Recent Accomplishments

Current Issues

0% tax rate increase:  Worked with Borough Council to hold to an approach of fiscal conservation, limiting the municipal tax rate increases for 2009 and 2010 to zero percent.

Improvements in police oversight: Appointed Commissioner in January 2010, I have worked with Police Chief Dudek and others to secure accreditations which resulted in significant cost savings to the Borough.  Amounting to $15,000 per year, these savings will be realized every year as long as the Police force maintains its accreditation level.

Saving the Dinky: Worked with Council and citizens to ensure that Princeton University fully understands the community opposition to moving the Dinky. Result: PU has tabled its plans to move the Dinky further South and is presently negotiating with the Borough and Township to explore transit alternatives and Dinky improvements.

Introduced community ID card: Launched May 2010, this important card allows Princeton residents, especially foreign-born residents who may lack forms of id such as driver’s licenses or credit cards, to easily access basic community services. The card also facilitates the work of law enforcement since it contains personal identification information, medical risk factors, and emergency contact information.  Cardholders can present their ID card to Princeton police officers, emergency personnel, the post office, any clinic or doctor’s office, public parks and swimming pools, Princeton Public Library, Princeton public schools, private social services and charitable organizations and some banks and businesses.

PU tax fairness:  Despite the fact that the University is the largest single tax payer in the Borough, many would contend that, due to their tax-exempt status,  they pay far less than their fair share for municipal services and infrastructure.  Working with others, I am pursuing tax fairness discussions with the University to see if there are ways to convince the University to increase their financial contributions to the Borough.

As a Borough Councilman, my current focus is on:

Sustainable prosperity for our commercial sector: I have been developing and presenting plans to deal with the numerous growth, traffic and development issues facing our town, especially in the downtown and Witherspoon areas.  My goal is to ensure that our local small businesses and retailers and our commercial property owners are able thrive and grow even as we seek to maintain Princeton’s small town feel and livability.

Traffic & Transportation: On the traffic side, the most important aspect of my work as liaison to the Traffic & Transportation Committee is safety.  Safety, of pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers has been paramount in my mind while addressing issues such as crosswalk visibility, sidewalks, sharrows, and street maintenance.  On the transportation side, the most important aspect of my work now is to advance planning strategies to improve reliability and access to the Dinky rail service.

Police Oversight: With pressures from both fiscal and consolidation issues at the fore, as chairman of the public safety committee, I have focused on both police oversight as well as public safety. Balance is key: every decision must ensure both the safety of our community as well as the effective and efficient operations of our police and fire agencies.  Both police and fire consolidation studies are underway in our community, I think the time has come to unify our police to one force, our fire response to one station, and to move our rescue squad into a new station house next door to both fire and police.

Finances: The financial issues of our town include both spending and revenues.  As a member of the Finance Committee, my emphasis has been to focus on efficiency and effectiveness…always important in the operation of municipal services, but never more so than in the face of current economic challenges. On the revenue side, the two most critical areas of my focus are to address the revaluation issues and to pursue tax fairness with Princeton University.