Bernie Miller became Princeton Township’s new mayor on Sunday and immediately challenged officials of Princeton Borough to join him in the serious pursuit of “full municipal consolidation.”
Mr. Miller was unanimously elected mayor by the Township Committee during its annual reorganization meeting. Chad Goerner, who has been an outspoken advocate of municipal consolidation, was elected deputy mayor. Both were chosen unanimously.
While the two municipalities share some services, they continue to oversee significant duplication, including two separate police departments. Mayor Miller said that the increased economic pressures faced by local governments in 2009 demanded he and his borough counterparts pursue “the opportunities for longer term savings” through full consolidation even it that means “working myself out of a job.”
The new mayor appeared to sound an additional challenge to Princeton University and other entities with tax exempt properties, by vowing to work toward establishing “metrics to determine their fair share” of municipal costs.
Mayor Miller also took a swipe at the state legislature for imposing a cap on municipal tax increases “because they could not bring themselves to bring about broadbased tax reform” at the state level. The result, he said, was increasing stress on local government and services.
Mr. Miller replaces long-time Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand, who announced her retirement in November.

