It costs an estimated $80 million a year for state troopers to cover the 92 municipalities involved, said Tom Vincz, a spokesman for the state Department of the Treasury. The amount includes such things as officer salaries and overhead expenses to run the police barracks.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who plans to sign the budget today, originally proposed having the affected towns contribute $20.5 million, around 25 percent, toward the cost of the State Police coverage. That amount was reduced to $12 million during the Legislature's budget review, Vincz said.

The formula used to determine how much each rural town will pay won't be completed until after the budget is adopted, Vincz said. Language in the budget guarantees that the share towns pay won't result in more than a $100 increase over 2007 average residential property taxes.

The 77 municipalities that have full-time State Police protection would likely contribute more than the 15 towns that use the troopers for part-time service. The costs wouldn't be imposed until January, when many municipalities begin their calendar year budgets, Vincz said.

"The only thing we can do is sit and wait for the figures," said Shrewsbury Township Mayor Albert Klose, whose town uses the State Police full-time. "We've survived all these years with the State Police, and we hope to continue that relationship because it's been a good one."

But the township has begun exploring the option of entering into an agreement with a nearby municipality for police protection should State Police services become too expensive, Klose said.

"It's going to have an impact on us one way or the other," Klose said.

Municipalities that share police services with neighboring towns wouldn't be charged for the State Police, said Corzine spokesman Jim Gardner. He said the initiative is meant to make sure towns are equitably sharing costs for services provided.

"Right now, many taxpayers are paying for their own towns' police departments and subsidizing the State Police costs for other towns," Vincz said.

If Corzine's administration wants to talk about how it's unfair for taxpayers around the state to help pay for trooper patrols in other towns, then Camden and Irvington should be included in the conversation, said Senate Minority Leader Thomas H. Kean Jr., R-Union.

In the original proposal, Camden would have contributed $800,000 for its State Police service and Irvington roughly the same amount, Vincz said. Corzine and the Legislature decided jointly to remove the two cities from the list because the services provided in those urban areas are different than those provided in rural communities, he said.

"If they're talking about equality, let's talk about it across the board," Kean countered.

Coupled with decreases in state aid to municipalities and reductions in the property tax rebate program, the State Police cost-sharing plan will inevitably lead to higher local property taxes for many people, Kean said.

"This has been a reoccurring topic in the last few years," said Mayor Chuck Chiarello of Buena Vista Township in Atlantic County.

In 2006, the last time Corzine proposed State Police cost sharing, Buena Vista was scheduled to pay nearly $800,000 annually for full-time trooper coverage, which would have increased municipal property taxes by one-third, Chiarello said.

Under that earlier proposal, the state would have charged $330 per housing unit for full-time patrols and $230 per home for part-time patrol. Buena Vista was overjoyed when that plan failed to make it into the state budget, Chiarello said.

This year, towns have yet to hear anything about the formula, even though they're supposed to start paying by January, he said.

"Nobody even knows how the formula was done," said Assemblywoman Marcia A. Karrow, R-Hunterdon.

Rural vs. urban

Of the 46 municipalities in Karrow's district, about half rely on the State Police for all or part of their police service. She believes it's wrong to require rural New Jersey to pay for State Police coverage when the force was created in the 1920s to patrol those very communities.

"These are municipalities that have very small populations, small budgets and little to no ratables," Karrow said.

She noted many of the towns also can't expand their tax base to pick up the cost of State Police service because either preserved farmland or conservation areas such as the one in the Highlands block development. Money can be found to help New Jersey's urban areas, but when it comes to rural communities, the well is dry, Karrow complained.

Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, said he, too, isn't satisfied with the program as it's described in the budget. More attention must be paid to what constitutes "rural," he said.

"If you're rural, you should get the service free, and if you've outgrown your rural status, you should pay something for it," Burzichelli said.

Singled out

Many of these country communities can't share police services with neighboring towns because nobody around them has a police department either, Burzichelli said. He also wondered aloud why rural towns were being singled out when the state police also does patrols in those municipalities with major highways running through them.

As far as Chiarello is concerned, rural towns pay for the State Police service through the court fines they collect.

For example, Buena Vista collected about $200,000 in 2007 in fines generated by State Police, he said. The township didn't get to keep any of that money.

"So, we see it as we're already contributing," Chiarello said.

