Officials from six western Atlantic County municipalities will begin a process tonight that could result in the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office providing the areas with police coverage, something that’s been discussed for more than a decade.

Should that happen, the Sheriff’s Office would take over duties currently performed by State Police and two local police departments.

That possibility is one of several officials from Buena Vista Township, Weymouth Township, Estell Manor, Folsom, Mullica Township and Egg Harbor City will consider as part of a study to determine the best way to provide police protection for their municipalities. The study would be funded by a $20,000 grant from the state.

It would come at a time when the state is giving municipalities patrolled by State Police the choice of paying for State Police coverage, forming their own police departments, or entering into contract agreements for police coverage with municipalities that have police departments. Those municipalities without police departments – including Buena Vista Township, Weymouth Township, Estell Manor and Folsom – contend all three alternatives could be too expensive for their small, cash-strapped governments to handle.

Mullica Township and Egg Harbor City already share an emergency dispatch service and recently started talking about whether merging their police departments would be possible from economic and public safety standpoints.

Atlantic County Sheriff James McGettigan said tonight’s meeting, to be held at 7:30 p.m. at Estell Manor’s municipal building, stemmed from the talks between Mullica Township and Egg Harbor City.

McGettigan said his Sheriff’s Office would likely wind up being involved in those talks, so it seemed practical to discuss whether the Sheriff’s Office should become the patrol agency for the western end of the county.

“Towns in the western end have fallen on bad times with their budgets and realize that finding new ways to have police coverage is more of a necessity than a luxury,” he said.

Two other western Atlantic County municipalities – Hammonton and Buena Borough – have police departments and aren’t currently involved in the talks.

The state budget presented in February by Gov. Jon S. Corzine cuts state aid to New Jersey’s smaller municipalities. The governor favors larger municipalities as a way to improve fiscal efficiency.

Smaller municipalities said that, with having to pay for police protection, they’re facing dire financial situations.

McGettigan said the study would review the economic feasibility of having the Sheriff’s Office patrol the western municipalities, along with a fair funding formula.

“It wouldn’t be fair to tax Ventnor, Margate and Longport for patrol services on the western side of the county,” McGettigan said.

Other issues to be studied would include the number of officers needed for patrol duties, types of vehicles and internal changes in the Sheriff’s Office, he said. That latter would include things such as upgraded training for emergency dispatchers, he said.

The Sheriff’s Office has about 130 employees, including civilian workers.

There’s been discussion for years about the Sheriff’s Office patrolling the western end of the county, a duty it has never before handled.

McGettigan said sheriff’s officers currently do some patrol work throughout Atlantic County in connection with motor vehicle regulations. They’ve issued about 500 tickets this year, he said.

Otherwise, McGettigan said his sheriff’s officers undergo the same training as members of local police departments.

“We are a legitimate police organization,” he said.

To e-mail Thomas Barlas at The Press:

TBarlas@pressofac.com