Check other towns to see result of new govt.

On the November election ballot, Jackson residents will be asked to approve the establishment of a commission to study a change in government, and candidates for this commission are in the running.

We have heard that this is the result of last year’s aborted campaign by a group that had asked for a complete overhaul of the way Jackson is run. Evidently, that group received enough votes, or has sufficient support among local politicians, so that the issue is being once again presented to the township’s residents.

There is no question that change is often desirable, and sometime necessary. It is also true that Jackson has undergone profound transformations in the past decades, growing substantially from a small rural community that was not even on most maps back in the 1970s. Yet, the township had kept many of the traits that had made it desirable for so many of the people that have settled here since. One of its best aspects is that local government has been relatively unobtrusive and that, with some exceptions, the people have few grievances with their officials.

Doubtlessly, a commission will study the various forms of government authorized in the state of New Jersey and will analyze the pros and cons, hopefully coming up with some recommendations. There is a very important point, however, that needs to be made: There is a huge difference be-tween the theory and the practice of governing a community, small or large. Some systems may seem excellent on paper but turn out to be disasters when implemented.

In that respect, the citizens of Jackson have a unique opportunity to find out what changes in government have brought under roughly similar circumstances. They need not look any further than the townships that surround us, which for the most part have voted for new systems in recent years. If you see what has happened since in Brick, Howell, Lakewood or Toms River, you can better decide whether those changes have been for the better or not. After reading the local newspapers over the past few years, the answer is a definite no.

The criteria that should underline whether changes need to occur are simple and straightforward: Will the interests of the community be better served? Will government be more or less honest? Will it be more efficient? and Will it cost more or less money?

Using these criteria and looking at what has taken place in the towns around us and is still happening, it would seem that change is not a good idea.

Claude Tygier

Jackson