By Matthew Hersh

Mercer County Executive Dan Benson delivered his annual budget address on March 26 to the Board of County Commissioners amid looming rising costs and federal budget cuts, while investing in critical county services and infrastructure. The address comes as the Municipality of Princeton, Princeton Public Schools, and the state consider respective budgets for the upcoming year.

The proposed budget totals about $430 million, an increase of just over 6 percent compared to 2025 when the county budget came in at approximately $420.1 million. The overall county tax rate will be 51 cents per $100 of assessed property value, a slight decrease from last year. Benson noted that this decreasing rate is a result of increasing property values and economic development, and that it is still too soon to know what impact this will have on municipal tax rates for residents.

“Across the country, local governments are grappling with an increasingly unaffordable world, rising healthcare costs, growing demands on public services, and the continued chaos in Washington,” said Benson. “But here in Mercer County, we’ve never let challenges slow us down. We’re continuing to move forward with the key investments that will put us in a strong position for many years to come.”

Three spending categories take up nearly three-quarters of the total increase in the county’s budget, Benson said. They include increases in the county’s financial commitment to Mercer County Community College and to the Special Services School District; rising costs and essential investments for the county’s public safety agencies; and services, including the Prosecutor’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, and Corrections Center.

Rising healthcare costs played a “major driver” in this year’s budget and have continued to vex local, county, and state governments, Benson said. To address rising healthcare costs, the county worked with employee unions to transition out of the State Health Benefits Plan, reducing the expected increase in health care costs for active employees from approximately 31 percent over prior year to approximately 17.5 percent.

Benson noted that federal cuts are creating new challenges for Mercer County. He cited an expected loss of $6.5 million in federal funding for supportive housing, cuts to public health funding, cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, and new bureaucratic burdens tied to employment verification.

Benson’s address also outlined several major county investments, including renovations at the Trenton Thunder Ballpark and at the CURE Insurance Arena, which will soon be home to a new professional hockey team, the Trenton Ironhawks. The county’s continued investment in open space includes the recent preservation of more than 50 acres purchased from Rider University.

In New Jersey, the state fiscal cycle runs from July 1 to June 30, while Mercer County and a majority of municipal fiscal cycles operate on a calendar year from January 1 to December 31.

Locally, the Princeton Council is expected to vote April 27 on its proposed $84.8 million municipal budget resulting in an expected $159 per year for the municipal levy, excluding county and school. Similar to the county budget, the increase is powered by a 36 percent increase in employee health insurance costs. Other budgetary factors, according to Councilman Brian McDonald, who chairs the Council’s Finance Committee, included transitioning over from an all-volunteer professional fire department to a paid, professional fire department as well as interest and operating costs associated with the acquisition of the 23-acre Westminster Choir College campus.

This year’s proposed budget represents an increase of $5.44 million, or 6.85 percent, according to Sandra Webb, Princeton’s chief financial officer. “This was one of the hardest budgets we’ve had to put together,” said Webb.

For the average homeowner with a property assessed at $866,204, the municipal and library levy (excluding county and schools) would increase by $158.77, from $4,998 to $5,156.77. The budget, however, keeps the town’s contribution to Princeton Public Library steady at $4,975,094, the amount allotted last year.

Last month, Princeton Public Schools Superintendent Mike LaSusa outlined a $743,000 budget gap facing PPS, that could translate to tax increases in the upcoming budget. The Board of Education must adopt a final budget by April 28, following a budget hearing and board meeting at 7 p.m. at 25 Valley Road.

LaSusa’s budget presentation outlined $116 million in projected expenditures with a maximum revenue ceiling of roughly $115 million. Most increases come from salary and benefits, including health benefits. Some new expenses include a sewer charge and charter school tuition increases. Funds from payments in lieu of tax agreements with the municipality will add to the revenue as well as an anticipated increase in state aid, said LaSusa.