Borough Mayoral Candidates Debate Consolidation, Dinky

The candidates for Princeton Borough Mayor participated in a public debate on Tuesday, but stopped short of endorsing or opposing the proposed consolidation between Princeton Township and Princeton Borough.

The League of Women Voters of the Princeton Area sponsored Tuesday debate, held at the Jewish Center of Princeton. The event was co-sponsored by Princeton Community TV and AllPrinceton.

The debate was between Democratic candidate Yina Moore and Republican candidate Jill Jachera.

“I personally would like to see the communities consolidate, it could be a wonderful thing on many levels, but when it comes to the benefits they’re seeking, I question whether you can achieve the savings,” said Jachera, the first Republican candidate to run for borough mayor in a dozen years. She won the nomination through a write-in campaign in the May primary. 

Moore, who defeated Democratic challenger David Goldfarb in the May primary, said she still has questions about consolidation.

“It’s an important decision and a complex decision,” Moore said. “As I have stated in the past, I am not convinced.”

Moore is unsure what would happen with the borough’s $3.7 million of non-tax revenue, its nearly $2 million property taxes from development at Palmer Square and the soon-to-be taxed former hospital site, all of which would significantly reduce borough taxes.

She also questions how consolidation transition costs will affect the budget, if the projected savings are achievable and if the savings would be worth the borough’s loss of representation in a unified township.

“Aren’t we all interested in having those questions answered?” Moore asked.

Jachera and it’s hard to find good examples of successful consolidation and even when a merger increases efficiency, the savings aren't always as much as promised.

Should voters approve consolidation on Nov. 8, Jachera hopes that muncipal budgets will be built from scratch. If she can get assurances that would be the case, she would view consolidation more favorably, she said.

Moore grew up in Princeton, attended Princeton public schools and graduated from Princeton University. She is a member of the Princeton Regional Planning Board. She said while Princeton has cultural diversity, its economic diversity is in jeopardy. Moore worries that the recent property reevaluation has increased the tax burden on lower and middle income families, while lessening the burden on wealthier residents.

“As borough mayor, I will work with both staff and borough council and the community to find fair solutions for our entire community," Moore said. I am 100 percent committed to the future of our schools and our town."

Jachera, who moved to Princeton 17 years ago, is a former employment attorney and a current consultant. She is a board member of the YWCA of Princeton. She is concerned about rising borough taxes and the borough’s dysfunctional relationship with Princeton University.

Debate questions from Tuesday’s audience also included those concerning Princeton University’s pilot payments and relocating the Dinky commuter train.

A Princeton university student expressed concern that the university’s payments to the borough in lieu of taxes may hurt student programs and services.

“Pilot payments are a misnomer in some sense, implying the university is required to pay taxes, which they are not,” Jachera said. She noted, however, that other universities do make larger contributions to their communities and that the university’s ownership of 40 percent of borough property places a large tax burden on residents.

Moore was more direct in her response.

“I’ve never known the university to have any financial problems,” she said. “(Not having the payments) cripples our town from being able to achieve and maintain the same type of diversity that Princeton University tries to do in its own institutional makeup in students, facility and staff…we need them to pay their fair share.”

When it comes to relocating the Dinky further away from downtown, as the university has proposed, Moore does not support the move.

“The university does not need to move the Dinky in order to build its arts complex; they are tying the wrong issue to the future of its infrastructure,” said Moore, who spent much of her career working on transportation planning projects. She said the focus should be on bringing transit closer to people, not further away.

Jachera said no one wants to move the Dinky, but the university has a signed, legal agreement with NJ Transit allowing it to do so.

“The worst case is it gets moved and we don’t approve the arts center and we are left with nothing,” she said, adding that such a move could lead the university to consider ending its pilot payments to the borough.

Both candidates agree Princeton needs to improve communications during emergencies like Hurricane Irene. They also agreed that having a vibrant downtown is critical to Princeton and must be maintained.

A resident asked the candiates if borough government has been a good steward of taxpayer money and if they would support a review of spending programs.

Moore said she regularly reviews the budget in her role on the planning board, and it will likely be necessary to undertake a review and plan for possible reduced spending. She is favor of such a process.

Jachera said she doesn’t believe borough officials have been prudent and supports a financial review. She said expenditures have gone up in the borough, but that spending has been funded by capital surplus, which made it look like spending has been flat while negatively affecting the borough’s bond rating.