Princeton Carries Highest Library Funding In NJ. Officials Say It's Time to Ask Harder Questions

PRINCETON, NJ - Princeton municipal officials and the Princeton Public Library remain at an impasse over a proposed $149,000 budget increase, with the town suggesting the library end its longtime free parking benefit for cardholders as a way to close the gap.

The impasse is not new, but has been in the making for a while.

At the Council's April 14, 2025 meeting, Mayor Mark Freda, who represents the municipality on the library board, told library leadership directly: "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 a very different story," according to previous Patch reporting.

By fall 2025, Freda formally conveyed to library leadership that no operating budget increase should be expected for 2026 and asked the library to plan accordingly, according to a statement issued by the Mayor and Council. Library budget increases have averaged 4.75 percent annually in recent years, with the exception of one COVID-era year. Despite that guidance, the library submitted a 3 percent increase request — approximately $149,000.

The Board of Trustees said it had been proactively working to address financial pressures well before the budget request came to a head. "From the outset, the Princeton Public Library Board of Trustees has worked to reduce expenses and increase revenue in response to significant financial pressures, including a state-mandated 36.5% increase in staff health insurance costs and the rising utility expenses for a facility that serves approximately 740,000 visitors each year," the Board of Trustees told Patch in a statement.

Those efforts included eliminating higher-cost health insurance plans, returning underutilized municipal parking permits, discontinuing Kanopy streaming services, and limiting Hoopla checkouts to three per patron per month, effective Feb. 1.

In January, the Board of Trustees also approved a one-hour daily reduction in library hours beginning Jan. 12. "As a last resort, we concluded with the library director and staff earlier this year that reducing hours was an option that we should take," the board said.

In a statement to Patch Council noted the municipality did not suggest or encourage the hour reductions.

"The library's 2026 budget required finding cost savings that would have the least impact on service," library Executive Director Jennifer Podolsky said in January. "While our operating hours and streaming services will be changing, our role as a valued community resource remains the same."

The library is Princeton's third-largest municipal expenditure, behind only the Police Department and Public Works/Sewer. The town's total proposed library funding for 2026 is $4.98 million — including a dedicated library tax levy of $3.82 million, representing 8.86 percent of the total municipal tax levy, plus an additional $1.15 million from the municipal operating budget. That brings the library's overall share of the tax levy to approximately 11.5 percent, or about $600 annually for the average household, according to the council statement.

The council described Princeton's municipal support for its public library as the highest in New Jersey and said it "appears unmatched nationally."

Beyond direct funding, the town subsidizes 50 employee parking permits at the Spring Street garage at an estimated cost of $108,000 annually and underwrites the library's two-hour free parking validation system at $150,000 per year — neither figure included in the proposed budget totals, the statement said.

At the library's Board of Trustees meeting last week, municipal officials presented two parking-related options for closing the $149,000 gap, according to TAPinto. Under the first, the library would end free two-hour parking for all cardholders at the adjacent Spring Street garage — owned and operated by the town — and the municipality would increase the library's budget by $149,000. Under the second option, the library would retain free parking for Princeton residents only, eliminating it for non-residents, with the municipality increasing funding by approximately $50,000.

The trustees said the proposals raised concerns. "The solutions that have been explored thus far aren't ideal, especially without research to ensure that no harm will be done," the board told Patch. "While the discussions have not yielded a solution that was in line with our stated goals, we remain committed to working collaboratively on sustainable solutions."

Municipal officials said they held extensive discussions with library leadership, including a two-hour working session in March, exploring options including fundraising, strategic use of endowment funds, operational efficiencies, and revenue enhancements. Both sides agreed the municipality would collect parking validation data — but after last Friday's board meeting, the library indicated it no longer wished to discuss those options, according to the council statement.

The library also holds an endowment of more than $17 million, from which it draws approximately 4.5 percent annually, used exclusively for collections and programs rather than general operations — a discretionary decision made by the Library Friends and Foundation, the council statement said. Last week, the Friends and Foundation distributed an advocacy mailer requesting the 3 percent budget increase.

On the parking question, the board deferred to the municipality while signaling caution. "At the end of the day, it's the municipality's prerogative to support the library and offer parking access as it sees fit," the board said. "The library will continue adapting to the financial environment while working hard to safely operate one of the most heavily used public buildings in Princeton, serving a growing and dynamic community, and delivering the services and access that the community has expected for more than 20 years."

"The Municipality fully recognizes and values the library's vital role in the community and takes pride in its contributions," the council statement read. "At the same time, we have a responsibility to ensure fiscal fairness for taxpayers and to ask the difficult but necessary questions that come with that responsibility."

Princeton Council is expected to vote on the 2026 budget at its April 27 meeting.

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