By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Princeton officials will use the next two weeks looking for ways to cut government spending for 2016, in a move that comes with them concerned about the fiscal health of the town in the coming years.
Council on Monday delayed adopting a $61.9 million municipal budget that called for a tax hike for the second year in a row. Instead, a three-member council committee, made up of council members Jo S. Butler, Patrick Simon and Bernard P. Miller, will work with town staff to look for spending cuts between $150,000 to $400,000 and report back to the full governing body May 9. That is also the day of the next council meeting.
Officials have raised alarm about the trend of using surplus funds to balance the budget. Mr. Miller, in particular, has said the town cannot continue going down that path.
They have talked of raising revenue, like increasing the cost of parking in town, as a way to bring in more money to the municipal coffers. Earlier in the day Monday, Mayor Lempert told reporters that it was important to “continue to look for other sources of revenue and to continue to look at expenditures.”
During the meeting, officials looked for room to make cuts. Mr. Simon, for instance, proposed withholding $63,000 in increased funding for the Princeton Public Library. The move would have left the library at flat funding for the year.
But Councilman Lance Liverman opposed that idea, opposed to a cut without understanding the ramifications on the library budget. Mr. Simon compromised and proposed giving the library $16,000 less, a move that won the backing of Ms. Butler and Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller.
The three of them voted for the budget amendment, with Mr. Liverman opposing, but because there was not a fourth vote to approve the change, it could not go through. Mr. Miller and Councilwoman Heather H. Howard had recused themselves due to conflicts of interest, given his wife, Ruth, is a library trustee and Ms. Howard sits on the Friends of the Library, a volunteer board that raises money for the library.
Mr. Simon, who drove the budget discussion at the council meeting with other officials reacting to his ideas, suggested an across-the-board spending cut of half a percent. He said that would be the “fairest” thing to do.
Yet the idea drew strong resistance from town administrator Marc D. Dashield, who called that the worst way to manage the budget. He suggested a more strategic, targeted approach.
Mr. Simon also has proposed trimming back the customer service department known as Access Princeton. The manager of that department, Christine Rothman-Iliff, attended Monday’s meeting but did not speak during the budget discussion.
The municipal budget for this year would have raised taxes by about $129 on a home assessed at the average of $810,191. Looking ahead to next year, Ms. Butler said the town faces the prospect of having to raise an additional $1.4 million in taxes.
In a phone interview Tuesday, she said it was critical that council members get a “running start” in 2017 to avoid being in the same predicament as they find themselves in now.
