Camden County closes two of its 'county stores' to cut costs

Camden County, in a cost-cutting move, has shut two of its three passport and government-services centers.

Opened in the late 1990s during a period of government expansion, the "county stores" were designed to provide residents easy access to services, including passport renewal and help writing a will. Mall centers allow residents of the county's suburbs to save a trip to the clerk's office in downtown Camden.

But the location in the Cherry Hill Mall cost the county more than $230,000 a year. When it came time for budget cuts to close a $43 million budget deficit this year, the county laid off all the workers from the Cherry Hill and Winslow Township locations, as part of its layoff of 260 county workers.

"It was a good idea, but people can get these services other places," said county spokeswoman Joyce Gabriel. "The standard this year is what is absolutely necessary."

The location at the Echelon Mall in Voorhees Township will remain open, Gabriel said.

Similar cost-cutting has taken place in Burlington County, where the county clerk's office maintains three satellite offices and a "store" in the Moorestown Mall.

While those locations will remain open, the county's mobile-information bus has been discontinued and is unlikely to resume service anytime soon, said county spokesman Ralph Shrom.

"We've been in the same mood as Camden County the last three years," he said. "Right now, the atmosphere we're in, people are taking a harder look at county services and determining what the core services are."

Gloucester County has no plans to close its store in the Deptford Mall, a spokeswoman said.