40A:65-2 Findings, declarations relative to shared services and consolidation.

2. The Legislature finds and declares:

a. Historically, many specialized statutes have been enacted to permit shared services between local units for particular purposes.

b. Other laws, permitting a variety of shared services, including interlocal services agreements, joint meetings, and consolidated and regional services, exist but have not been very effective in promoting the broad use of shared services as a technique to reduce local expenses funded by property taxpayers.

c. It is appropriate for the Legislature to enact a new shared services statute that can be used to effectuate agreements between local units for any service or circumstance intended to reduce property taxes through the reduction of local expenses.

d. It is contrary to public policy that the tenure rights of certain local personnel should effectively prohibit shared services agreements for the services provided by those local personnel, thereby depriving property taxpayers of property tax relief.

e. In order to evaluate the efficiencies related to the sharing of services of certain local personnel having tenure rights in office, it is appropriate to create a pilot program in seven counties of the State which embody urban, suburban, and rural characteristics to study the sharing of the services of these personnel between municipalities by allowing for the dismissal of such a tenured local official, as necessary, in order to promote and effectuate the sharing of a service.

L.2007, c.63, s.2; amended 2013, c.166, s.2; 2018, c.140, s.2.