Princeton property owners will see a one-cent increase in the municipal property tax rate, under the town’s $77.9 million budget that was approved by the Princeton Council at its April 14 meeting.
The Princeton Council approved the spending plan, following a public hearing. There were no comments from the public.
The municipal property tax rate will increase from 56 cents per $100 of assessed value to 57 cents. The owner of a house assessed at the town average of $856,944 for property tax purposes will pay $4,941.22, an increase of $133.76 over the prior year’s municipal property tax.
A Princeton property owner’s tax bill includes the municipal, library and open space taxes, plus the school district property tax and the Mercer County property and open space taxes.
The 2025 municipal budget increased by 3%, or $2.3 million. Salaries and wages increased by $959,000. The administration reduced some department budgets by $874,000, but there were increases in some areas, such as group insurance and garbage and trash collection costs.
The main source of revenue to support the budget is property taxes. The amount to be raised by taxes is $41.4 million.
Miscellaneous revenue is expected to generate $19.2 million. This includes revenue from fees and permits, municipal court costs, and the hotel and motel tax.
The town will use $11.7 million in surplus funds to help balance the budget, and Princeton University will contribute $5.4 million as its fair share toward the budget – including an additional $208,000.
Princeton will receive $2.4 million in state aid.
Princeton Councilman Brian McDonald said that overall, the budget is well constructed. He said he appreciated the efforts to squeeze out almost $900,000 in reductions.
McDonald expressed two concerns about the budget – the Princeton Public Library portion of the municipal tax, and the growth in the town’s debt service, or money that it borrows for projects.
On the Princeton Public Library, this year marks the second consecutive year in which the library budget increased by 5%. The increase exceeds the growth of the overall municipal budget and is about double the municipal tax levy increase, McDonald said.
“I am concerned that this is not sustainable and offer any help that I might be able to provide to assist the library in working to manage the growth in expenses, which I know they already work very hard to do,” he said.
McDonald said his other concern is the growth in debt service, which is budgeted to rise by $900,000.
The town has strategically increased its investments in municipal infrastructure, and acquiring the Westminster Choir College campus was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – but the town also needs to be careful that debt service does not rise at an unsustainable rate, he said.
McDonald suggested taking a hard look at the town’s borrowing capacity and at the projects in the six-year capital plan to ensure that taxpayers are not overburdened.
Mayor Mark Freda, who sits on the Princeton Public Library’s board of trustees, said he recently mentioned the library budget’s rate of increase to library officials.
Freda said he told library officials that the town cannot continue to shoulder that kind of burden, and that 2026 likely will be a very different year. He pointed to the purchase of the Westminster Choir College campus and the debt incurred, plus other things that may come along.
“I don’t mean to pick on the library – it’s a great institution – but if you can’t afford to live here, having all these great services is kind of meaningless,” he said. “If you have to leave the town because you cannot pay the taxes, at some point, you have to be realistic about everything.”
Freda said library officials have been receptive to concerns, and would be happy to enter into discussions with the Princeton Council’s Finance Committee on how to prepare for next year’s budget.
