Princeton Merger Spurs Consulting Initiative to Help Other Towns Consolidate

Two men instrumental in the merger of Princeton Borough and Princeton Township have announced a new consulting partnership to help others considering similar consolidations.

Former Township Mayor Chad Goerner and Dr. Anton Lahnston, chairman of Princeton’s Joint Shared Services and Consolidation Study Commission, recently formed GovWorks Consulting, LLC.

GovWorks will partner with The Center for Governmental Research, Inc. of Rochester, N.Y.  to deliver management guidance and solutions to local governments, schools and community institutions.

“Municipalities throughout the state are actively exploring solutions to address the fiscal challenges and service needs of their respective communities,” Goerner said. “This is something I have a passion for and a keen interest in and I want to share the knowledge and experience I gained in Princeton.”

Towns interested in exploring a merger could hire GovWorks to explore shared municipal services or other options up to and including full consolidation, he said.

 “The new and profound challenges facing local governments and school districts demand new and targeted solutions that are sensitive to a community’s own history, resources and demands,” Lahnson said.

After the Princetons tried shared services, staff reductions and cutting services, residents approved the consolidation of Princeton Township and Princeton Borough into one town.

When the merger was complete on Jan. 1, 2013, it was New Jersey’s largest consolidation in more than six decades and the first under the Local Option Municipal Consolidation Act.

Dr. Joseph Stefko, CGR president and chief executive officer, was the lead consultant to the Consolidation Study Commission and also project manager for the Princeton Transition Task Force. 

“Given the significant fiscal challenges facing local governments, there’s no one solution that’s right for every community, but the toolkit of options is deep,” Stefko said.

GovWorks’ first white paper, To Tackle Tough Government Efficiency Issues, Develop a Framework for Decision-Making is available at www.cgr.org. The partners will also host their first webinar on July 25. Interested participants can email info@cgr.org for details.