Hopewell Township has been awarded a $60,000 state grant to fund an independent review of township operations and governance, a study local officials say will help inform discussions about the community’s future while remaining separate from a proposed Charter Study Commission that will appear on the November ballot.
The grant, awarded through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Management Enhancement Review Program (MERP), will support a professional assessment of township government structure, operations and efficiency. The Township Committee was notified June 15 that it had received the full grant amount after applying earlier this year.
The award follows discussions that began in March, when township officials announced plans to explore whether Hopewell Township’s form of government continues to best serve a community that has grown and changed significantly over time.
“This is about following through, responsibly and transparently, on a question our community has returned to for years,” Mayor David Chait said in a statement announcing the award. “We are giving residents the choice and the decision-making power on something this important, and we are making sure that choice is backed by real data and analysis.”
What is the MERP study?
The Management Enhancement Review Program is administered by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and provides grants to local governments seeking independent reviews of their operations.
According to state guidelines, MERP studies are designed to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, streamline operations, explore organizational structures and examine potential cost-saving measures.
Hopewell Township intends to hire an independent consultant through a public process to conduct the review.
“The whole point is an independent assessment,” Chait said. “Think like you would for any of the studies that we’ve done in parallel with the school district and other things like that.”
While the Township Committee has now secured funding for the study, officials still must decide when to move forward with the work.
Chait said one of the questions now facing the committee is whether to proceed immediately or wait until after voters weigh in on a separate but related question this November.
“We had no idea when the grant was going to come through,” Chait said. “Now that we have the approval and we have a sense of our timelines, there are outstanding questions on when do we trigger it and all of those pieces.”
The issue could be discussed by the Township Committee in the coming weeks.
How is this different from the Charter Study Commission?
Township officials stress that the MERP study and the proposed Charter Study Commission are separate initiatives.
In May, the Township Committee approved an ordinance placing two questions on the November ballot. The first will ask voters whether they want to create a five-member Charter Study Commission under New Jersey’s Faulkner Act. The second will allow voters to choose commission members if the measure passes.
If approved, the commission would independently study Hopewell Township’s form of government and ultimately issue a recommendation. Any recommended change would then require a separate public vote before taking effect.
“The charter commission and that question is something that could run in parallel to this study,” Chait said of the MERP study. “This study itself is something that provides lots of great information that we would imagine, if there were a charter commission to be formed, would be very helpful and informative for them.”
The mayor said residents should view the two efforts as complementary rather than overlapping.
The MERP study would provide an independent analysis of township operations and governance, while a Charter Study Commission would be a voter-approved body charged with evaluating whether Hopewell Township should consider changes to its form of government.
A key distinction, Chait said, is that the MERP review would likely identify strengths, challenges and possible paths forward rather than issue a single recommendation.
“I don’t think it is a specific ‘here is the recommendation,'” Chait said. “I think it could point out several paths forward, what are findings on strengths, development areas and pieces there.”
By contrast, a Charter Study Commission is ultimately tasked with producing a formal recommendation for voters to consider.
What Happens Next?
With the grant secured, township officials say the study is now fully funded through a combination of the state award and money previously set aside by the Township Committee.
The committee must now determine when to begin the review process and issue a request for proposals from independent consultants.
At the same time, residents will have an opportunity this fall to decide whether they want a Charter Study Commission to undertake its own examination of Hopewell Township’s governmental structure.
For now, the Township Committee says both efforts remain focused on the same goal: providing residents with more information about how township government operates and whether changes should be considered in the future.
The committee’s next meeting is on Monday June 22 at 6:30 p.m.
