Princeton Will Vote on Consolidation in November

Should Princeton Borough and Princeton Township merge?

It’s up to the voters now.

Princeton’s Borough Council and Township Committee on Monday unanimously approved putting the question to a ballot vote on Nov. 8.

“I’m thrilled to send this to the voters and let them decide,” said Township Committee Member Sue Nemeth.

The vote came following months of studying the issue, dozens of meetings and 9-1 vote in May by the Princeton Consolidation and Shared Services Study Commission to recommend consolidation.

The commission recommended the borough and township merge into a single entity, called Princeton, using a borough form of government with an elected mayor and six at-large council members.

The commission estimates consolidation could save taxpayers  $3.1 million in staff costs and redundancies.

This is at least the fourth effort to consolidate the two Princetons in the past 60 years and there are vocal opponents.

“The urge to merge has never initiated with borough taxpayers, and the answer has always been ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’” said Kate Warren of Princeton Borough. “Your constituents have told you repeatedly we want to be an autonomous hole in the donut. Please vote no.”

Electing at-large council members in a consolidated Princeton would mean that borough residents, representing roughly one-third of the total population, could lose their voice in Princeton affairs, opponents said.

Borough resident Anthony Lund said consolidation keeps being discussed, but ultimately fails at the polls.

“As far as I know, it was the borough voters who voted more strongly and there are good reasons for this,” Lund said. “We can be good friends, we do not need to get married.”

The commission’s report, which recommends consolidation and outlines a process to do so, would serve as a road map for the new governing body to lead Princeton forward, officials said on Monday.

Alan Hegedus of Princeton Borough said consolidating may save money, but he could not find anything in the commission’s report to overwhelmingly tilt the scales in favor of merging. And he echoed concerns about electing at-large council members in a new Princeton.

“I believe this is a fatal flaw in this recommendation,” Hegedus said. “There’s no number of savings that you could put in front of me that will get me to say I will relinquish my vote.”

Opponents also noted that the model of shared services in Princeton is working and there’s no guarantee that the state would help offset an estimated $1.3 million in one-time consolidation costs.

But at least one township resident became frustrated with the anti-consolidation voices on Monday.

“It saddens to me hear borough residents describe the township residents motives with suspicion,” said township resident Henry Singer.

Singer said consolidation will save money, but that is not it’s sole selling point.

“Cost savings is only part,” Singer said. “If we lose sight of the dysfunctional government structure we have, I think we miss what is really going on.”