fountain at Princeton

April 24, 2014; Planet Princeton

A seven-year agreement for a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) program was posted yesterday on the websites both of Princeton (the town) and Princeton (the University). Its payment to the town is scheduled to be $2.75 million in 2014, and thereafter it will increase by four percent each year.

Then comes a Christmas list of other stuff:

  • $90,000 for the purchase of a new Free-B vehicle
  • $250,000 toward construction of a new storage facility for the town’s department of public works equipment
  • $500,000 toward construction of a new Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad facility on municipal land
  • $250,000 toward the expansion of the Witherspoon Fire Station (in addition to $300,000 already committed to this project under a prior agreement)
  • $500,000 toward the purchase of fire-fighting apparatus

The university also pays into the town by leaving certain properties on the tax rolls. This was estimated to be worth almost $3 million in 2013, with $659,000 going to the town of Princeton and $1.43 million going to the Princeton Public Schools. The university intends to continue this practice, according to the agreement.

There is more to it, and it can be seen in full by using the link. Those who worked on the agreement said that they “hope that it will provide a useful model for similar discussions between other communities and universities about their contributions.”—Ruth McCambridge