Council members in Rockwood Borough are already looking ahead to next year, nervous for the borough’s future as four of the five council members and the mayor said they will not seek re-election this fall.

 

While Rockwood could hypothetically operate with just one official, council members and the town’s solicitor said that would be risky.

 

“If something would happen to that one person: whether they would resign, or they would have a health problem, for example, or they would want to move and they would move out of the borough and therefore be ineligible to serve on borough council, then you would have no one on borough council,” said Attorney Benjamin Carroll from Carroll Law Offices.

 

In the worst case scenario, if no one was left to run the borough, bills would go unpaid and it could be forced to dissolve.

 

“Essentially you’re left with a situation where borough government doesn’t exist and things don’t get done. The short answer is I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows what happens if you go from four people on council, to one, to zero,” Carroll said.

 

Current Council President Barry Atchison said he’s accomplished what he wanted and now it’s time for new people with new ideas.  He hopes younger members of the community get involved because local politics is where they could have a real impact. 

 

“The big deal for this Women’s March if you get down to the bottom line: people need to get involved in local politics. People don’t realize that what happens at the national level is not going to directly affect them. What happens here in town, whether the water is good or the sewage is running or the streets are plowed, that directly affects them right now,” Atchison said.

 

In order to run for office, candidates need to live in Rockwood Borough and have been registered to vote for at least a year. Petitions to run can be picked up on February 2nd from the Somerset County Election Board office and are due on March 7th.