Over the last several years, Merchantville and Cherry Hill have been working more closely. The borough police cars, trash truck, and public works vehicles gas up at a township facility.
The two municipalities also have had discussions about the township's taking over Merchantville's public works department, including trash and leaf pickup, highway maintenance, and snow plowing.
More recently, Cherry Hill has been looking to enter into a trash removal contract that would include the borough and Gloucester Township to share services and save money.
"Municipalities are trying to economize by ignoring borders and creating a critical mass to gain the best possible price for services," said Dan Keashen, a spokesman for Platt, whose township takes in 24 square miles and has more than 70,000 residents.
As far as a merger with Merchantville goes, "ultimately, everybody has to understand that numbers will dictate the course of action."
Still, the possibility of merging is "definitely worth exploring," said Merchantville Councilman Anthony Perno, who is also chief executive officer of the Cooper's Ferry Development Association in Camden. "We have been using budget surpluses and tax increases for the past three years to cover the services in town."
The borough "doesn't have the opportunity to put in a big development somewhere" for more rateables, said Councilman Ted Brennan, a lawyer in Woodbury. "There's not a lot of room to bring in more tax revenues. We have to think outside of the box."
But if that means merging with Cherry Hill, the town will not lose its identity, Starker said.
"My wife and I got married, and she kept her name but we're still married," he said. "We would still be called Merchantville, but our government services would come out of Cherry Hill. We wouldn't lose anything."
Contact staff writer Edward Colimore at 856-779-3833 or ecolimore@phillynews.com.
