By Matthew Hersh
From roadway corridor studies and improvements, to new housing developments, to ongoing capital projects, Princeton will have to embark on careful fiscal planning in the coming years to realize its long-term capital goals.
But exactly how those goals will be financed and prioritized will be the Council’s focus for the weeks and months to come, according to a report issued by the Finance Committee at the November 24 Council meeting.
“We have a lot of deferred maintenance in town, but we thought it would be good to dive in and understand these expenditures, the revenue sources to handle the debt service, and the timing of both expenses and revenues,” said Councilman David Cohen, Finance Committee chair. “You can really optimize the way by timing both expenses and revenues. If you can hold off for a couple of years before some old debt is retired, you can really optimize the way they impact taxes.”
Long-term capital expenses, Cohen said, include major road projects, property acquisitions for development and open space, improvement of municipal buildings, stormwater infrastructure improvements, recreational upgrades, and sanitary sewer upgrades.
The road projects include improvement efforts to the Harrison Street corridor. In November 2024, Princeton Council first reviewed a study designed to improve safety along the corridor which focused on pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorist safety. Longer-term capital needs for this project could include road diets, further installation of bike lanes, and other traffic-calming measures placed at key intersections along the 2.5-mile corridor between Valley Road and the D&R Canal.
The Hamilton-Wiggins corridor is the focus of Princeton’s 2013 “Complete Streets” policy, which encourages streets designed for all users, all modes of transportation, and all ability levels that balance the needs of drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, emergency responders, and commercial mobility movement with local context. In 2017, specific recommendations for an entire network of bike lanes, shared side paths, and signage that were incorporated into the Community Master Plan. From there, Princeton embarked on a study of the Robeson-Wiggins-Hamilton corridor to assess road design and other safety and mobility challenges.
“We have a number of streetscape projects to improve pedestrian and bicycle accommodations,” said Cohen, adding that long-range planning will help to better realize these efforts. Elm Road, Great Road, and Route 27 are all identified as long-range capital plans, he said.
Building needs include the firehouse addition and renovation at 363 Harrison Street, currently in the planning stages, which is going to be a centerpiece of upcoming capital improvements, Cohen said, along with upgrades to Princeton’s Department of Public Works and the future of the former Westminster Choir College property.
On the heels of receiving the municipality’s stormwater feasibility study, Cohen pointed to stormwater infrastructure improvements as high on Princeton’s priority list. “Best practices for managing stormwater these days involve green infrastructure,” Cohen said, citing the installation of rain gardens, bio-retention basins, constructed wetlands, culvert replacements, and “green streets” as likely improvements in the years to come. Green street principles include using vegetation and other permeable surfaces to manage stormwater, and were incorporated into the Witherspoon Street project, he said.
Continued improvements to Community Park South and Grover Park would require short- and long-term investments over the years, according to Cohen.
Princeton has steadily increased its revenue sourcing over the years, Cohen said, leaving the town open to options when it comes to long-term financing. Non-tax, recurring revenues like PILOTs, voluntary contributions, parking revenue, and grants and donations are anticipated to offset costs, as well as new tax revenues from new development and reducing debt by potentially monetizing underused assets, such as the Westminster Choir College property, he said.
“We need to be aware that we have a lot of potential increases to our operating budget,” said Cohen, adding that the town has reserved revenue to mitigate those increases. He pointed to hotel taxes, short-term rental occupancy taxes, reverse tax appeals, and potential additional PILOT revenue that exceeds original estimates.
Cohen said he anticipates the timing of these projects would depend on the urgency of the project, taking on new debt service when existing debt is retired, staff capacity, and other sources of revenue, including state and federal grants that could offset costs related to specific projects.
“I am hopeful, but not certain, that a substantial offset will get us where we need to be,” said Councilman Brian McDonald, a member of the Finance Committee. “Council needs to make a number of decisions about what actually happens. What we need to do now with the full Council is look at the revenues, review them, validate them, confirm the sources and make sure everyone is comfortable and can ask questions,” he said.
“And then there will be a handful of important decisions,” McDonald added, as the Council determines what projects take priority.
Mayor Mark Freda punctuated the sentiment: “It is going to be a lot of work, but one of the biggest, most important things we do is figure out how to spend our money and what the impact on the taxpayer will be,” he said.