Fox said he would be in favor of West Wildwood, along with the nearby municipalities of North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, merging with the city of Wildwood to create one municipality.

“The state of New Jersey in the last couple of years is pushing for any town less than 5,000 people is supposed to merge with the nearest, closest town that has more than 5,000, which means this whole island should be merging with the city of Wildwood as we speak,” Fox said. “That is what the state law says. Has that been discussed? Yes, it has been discussed. It comes down to do the other towns want to do it, and do they feel the need to merge. I am 100 percent for it.”

According to the Rutgers New Jersey Data Book, in 2018, West Wildwood had a population of 603 people, the fewest number of residents on the island. Wildwood had the most residents (5,325), followed by North Wildwood (4,041) and Wildwood Crest (3,270). And about 200 people live in a section of the island known as Diamond Beach, but it is part of Lower Township.

The other municipalities in the borough have shared service agreements involving courts, tax assessors, and other local government positions and services with each other, due to their proximity with each other. Three of the municipalities also utilize the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority (GWTIDA).

In 2018, West Wildwood had shared service agreements with Wildwood to use the city’s EMS service, municipal court, police dispatch, and emergency broadcast notification services. Another cog in a merger would be the relationship Fox had with Wildwood, serving as the city’s administrator before being fired in May.

After Fox’s statement during the meeting last week, there was an audible mixture of approval and dislike among the crowd gathered in the room. A couple of the people in the packed meeting room yelled out if a merger were to happen, they would rather merge with North Wildwood as opposed to Wildwood.

Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano said there have been conversations with West Wildwood about a possible merger, but nothing has moved forward.

“In the grand scheme of everything, absolutely it should happen,” Troiano said. “They are a third of a square mile. We handle their fire, ambulance, court systems. We have a lot of shared services with them. I think their public works department has three guys. You can’t get to West Wildwood unless you go through Wildwood.”

The Wildwood mayor added he would like to see the island come together as one, but does not think he would see it in his lifetime.

“I’ve always been a proponent of one government because I think one government is all we need, but unfortunately home rule and people’s attitudes towards each other sort of prevent a lot of this,” Troiano said.

“It would make sense to have one government and it would certainly reduce the cost of government drastically, but it is very difficult.”

North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello said while it is a compliment to be told some residents would want to merge with the city, he questions if a merger would benefit the residents of North Wildwood.

“One of the difficult things about merging if you are a mayor or resident of North Wildwood is that we have the lowest average property taxes of any beach town in the state of New Jersey,” Rosenello said. “It is very difficult to come up with a good enough reason as to why we should chance that standing with a merger. It is really hard to come up with how you are going to make it better with a merger.”

Wildwood Crest Mayor Don Cabrera said the idea to have a unified Wildwood would have worked better before the towns on the island were formed — which happened in 1885, 1895, 1910, and 1920 — but to orchestrate a merger now would be challenging.

“It sounds good on paper, and if it were done at the same time, it makes sense,” Cabrera said. “But now, since we are so far into it, with details such as pensions, health benefits, infrastructure, development, and zoning, it would be hard to tackle.”

Cabrera said he believes Wildwood Crest residents would not approve of a merger given the residents are happy with the way the borough is run and the stability in terms of taxation. The mayor believes a merger would jeopardize everything.

“Right now, every community has their own personality, priorities, and issues that they are dealing with,” the Wildwood Crest mayor added. “We have good plans in place, and our residents have come to appreciate a certain quality of life. If you were to merge or consolidate that, I think there would be a risk of issues, with quality of life being one of them.”

The idea of consolidating municipalities in the state is not a new idea. In 1968, the New Jersey County and Municipal Government Study Commission were tasked to find ways the state could run more efficiently.

“New Jersey is in desperate need of a better allocation of the fiscal and government responsibilities for the planning, financing, and performance of the functions and services provided by its local government system – especially those of area-wide or regional scope,” the commission wrote in its first findings.

Four years later in 1972, the commission wrote about the state law for municipalities to decide on town mergers.

“To reiterate, the decision whether to consolidate or not is a local decision. This is not only a matter of judgment; it is a matter of law,” the commission stated. “Although municipalities legally are creatures of the State, the Legislature has provided that a majority favorable referendum vote is necessary in each municipality affected in order to accomplish a consolidation.”

Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews or on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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