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PRINCETON: Borough hopefuls face off

Forum addresses a range of issues

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer


   Three of the four Borough Council candidates met in a forum on local issues last night.
   Each candidate answered questions about consolidation, transportation, revaluation, the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) from Princeton University, communication, the borough’s environmental footprint and redevelopment of the hospital, ratables and other issues at a forum sponsored by The Packet, the League of Women Voters, Princeton TV and AllPrinceton.com.
   The candidates that participated were: Jo S. Butler, a Democrat, who is a search consultant with Wickenden Associates; Roger Martindell, the incumbent Democrat, lawyer; and Peter Marks, a Republican, self-employed real estate consultant and investor.
   Roland Foster Miller, a Republican, former New York Times editor and retired Columbia adjunct professor, was not present but had a statement read.
   There were vastly different opinions about cutting taxes.
   Mr. Martindell’s idea was not to cut services, look into non-tax revenues and explore shared services. Ms. Butler is not sure shared services are the answer to Princeton’s problems, and the borough needs to be realistic in examining consolidation to save money. Mr. Marks would like to cut certain commissions, consolidate departments within the borough and look at borough employee benefits.
   Consolidation with Princeton Township was also an area where the candidates differed. Mr. Marks called the consolidation study a “fallacy,” with the borough always being outvoted two to one by the township. Mr. Martindell called the study “worthy,” answering the question of what can the borough do better and if the municipalities were to combine, how would it impact residents with tax burdens and representation? Ms. Butler supports the work of the consolidation commission, saying it shouldn’t take 12 people to govern 30,000 people in such a compact area.
   The candidates didn’t agree on the PILOT from Princeton University, either.
   Mr. Miller included reference to it in his statement, saying the recent call to reopen the negotiations was an election tactic. Mr. Marks is “not interested in finding a third party to pay for services we want,” with a PILOT payment and instead would like to look at borough fees, like building permits. Mr. Martindell and Ms. Butler agreed that the PILOT amount must be looked at to determine what is fair.
   For complete coverage and details of the debates, see the Friday edition of The Packet. In addition and the forum will be archived on www.centraljersey.com.
   The Township Committee candidates will have their turn in a forum next Monday night, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. Watch the live stream at www.centraljersey.com or on Channel 30.