2003 borough budget pared down

Tax rate increase now projected at 4 to 5 cents.

By: Jennifer Potash
   By cutting additional expenses, Princeton Borough may be able to lessen the 2003 municipal budget’s impact on taxpayers beyond what was originally anticipated.
   With the recent elimination of $120,000 in municipal spending, Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi said the tax rate increase is between 4 cents and 5 cents.
   The first draft of the $19.7 million budget suggested a 5- to 8-cent increase in the municipal tax rate.
   "We’ve really whittled it down," said Mr. Bruschi.
   He presented his recommendation to the Finance Committee of the Princeton Borough Council on April 8.
   The goal is to limit the tax rate to a 2½- to 5-cent increase, officials have said.
   Those cuts in spending do not result in the loss of services or staff, Mr. Bruschi said.
   "We’ve taken it as far as we can without impacting services," he said.
   To cut the tax rate further, Mr. Bruschi said the administration and staff will turn to additional revenues to make up the difference.
   One budgetary problem facing officials, in addition to no increase in state aid, is the closure of the popular Park & Shop lot for the construction of the new parking garage. The loss of that lot resulted in a $200,000 drop in revenue, Mr. Bruschi said.
   "And I don’t think we’re going to make that up," he added.
   But that does not mean the borough will increase parking meter rates for additional revenue, Mr. Bruschi said.
   "We promised the community we would not play around with the parking (meter) rates until after the garage opens and we see how it all works," he said.
   The borough does not plan to defer any capital projects such as road repairs this year, he said.
   There are plans to revisit the borough’s long-term capital plan, which charts out municipal improvements over a six-year period, and the borough’s debt-management plan, the administrator said.
   "It’s a double-edged sword because you don’t want to get behind and have tens of millions of dollars’ worth of capital projects, but you also don’t want to have staggering debt payments," he said.
   Mr. Bruschi said he will likely recommend the borough take a more conservative approach to the debt-management plan.
   The greatest added expenses in the 2003 budget stem from salary and wage increases, mostly the result of contracts with union personnel and big jumps in insurance costs, Mr. Bruschi said. Insurance for health, liability and workers’ compensation will increase by $540,000, he said.