Legislation was introduced this month by Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, and Assemblyman Nelson Albano, D-Cumberland, to assess a $40 surcharge on all motor vehicle violations in the state to pay for police services. It would generate an estimated $160 million in surcharges; half would help pay for State Police rural patrols, and towns and cities with police departments would receive up to $1 million each to pay for police.

The plan would likely address how to monitor water flow on the Great Egg Harbor River and other tributaries, including water sources from Collings Lake, in times of flooding and little rainfall.

"It's time to work through that," Hamilton Township Mayor Charles Pritchard said. "We need to take a stronger look at this thing."

"As a good neighbor to any other town, I'd be happy to discuss that issue," Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello said.

But Chiarello issued one caution, and that has to do with having no control over the weather.

"If there's just not enough flowing from the main tap heading down, that could be a problem no matter how hard anyone tries," he said.

Too little rain, a stuck sluice gate at Lake Lenape Dam and a series of closed sluice gates on lakes at Collings Lakes in Buena Vista Township are being blamed for the recent drop in water level in Lake Lenape in Mays Landing.

The Great Egg Harbor River is Lake Lenape's primary water source. A significant portion of water also makes its way to Lake Lenape from Collings Lakes, where private dam operators recently closed sluice gates to keep water levels on their lakes from dropping.

The problem was just the opposite a year ago.

Heavy rain in April 2007 dumped as much as 8 inches of rain in southern New Jersey. Much of that rain eventually drained into the Great Egg Harbor River.

The result was extensive flooding in the Indian Branch and Weymouth Furnace sections of Hamilton Township. Floodwater forced evacuations and buried decks under three to five feet of water. Sections of Mays Landing also were flooded, and officials were busy pumping water out of Lake Lenape to prevent further flooding.

Many Hamilton Township residents blamed the flooding on poor operations at the Lake Lenape Dam. They claimed dam gates were not opened soon enough to ease flooding upriver.

However, Atlantic County and municipal officials said the solution involved more than dam operations. They contend a coordinated effort along the length of the river, from its headwaters in Camden County to Lake Lenape, is the solution.

The plan never came about.

Chiarello said Buena Vista and Hamilton townships can work together and with private civic organizations in and around Collings Lakes to reach some kind of plan.

One project involves extending the Cape May Seashore Line north - apparently from its station in the Richland section of Buena Vista Township - to link with the Atlantic City Line near Hammonton.

Another would build a new station to link the Atlantic City Line - which runs between Atlantic City and Philadelphia - with the River Line light rail system that runs between Camden and Trenton. That would provide easier rail access between Atlantic City and Trenton.

The third involves overall upgrades for the Atlantic City Line.

The projects are contained in the fiscal year 2009 capital program proposed by the state Department of Transportation, which provides significant funding for NJ Transit.

The document outlines no specific costs or specifics for any of the three projects. It sets the amount of money allocated for those three projects, and a series of other proposed projects ranging from a rail spur to the Meadowlands sports complex to park-and-ride lots throughout the state, at $174.5 million.

With less than 100 miles of active heavy, light and commuter rail lines, rail service in southern New Jersey is limited for several counties and nonexistent in the rest. Northern New Jersey has at least seven rail lines and almost 600 miles of track.

The Atlantic City Line is the major rail line in southern New Jersey, but it's primarily geared to hauling passengers between Atlantic City and Philadelphia.

Traveling between Atlantic City and Trenton requires riders to transfer trains at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. Linking the Atlantic City Line and River Line with a new station where the lines currently cross in Pennsauken could provide an easier and faster way to travel between the gambling resort and the state capital, according to proponents of the plan.

The Cape May Seashore Line runs tourist excursions between Cape May and Cape May Court House in Middle Township, and between Tuckahoe in Cape May County's Upper Township and Richland.

Q: I have heard that Richland is considering a sewage-treatment plant. Can you tell me which is healthier for the environment, a municipal water and sewer program or individual wells and septic systems?

Patty Schuler, Richland, Buena Vista Township

Answer Guy: A package treatment plant is being considered for a portion of Richland - which is a section of Buena Vista Township - but according to township Business Administrator Ron Trebing, no official decisions have been made.

A package treatment plant, Trebing said, is a "scaled down" version of a sewage-treatment plant. Certain areas of Buena Vista Township use the technology for water treatment, but not for sewage. He said the option has been discussed with the Pinelands Commission and that the response so far has been positive.

This is not surprising, as sewer systems tend to be more environmentally friendly than septic systems, also known as onsite sewage systems, or OSS. Municipal maintenance ensures the sewer system is continuously monitored, so threats to public health - spills, leaks or contamination - are handled in an efficient manner.

