PRINCETON: Delegation meets with state over consolidation

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
   Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert went to Trenton Wednesday to help make the case before the Christie administration for a 20-percent reimbursement of the $2.3 million in transition costs incurred from consolidation.
   Ms. Lempert, accompanied by Council President Bernard P. Miller and Transition Task Force co-chairman Scott Sillars, met with the Department of Community Affairs to go over the numbers for transition costs, answer questions and discuss a timeline for when the town can get its money. State and Princeton officials previously met in the fall.
   ”I think it went fine,” said Mr. Sillars on Thursday about the meeting.
   For its part, the state has been reviewing the information the town has provided, and will inform officials this spring what they will get. The administration might not agree with everything the town is calling a transition cost.
   In September 2011, Gov. Chris Christie endorsed the merger of the Princetons and pledged that state government would review what the town submits and reimburse the town 20 percent. The thinking then was that the state would pick up one year of transition costs until the expected savings achieved through consolidation can be realized.
   At the time of the governor’s announcement, those costs were estimated at $1.7 million. Based on the $2.3 million figure, the town is seeking $460,000 in reimbursement.
   ”We are reviewing their request for transition funding and have no further comment on that private meeting, said Tammori C. Petty, a spokeswoman for the Department of Community Affairs, in an email Thursday.
   Transition costs run the gamut, from legal expenses to relocating employees to different buildings, among things. To streamline things into a single process, the state had asked Princeton to anticipate, as part of its overall total, transition costs that might be incurred during this year, Ms. Lempert said.
   She sought to impress on the Christie administration that other towns would be taking note of how the state deals with a town seen as a model that others could follow.
   ”Like we said at the meeting (Wednesday)” she said, “they know that all the other communities in New Jersey are watching to see how the state is willing to support Princeton’s efforts.”
   ”What really sends a message to other towns in the future is if DCA holds too strict of an interpretation of what is and what isn’t a transition cost, the message they’re sending is, ‘Yeah, we’d like you to consolidate, but don’t really count on us to help you,’” said Mark Freda, chairman of the Transition Task Force on Wednesday.
   During a visit to Princeton Wednesday, state Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney touched on the funding issue and spoke in favor of the town’s cause.
   ”You’re doing your part. For the next community to go forward and do this, we’ve got to do our part,” he said.
   Ms. Lempert said the town did not include in its submission to the state so-called “coincidental costs” for things like upgrades to the 911 system.
   ”We’ve agreed that they’re not true transition costs, and we’re trying to be as cost-conscious as we can. And I think we recognize, too, that as we move through this process, people are looking at us and we want to be clear in our accounting.”
   She said the town was told that it would know by spring how much money it would get. She said the town is starting to put together its municipal budget and the state money will be important.
   Regardless the size of the reimbursement, Princeton will be able to pay those costs spread out over five years. That will soften the impact rather than force the town to pay everything in one year.