Speaking to an audience of nearly 200 at a meeting of the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber, Mercer County Executive Dan Benson reflected on a year of significant progress, highlighting his administration’s work fixing the county’s finances, expanding community services, promoting economic development, and breaking ground on several important infrastructure projects.
“When I was elected as county executive, I made a promise to our community: to build a county government that works for everyone,” Benson began. “As we look back on the past 12 months, I’m proud of how we’ve followed through on that promise—with real progress toward our shared vision of Mercer County’s future.
“When we took office in January, we knew that our county government faced some serious challenges. It quickly became clear that these problems were in many ways much bigger than anticipated.”
The most significant of these challenges were financial, including $11 million in over-expenditures from the previous administration, overdue audits to complete, and expired collective bargaining agreements.
“We knew we had to quickly make some tough calls to get our house back in order,” Benson said, explaining that the administration quickly implemented new financial controls, completed audits for both 2022 and 2023, negotiated and settled seven labor contracts, and worked with the Board of County Commissioners to adopt a 2024 budget which would begin stabilizing county finances.
Benson went on to discuss how Mercer County has expanded community services, providing 100,000 meals to seniors, rolling out a new grant to support recreation for seniors and young people with disabilities, launching a first-in-the-state respite program, and supporting the construction of affordable housing.
Addressing economic development, Benson highlighted Mercer’s Zero-Interest Loan program to small businesses, the expansion of the Route 130 Connection Bus, and increased outreach to minority-owned businesses.
Benson shared that his administration is prioritizing public safety and disaster preparedness, with an updated Emergency Master Plan, planned upgrades to the county’s 911 system, and a shared services agreement ensuring comprehensive Hazmat coverage across Mercer.
He then provided updates on the county’s ambitious plans for infrastructure investment, outlining millions of dollars in grants and funding for flagship projects including the new fire station and terminal at Trenton-Mercer Airport, major renovations at the Trenton Thunder ballpark, the redevelopment of the South Broad Street Corridor, and rebuilding the aging Lincoln Avenue Bridge in Trenton.
“Union workers power these projects and so many more,” Benson added, highlighting that “we’re proud to have signed Project Labor Agreements for the airport and Lincoln Avenue Bridge projects, with another one in the works for the ballpark.”
Benson shared details on his administration’s effort to modernize and reorganize county government, improving communication between departments, opening contracts to a transparent fair-and-open bidding process, and taking steps to improve the diversity of county vendors through the set-aside for women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses. He also highlighted the creation of three new offices to fill important unmet needs: a new Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, an office of Food Security, and the Office of Travel and Tourism.
Finally, Benson discussed his continuing efforts to build stronger, more collaborative relationships between Mercer County and its 12 municipalities.
“We’re always looking for new opportunities for cooperation, whether through a renewed emphasis on shared service agreements, or by using county assets to fill a need in municipal government,” he said, listing steps the county has taken to support municipalities with open space acquisition, and road maintenance.
“Our administration had a full plate this year, and even with our many obstacles, we have accomplished a lot for Mercer. There will be more tough decisions ahead. But we’re on the right track. Together, we will make Mercer County government something we can be proud of. We will make county government work for everyone.”
