“Saving taxpayer dollars is a top priority, and this legislation will enable both Monmouth and Atlantic Counties to ease the burden on taxpayers while also providing crucial services in an efficient manner,” said Governor Murphy. “Promoting shared services is a priority of my administration, and I am pleased to be able to sign this bill into law.”

In 2013, New Jersey implemented the “Common Sense Shared Services Pilot Program,” with the purpose to provide services in an efficient and cost-effective manner to local governments. Currently, five counties are designed as “pilot counties”: Camden, Morris, Ocean, Sussex, and Warren Counties. The bill signed into law today adds Monmouth and Atlantic Counties to the program.

This bill will take effect immediately.

Sponsors of the legislation include Assembly members Joann Downey, Eric Houghtaling, Vincent Mazzeo, John Armato, and Senators Vin Gopal and Troy Singleton.

“New Jersey residents pay the highest property tax rates in the nation and sharing services is a viable path for municipalities to provide taxpayer relief,” said Assemblywoman Downey. “Many towns have already begun to discuss sharing opportunities with neighboring towns. Our Common Sense Shared Services Pilot Program will encourage and better enable municipalities to find new ways to coordinate services and in the long run lessen the property tax burden on our residents.”

“Simply put, shared services programs are something we should always take advantage of here in Monmouth County, especially when it comes to cost-saving measures such as the ‘Common Sense Shared Services Pilot Program Act,” said Assemblyman Houghtaling. “This act will allow our municipalities to work together by combining their resources and expertise in order to increase efficiency and lower costs for our hard-working residents.”

“As legislators for the Second District, we are always pushing for shared services programs that will improve quality of life and save money for our hard-working families,” said Assemblyman Mazzeo. “This law will include Atlantic County as a pilot county in the ‘Common Sense Shared Services Pilot Program Act,’ which will increase our towns’ access to government services, in turn, increasing both effectiveness and efficiency in their municipal operations.”

“For a county like Atlantic County that includes several small municipalities, taking advantage of common sense shared services programs is extremely beneficial to our residents,” said Assemblyman Armato. “With this bill becoming law, we are taking a step in the right direction towards saving money and optimizing resources for our taxpaying families.”

“The topic of shared services will become more and more important in the coming months,” said Senator Gopal. “The more counties we add to this pilot program, the more we can figure out how to best implement shared services across the rest of the state.”

“Shared services is one of the best ways local governments can work together and cut costs,” said Senator Singleton. “Implementing shared services more broadly around the state makes sense, as there is more opportunity for taxpayers to save money and still see the same quality of service they received before.  I look forward to seeing where we can further move forward on this issue.”