Old Tappan — Old Tappan officials and several residents are alleging that county employees forged names and purposefully misrepresented a recent petition the county circulated and Harrington Park and Old Tappan residents signed.
"Certain names were on there of people who did not sign their names to this," Old Tappan Mayor Victor Polce said.
The petition states that the undersigned request a formation of a joint municipal consolidation study commission for the boroughs of Old Tappan and Harrington Park.
However, 61 residents requested their signatures be removed for one reason or another, according to figures from the Old Tappan Borough Clerk’s office.
Polce said the Borough is looking into the alleged forgery and said he wants to "give this information to the proper authorities."
County Executive Dennis McNerney responded to the forgery allegations saying, "If the mayor wants to investigate that then they can investigate that. We’re in support of that being looked into." He added that, "to the best of our knowledge we are not aware of anything like that."
Mabel Aragon, of McNerney’s office, said, "We see the petition as something positive. Our concern is to get property taxes down and keep taxpayers in mind. Sharing services or possible consolidation can be the answer to that," she said.
The petition has come under attack recently by Old Tappan officials who say the intent of it was not made clear to residents who signed it. Some residents who signed their names said they did so because it was couched in terms of generating savings through the continuation of shared services between the boroughs. They said it was not clear that consolidation of the boroughs of Old Tappan and Harrington Park is an aspect that the commission would explore.
McNerney defended the petition, however, saying it will not lead to any action taking place. Even if the Department of Community Affairs does decide consolidation is the proper course of action, said McNerney, then it would have to be put to the voters as another referendum.
"The state can come in tomorrow and say Harrington Park and Old Tappan you are dissolved into one big town born of the state," said McNerney, who said he is being "proactive" by trying to get this referendum put on the ballot now.
He questioned the motives of Old Tappan officials who talked to residents after they signed the petition, resulting in the names being removed.
"If the towns were to merge, the state would pick up the difference for any increase in property tax. This is a savings. If the residents knew that [maybe] they wouldn’t take their name off the petition."
Old Tappan resident John Brophy said he and his wife’s names are on the petition despite their never having seen it. His name and that of his wife, Lori, which is spelled incorrectly, appear as numbers 78 and 79 on the petition, signed in similar handwriting.
"There is no way I would have signed that thing. I am very comfortable with the mayor and council and what they have done for Old Tappan," said Brophy.
Councilman Guy Carnazza cited similar reactions from other residents whose names appear on the petition they deny signing.
Old Tappan resident and former Democratic council candidate John Shahdanian II filed the petition with the Borough and helped circulate it with upcoming council candidate Briana McAlpine and county employees. McNerney said the county employees circulated the petition on their own time.
As of press time, the Borough Clerk in Old Tappan reported that 177 signatures were certified, down from the 238 signatures the petition originally received. This is not enough for the question to appear on the ballot since it is less than 10 percent of the 1,940 people who voted in the last election.
The Harrington Park Borough Clerk said she received two requests for signatures to be removed.
Polce said he is not against the question being put on the ballot if that is what the residents want, but said it was a "shady" way of going about it.
"It was a low-handed way by Bergen County employees who came in on county time that taxpayers are paying for to try to squeeze this through so no one would notice," Polce said.
