By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The Christie administration last week told Princeton to expect $464,000 this year to partially cover transition-related costs, although the state said it wants to see and analyze financial records before providing the full amount by the end of December.
A representative of the state Department of Community Affairs, the agency that has been working closely with Princeton on the historic merger, wrote May 16 to Mayor Liz Lempert notifying her of the news. An announcement by the state had been expected around the first part of this month.
”We’re very pleased with their commitment,” she said in a phone interview Monday. “They’ve been a good partner.”
In 2011, Gov. Chris Christie, who endorsed the merger of the two Princetons, had pledged that state government would reimburse 20 percent of transition costs. Princeton officials have said more than once that the rest of New Jersey is watching to see how the state treats Princeton, seen as a role model for consolidation that other communities could follow.
Mark Freda, chairman of the Transition Task Force, the body that shepherded through the merger, said Monday that he was “happy to see the state live up to their commitment to fund the 20 percent reimbursement of our transition costs. A very important step in encouraging other communities to consider merging. And reasonable for them to want to be sure we have actually spent all the money we requested.”
At the time the governor made his pledge, transition costs were estimated at $1.7 million, an amount that grew by around 30 percent to more than $2.3 million when a revised estimate was submitted in December. In arriving at that number, the town got feedback from the state in determining what things were true transition costs and which were not or were not essential, such as repainting police squad cars all one color scheme.
For its part, the state said in its letter that a few things would happen in the coming months. By Oct.1, the town will get $350,000 an amount representing roughly 20 percent of the earlier $1.7 million figure. Princeton must “submit a full accounting of actual disbursements for transition costs . . . for review, including documentation for the disbursements including contracts, purchase orders, requisitions, vouchers and proofs of payment,” wrote Thomas H. Neff, director of the division of Local Government Services, to Mayor Lempert.
The state will review the information, Mr. Neff said.
”Based on a satisfactory submission of all documentation and a determination that expenditures were one-time in nature, essential and reasonable, the balance of $114,000 will be provided no later than Dec. 31, 2013,” he wrote.
”While the grant that Princeton is being permitted to anticipate is more than a 30-percent increase than what would have been payable based on essential and reasonable one-time estimates shared with voters and the state in 2011, we recognize that estimate was prepared in good faith and was inaccurate only due to the ‘first ever’ nature of the merger that was implemented,” Mr. Neff wrote.
Princeton officials said they were not put off by having to provide the documentation, confident the town would get the full $464,000. Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller said Monday that the state’s records request “seems reasonable.”
She said she would be disappointed if the administration did not come through with $464,000.
”And I think the taxpayers would be disappointed too,” Ms. Crumiller said.
Mayor Lempert said the state money would be applied to this year’s budget, due to be adopted in June as opposed to May 28 as first planned.
