It's one of the perks if you become New Jersey's governor: a state-owned beach house that you and your family can use.

Maybe you remember it from last summer, when then-Gov. Chris Christie made international headlines after being photographed lounging on the sand outside the house at Island Beach State Park -- while the beach was closed to the public during a state government shutdown.

But now, the Jersey Shore town where the house is located has a request of new Gov. Phil Murphy: Please sell or rent the building.

The Berkeley Township Council passed a resolution earlier this month saying the sale or lease of the house is "a better use of the property than its current use."

After all, the council members reason, it's "not inhabited often" and it costs the state money to maintain. Wouldn't it be more prudent, they suggest, for the state to score money from the sale and the town to collect the property taxes that would flow if the house became private?

The town's mayor and members of the council did not return messages from NJ Advance Media seeking comment.

But the idea is not a new one. Berkeley passed a similar resolution during Christie's tenure.

And in the days after Christie's "Beachgate" controversy, selling or renting the property became a flashpoint in last year's race to succeed the brash governor.

Christie's own lieutenant governor, running as a Republican in the election, called for the house to be sold to the public.

At the same time, then-state Assemblyman John Wisniewski -- who unsuccessfully challenged Murphy for the Democrat nomination for governor -- introduced legislation for the house to be rented to the public.

Wisniewski called it "a private luxury paid for with public money."

Christie shot down the criticism flung his way at the time.

"Run for governor, and you can have a residence there," he said tersely.

Murphy, who succeeded Christie in January, has used the house only a handful of times -- two longer visits and one or two quick visits, according to a Murphy administration source who asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

So will Berkeley's resolution actually work this time? Don't bet on it.

Murphy spokesman Mahen Gunaratna told NJ Advance Media "there are no plans to sell the beach house."

Even if they wanted to sell it, it might be legally dicey because the house is part of a larger parcel of state land -- Island Beach State Park -- that can't be sold, according to the administration source.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney agrees, saying he believes it's off limits because it was purchased through an estate or foundation.

Sweeney also doesn't see how much the state -- or town -- would benefit from the sale. At most, he said, Berkeley would see about $20,000 in taxes and the hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale would be merely a drop in the bucket of the $37.4 billion state budget.

"It's not enough," Sweeney, D-Gloucester, told NJ Advance Media. "Come on."

Plus, he noted, the state owns "buildings everywhere."

"What happens when Trenton demands we sell all government buildings to be taxable?" Sweeney asked.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.