Slowly, chess figures emerge. Fisher focuses attention on the peaks and valleys of the faces of the king and queen, cognizant that they must appear dignified. He fusses over the king's hands to make them drape over a sword, just so.

Fisher, who has the power to prod tiny towns to fuse to save money, doesn't play chess with his sculpted pieces. He saves strategizing for his new job.

In April, Gov. Corzine named Fisher the chair of the Local Unit Alignment Reorganization and Consolidation Commission (LUARC). The bipartisan state body is modeled after the powerful federal BRAC Commission, which recommended Army base closings.

Fisher's formidable task is to combine police and fire departments, public works, or whole municipalities - generally to clean up the mess of a state splintered into 566 municipalities, the most per square mile in any state.

Controversy is guaranteed. New Jersey is a home rule state, where most towns, no matter how small, cherish control over their own services, regardless of inefficiencies.

"We expect uproar in some towns, and we will deal with it with facts," says Fisher, 65, who served as Gloucester County administrator for more than 30 years.

During a recent interview in his Woodbury office, he appeared undaunted by a mission some see as futile.

Fisher retired last year from county government, after successfully regionalizing the 911 dispatch system, solid waste disposal services, and vocational and special services schools.

The dispatch system was the most challenging because it required persuading towns to relinquish control and the public to overcome fears of diminished service. But Fisher chipped at it for eight years, eventually connecting all 24 towns.

"I tend to get things done," said Fisher, a broad smile cracking his ruddy face. A personable fellow who illustrates points with anecdotes, Fisher said he will strive to win over reluctant towns with persuasion, political moxie and persistence. He sees his work as "the removal of obstacles."

"He's someone who won't go away when he thinks he's right," said State Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney, who, as a Gloucester freeholder and director, worked with Fisher for a decade. "He will continue to make the argument, and he'll dazzle you with brilliance and knowledge and keep coming back to your office."

Fisher's new position shines a bigger spotlight. Corzine and legislative leaders have made consolidation and shared services a priority, threatening to cut off state funds to small towns that won't cooperate. The leaders view mergers as a way to control one of the highest property tax rates in the nation.

During a recent forum on shared services in Pennsauken, Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. (D., Camden) outlined plans to give LUARC more teeth to an audience of more than 100 mayors and other officials. Fisher waited his turn to speak, eyes rapt and hands clasped.

Under current law, LUARC must make recommendations to the Legislature by next spring.

Roberts' new bill, expected to be considered this fall, would extend LUARC's life and scope and allow it to bypass lawmakers who might stall the proposals for political reasons, he said. LUARC would take proposals directly to voters. If the proposals are still defeated after savings are outlined, a town could lose state funds.

Fireworks are expected.

State Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R., Monmouth) remembers how the Legislature "watered down" a bill he introduced a couple of years ago to compel mergers. "We need a revolutionary change," he said.

But William Dressel Jr., executive director of the League of Municipalities, says his group is "vehemently against forced consolidations." Towns should not be penalized if they oppose change, he said.

Still, he said he supported LUARC's goals to make government more efficient.

Fisher promised mayors at the forum that no proposal would be presented to voters until it was thoroughly studied. "If it's not fair and reasonable, LUARC is not going to proceed with it," he said.

But he also said the state should not be forced to help towns pay their bills "if they ignore ideas to provide more efficient services."

So far, Fisher says, he's been on "a listening mission" to learn what works and what doesn't. First he wants to come up with shared-service proposals, and eventually, possible town mergers.

Joseph Doria Jr., commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, said momentum was building. Already a few towns in Cape May, Atlantic and Sussex Counties have begun studying consolidation. The last time two towns merged was in 1997.

Doria said he believes LUARC will bring reform because it will make specific recommendations "rather than dealing with the theoretical."

Doria also praises Fisher. "I think he's got the background and the experience to lead this effort," he said.

After retiring from county government, Fisher became managing director of Tri State Strategies New Jersey, a Woodbury consulting firm founded by former Gov. James J. Florio that helps businesses deal with government. It's a full-time job, so Fisher dedicates spare time to LUARC, a voluntary post.

Fisher also is chairman of the New Jersey Building Authority, which has overseen more than $750 million in public projects.

Fisher earned a degree in city and regional planning from Rutgers University and sees himself working in the background, not the limelight, oiling government wheels.

"I still walk, talk and think like a planner," he said. "I see this as an opportunity to produce a markedly different form of government."

Fisher also views himself as a pragmatist with some idealism, saying he was once a hippie. Thirty-four years ago, he married a folksinger/songwriter, Terry Witkowski. Now, they live in a solar house with exposed wood beams in a small woods in Mantua Township, where they raised two children.

Having grown up in Clementon, Fisher says he is a product of small-town America. His father was the local historian; his grandfather, justice of the peace.

Fisher insists he's not out to destroy small towns. But he believes they need to examine their finances and see whether they can save by sharing or expanding their boundaries. Towns can keep their identity the way sections or villages do, he suggests.

"The people want towns to pick up their trash, provide police protection, and do all those things at the best possible cost," he said, tapping his fingers for emphasis.

Still, he understands "how much angst there will be - because we're talking about change." Fisher hopes to ease concerns and to chip away at the boundary lines on a state map - one that he thinks has too many.

For More Information

To learn more about LUARC, go to www.state.nj.us/dca/luarc/