A locally driven commission to study the pros and cons of consolidating Scotch Plains and Fanwood has been approved by the state.

The vote by the Local Finance Board allows a citizen-driven campaign to merge the neighboring communities to move forward. The local residents, with guidance from the statewide group Courage to Connect New Jersey, have used a 2007 law that allows the public — not just elected officials — to move for consolidation.

"It’s just the very beginning of a long process," said Fred Lange, a retired Scotch Plains resident who has been leading the charge.

Lange reasons consolidation would save on municipal resources and hold down taxes.

If the commission, in its final report, recommends merger, a referendum would be held allowing voters in both towns to decide if the proposal should be adopted.

Lange said his group plans to select two commissioners from each town and allow the governing bodies of each town to select two commissioners. Two more seats would be filled by a vote of the first eight board members. He hopes to have the commission meet before January.

Lange and his colleagues in the effort garnered more than 1,000 signatures on a petition calling for the study. That forced a series of public hearings on consolidation. The commission is the next step in the process.

The state will not fund the study and the commission must find its own funding, said Lisa Ryan, spokeswoman for the Local Finance Board and the Department of Community Affairs.

This is the first time citizens have forced the creation of a commission with no cooperation from local government, Ryan said. Officials in Fanwood have opposed the effort to consolidate, saying savings can be achieved elsewhere.

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Related coverage:

• Scotch Plains, Fanwood residents begin process of merging 2 towns into 1

• Scotch Plains activist believes key to lower taxes is merger with Fanwood