PRINCETON: Township, borough, tackle joint budget

By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
   A joint meeting of the finance committees of Princeton Borough and Princeton Township has recommended a 5 percent across the board cut in operating expenses at agencies jointly operated by the two municipalities and has not recommended funding significant capital requests by the fire and recreation departments in order to rein in spending in the depressed economic climate.
   At a meeting last Thursday, the joint finance committee also agreed to a compromise, which would continue funding for the joint Human Services Commission, pending a review of the commission’s mission, programs required to meet that mission and programming and staffing needs. Members of Borough Council have expressed support for disbanding the commission and farming its programs to other agencies while Township Committee members have favored continuing the commission.
   The finance committee budget recommendations will be discussed and voted on at a joint budget hearing of the Township Committee and Borough Council. The meeting will be held tonight, Tuesday, in Borough Council chambers at 7 p.m.
   According to a March 20 memo about the finance committee meeting from Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi and Township Administrator James Pascale to both governing bodies, provided to The Packet by Mr. Bruschi, all joint agency operating budgets with the exception of Human Services and the Suzanne Patterson Center, a senior resource center, would be reduced by 5 percent.
   ”This recommendation is supported by both administrators and unanimously by representatives of the Joint Finance Committees,” the memo said.
   For the township, Mayor Bernie Miller and Committeeman Chad Goerner attended the joint finance committee meeting with Councilmen Roger Martindell, David Goldfarb and Kevin Wilkes attending for the borough.
   The operating budget cut would affect the following joint agencies and services: animal control, Corner House, the Environmental Commission, Fire Department and facilities, first aid, health, public library, Planning Board, recreation, sewers and solid waste.
   Of the joint agencies with the largest budgets, the proposal calls for reducing the library budget to $3,673,023 from $3,697,503 last year; reducing the joint sewer budget to $1,322,386 from $1,418,106 last year; and increasing the recreation budget to $1,256,134 from $1,238,669. The budgets include salary, wage and benefits portions not affected by the 5 percent reduction.
   ”I think it’s a necessary step for us to take in the current economic climate,” said Mayor Miller. “In a different climate, I think we would look at the budget differently.”
   The 5 percent budget cut has a disproportionate effect on agencies with larger budgets, such as the public library and recreation, said Mr. Goldfarb.
   ”So we’ll see what they have to say” at Tuesday night’s meeting, he said.
   The Human Services Commission budget is proposed to be reduced $28,738 for the current fiscal year, from $235,599 to $206,861, by the joint finance committees, according to the memo. This reduction reflects the elimination of all staffing at the HSC after June 1 except for its director, Cynthia Mendez, Mr. Bruschi said.
   One elected official from both the borough and township would jointly oversee a study of the commission, reviewing its mission and programs going forward, Mr. Bruschi said. The review is expected to take 60 to 90 days, he said.
   The Crosstown senior transportation program overseen by the HSC is recommended to be turned over to the Suzanne Patterson Center starting May 1. The Patterson Center budget would increase to $139,060 from $111,560 as a result of part-time staffing needed to handle the Crosstown services, according to the memo.
   ”All other current programs will remain with the HSC until such time as final recommendations are completed,” said the memo.
   These programs, including summer youth employment and welfare, had been proposed to be farmed out to other agencies by members of Borough Council. Youth employment would be overseen by Corner House, and the county would take up management of welfare cases, according to this earlier proposal.
   ”I think we have a compromise that can work,” Mayor Miller said.
   Mr. Martindell said he would likely vote against the HSC compromise Tuesday night because he continued to believe its services were misdirected and didn’t appropriately serve certain communities in Princeton, such as its Spanish-speaking population.
   ”I think it’s reasonable if the objective is to have a policy compromise between the borough and the township, which is what this proposal represents,” Mr. Martindell said. “What we need more than study is delivery of services to the community.”
   Mr. Goldfarb said he also was inclined to vote against the HSC compromise — although he supported moving Crosstown to the Suzanne Patterson Center — with the main reason for supporting it to avoid the borough acting unilaterally in removing itself from the joint agency and damaging its relationship with the township.
   At the borough, “we are reducing police positions, laying off members of our staff,” Mr. Goldfarb said, with cuts to basic services that can’t be offered elsewhere whereas those of the HSC can. “The times call for cuts that might not have been necessary in other years.”
   The joint finance committees chose not to recommend capital requests for $7 million for a new community pool and $767,660 for synthetic turf for playing fields, made by the joint recreation department.
   It also cut out a $250,000 request by the Fire Department for one firetruck while leaving in $550,000 for the purchase of another. The capital outlay for a new roof at Mercer #3 firehouse was reduced from $250,000 to $50,000, and Fire Department requests for $30,000 in computer equipment and $95,000 in repairs and upgrades were reduced significantly, to $10,000 and $25,000 respectively.
   Mayor Miller said the township had a draft budget in which it was attempting to hold the line on expenditures while not cutting back on staff and services. He would not confirm whether the draft budget incorporated a tax increase on township residents and what that percent increase might be.
   At a recent Borough Council meeting, Mr. Bruschi said the township was contemplating a 3 percent tax increase. Borough Council is attempting to adopt a budget that would not increase taxes.