On the other hand, OSS are subject to undetectable leaks and seepage. Since they are serviced on average every three years, homeowners run the risk of contaminating nearby water sources.

According to Yes! magazine, a publication dedicated to "building a just and sustainable world," septic systems can be "a significant source of 'nonpoint source' pollution, which the EPA considers the leading cause of water-quality problems."

So, considering the environmental risks, why do some residents opt for the OSS? Money. Costs for constructing a municipal sewer system, connecting residents and subsequent maintenance add up fast. But then again, many people believe that not having to think about which toilet paper won't clog the toilet, or how to landscape without disturbing the leach field, is well worth the expense.

Got a question?

BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP - On a guided tour along the short series of roads in Richland, just beyond the sound of steam whistles, Mayor Chuck Chiarello points out pieces of the long-since abandoned infrastructure in the once-bustling railroad town.

It's been about 30 or 40 years, he says, since the trains that moved between Camden, Atlantic City, shore points and all stops in between finally ceased to exist, and it's been nearly four years since he's tried to bring some of it back.

Richland Village, the site of Chiarello's hopeful railroad renaissance, hosted its inaugural Trains and Fire Engines event, showcasing modern and antique fire equipment as well as the community's commitment to reinvigorating its railroad history.

Against the backdrop of a few inconspicuous, pale yellow buildings that serve the town's functioning railroad, visitors watched model trains, took pictures in front of historic cabooses and watched their children ride on a miniature steam train.

"This is our project," Chiarello said. "We're a small town, and we're trying to make something here, something that's family oriented and something that fits in with the character of this town."

Chiarello talks about what he'd like to do. There's a 100-year-old building, now vacant, that was at one time the town's hotel. He'd like to see it taken over, rehabbed and reopened.

Adjacent to the train station is a township-owned building that houses the Patcong Valley Society of Model Railroads. The group, which used to operate in Egg Harbor Township, has set up intricate tracks and realistic scenery inside the building to make its model operation more of a destination than a simple hobby.

With grant funding, Chiarello said, the township would be able to extend the sidewalk even farther down the road, giving the tourists they'd like to attract a little more room to walk and enjoy their stay.

With much of the community surrounded by protected pinelands, there's not much that can be done on a large development scale. The quaintness is something to be appreciated, he said, and while the process of redevelopment is slow and hamstrung by environmental restrictions, there's something to be said about doing it the old-fashioned way.

"This project may take 10 years. None of these things happen overnight, unless you just slap something together," Chiarello said. "We continue to try and make something happen with the little we have. I don't say that sadly, that's just the reality of the situation."

He's even got plans, despite the bureaucracy, he said, to revive the attraction most crucial to Richland's tourism success, its functional railroad.

Cape May Seashore Lines takes passengers on a 30-mile round trip ride to Tuckahoe and back. The trains will start running for a third summer season in two weeks, Chiarello said.

Chiarello said he'd eventually like to see the train run all the way to Cape May. There are hurdles, however. Stations would need to be built, infrastructure improved, and most importantly, a tourist base would need to exist to support the railroad.

Seashore Lines owner Tony Macrie has come under fire for not moving train cars that have been vandalized and are deteriorating on train tracks behind a new movie theatre in Middle Township.

In April, after nearly three years, the Middle Township Board of Health passed a resolution asking a Superior Court judge to intervene and either force Macrie to move his trains or allow the township to move them at his expense. The board says the trains create a public nuisance.

Chiarello said that while the train tracks are owned and operated by state agencies, Seashore Lines has operating rights at Richland Village. Despite the issues facing Macrie, Chiarello said the township is trying to partner with other municipalities to make the ride longer.

It won't be a clear shot to Cape May, he said, not yet. Chiarello would like to see the ride extended at least six more miles to Woodbine, then another five miles to Dennis Township, then, someday, to Cape May.

"We've been trying to get it right," he said. "We're still looking for our niche."

While the township waits, events such as Sunday's Trains and Fire Engines expo help inform tourists that Richland Village exists. Chiarello credited Atlantic County Fire Marshall Whitey Swartz for coming up with the idea to host the show.

While the event featured numerous fire engine and train-oriented activities, Swartz said he anticipates even greater participation next year.

"We had a meeting and decided this would be a great place to have this," he said. "Kids love it, men love it, we'll just keep adding to it until we have an even better show here."