Princeton's New Budget Brings Tax Hike; Officials Signal Tighter Spending Ahead

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton voted to approve the annual budget during the Council meeting on Monday. The 2025 budget sees a 3.04 percent increase over last year’s figures. The total budget will rise from $75,674,457.12 to $77,982,417.10 - a climb of more than $2.3 million.

Homeowners will feel the impact directly on their wallets. The municipal tax rate will rise by 0.0124%, totaling $134 annually for an average home assessed at $856,944, according to Chief Financial Officer Sandra Webb.

During her presentation at the public hearing, Webb attributed the budget growth to essential municipal services including waste management, insurance costs, debt obligations, the town's contribution to the Stony Brook Regional Sewage Authority, and public library funding.

Revenue from state aid and surplus utilization contributed significantly, Webb said.

But the Municipality was also able to make some cost reductions. Administrative reductions saved nearly $900,000.

“That saved us about a penny,” Webb said. "And the other things we did, in addition to the reductions, we increased our use of surplus by a million dollars. When we ended 2024 our surplus was up pretty significantly over the year before, and so I felt really comfortable with bringing in an additional million dollars in surplus, and then we increased a bunch of other revenues individually to account for another 1.5 million.”

Non-discretionary items, including insurance and utilities, constitute 43 percent of the budget, Webb noted.

Councilman Brian McDonald raised concerns about the 5 percent increase in the library budget, which exceeds the municipal budget's 3 percent rise.

“The library is one of our crown jewels, and we need to sustain its excellence. They did an admirable job of controlling costs during COVID, and deserve praise for that, but this year will be the second 5% increase in a row, which exceeds the growth of the overall municipal budget and is about double the tax levy increase. I'm concerned that this is not sustainable,” McDonald said.

Mayor Mark Freda, who serves on the library board, indicated he had already cautioned library officials that such substantial increases would likely not continue.

“Two meetings ago, when they were reviewing their budget... I told the director and the chair of the board that we the town cannot continue to shoulder that kind of burden year after year, and that next year would be very different,” Freda said.

"With Westminster coming on and other things happening they should not expect that kind of increase again. So, our finance committee may want to start chatting with them sooner than later to help them prepare for that.”

Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com