Commission Outlines Merger Savings

About 100 citizens attended the Consolidation and Shared Services Study meeting last night, where a researcher presented possible recommendations to the Princeton community for consolidation.

The Princeton Township meeting room was packed. With nearly every seat full, some people were sitting on the floor and others standing while the commission presented its recommendations.

One of the most controversial parts of the night was not about the recommendations, but instead about the financial impact of consolidation.

The recommendations for consolidating would save $3.321 million for the combined municipality. The commission is still working on a tax-impact analysis, which the commission hopes to have by early next week.

“We do anticipate savings in both municipalities,” said township Mayor Chad Goerner. “There will be slight differentials between both municipalities, but we do anticipate savings and we’ll be able to announce that next week.”

Some residents said that the savings would be trivial. Although the savings may
seem great, some believe that within the whole budget, $3.3 million is not that
much.

“The financial argument is obviously not a reason to consolidate,” said one
resident. “If the financial goal of consolidation were so limited, why bother?”

Other residents also oppose the consolidation for reasons unrelated to finances.
Resident Peter Marks says that his opposition to the merger is about more than money.

“It’s about the things that are intangible,” said Marks. “That’s real money, but it
comes at a cost. The cost is a larger entity, which is much more impersonal.”

Marks said he enjoys the small-town feel of the Princeton area.

“I like Princeton as a village,” said Marks. "I don’t like to see the accelerating
transformation into a small city, and the consolidation, inevitably, will accelerate
that transformation.”

Others believe that the consolidation would improve community morale, hopefully
eliminating the “us-versus-them” mentality that seems to be prevalent in the
community.

Many residents believe that the community can save money without consolidating
by less local government spending and implementation of the shared services
recommended by the commission.

Joseph Stefko, a lead consultant at Center for Governmental Research, fleshed out
details of the recommendations made by the Commission and its subcommittees.

He presented recommendations on various consolidation topics, such as deciding
upon a single form of government, as well as making decisions concerning police
services and public works.

The commission recommended adopting the borough’s form of government —
direct election of a single mayor for the consolidated municipality.

Committeeperson Bernard Miller explained it would be necessary to elect the mayor
directly, instead of using the township’s method of appointing the mayor through the committee.

Despite some talk about a ward form of government, where the community would be divided into separate smaller entities represented by members of the governing body, the commission decided against it.

“In a ward form of government, we could have one ward, or two wards, or even six
wards,” Miller said. “We would not be able to draw or define wards. They would be
defined by a county ward commission.”

Miller said that wards would be based on population, and defined by a separate
entity. This would mean less control by the citizens.

“Because of the inability to specify to a voter that goes into a voting booth how many wards there would be, or how many people would be in each ward, the decision was not attractive,” Miller said. “We want voters to know.”

Although the recommendation would give citizens a direct say in the election of
their mayor, some residents believe that the consolidation alone will result in less
ability to influence government.

Marks, a resident of Princeton Borough since 1954, said that with a larger, more
complex governmental body, the community would have less of a say in its
government.

“The government becomes more impersonal. We have less direct representation,”
Marks says. “Your opinion isn’t represented in the government body as it would be otherwise.”

Stefko also discussed the prospect of combining police forces of both municipalities. The subcommittee on police services reviewed options for merging the two police
forces into one. The final recommendation is to combine forces, but cut the number
of sworn in personnel from 60 to 51.

“Police was one of the service areas where the commission was explicitly charged to
not look just at options for a single merged Princeton government, but shared,” said
Bill Metro, chair of the subcommittee.

The subcommittee recommended using a “transitional approach” to consolidation.
After about three years, the Commission aims for the final decrease of personnel. Metro explained that the change could occur sooner than three years, if it could
be a reasonable and safe adjustment. Even if the consolidation does not occur, the
subcommittee still recommends a single combined police force for the Princeton
community.

Even though the commission plans on cutting back in various areas, Valerie Haynes, chairwoman of the Public Works Committee, informed the community that the commission is dedicated to maintaining services.

“We’ve heard from people throughout the community that they like the services
they see now,” she said. “They’re hoping for efficiencies and tax savings, but not a
reduction in services. That was something that guided us from the onset.”

Haynes explained that the committee aims to preserve the two divisions even if
consolidation occurs, because the two entities make it easier. The division makes
public works more flexible, Haynes said.

The commission will come to a final decision on recommendations for the
consolidation on May 17. On May 25, the commission will discuss if it wants to
formally recommend consolidation. The final decision will be made on Aug. 18.