By John Saccenti, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — The township has received $51,900 for 2009 as part of a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with Princeton University.
The council approved a memorandum of understanding in October between the trustees of Princeton University and the township that will see the university make voluntary payments to the township each year. The payments begin this year, in the amount of $50,000 in lieu of taxes on a property formerly owned by the Sarnoff Corp.
That number will be adjusted annually by the established cost-of-living index, according to the memorandum.
The added $1,900 is an adjustment for inflation, based on the percentage change in the consumer price index the prior 12 months.
”We appreciate that Princeton University is providing the Township with this revenue,” said Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh.
When Princeton University bought 81 acres of land in West Windsor in 2002, it committed to making the payment once the land was assessed as farmland in 2008. It was then that it made the first disbursement of the $50,000 contribution.
The university owns close to 400 acres in West Windsor bounded by Route 1, Lake Carnegie, Harrison Street and Alexander Road, plus an additional 80 acres fronting Route 1 which it purchased from the Sarnoff Corp.
As a private nonprofit educational institution, Princeton University is not required to pay taxes on its extensive facilities and holdings but voluntarily keeps certain properties on the tax rolls.
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