Hours before Princeton Town Council’s April 27 vote on Princeton Public Library’s annual budget, the municipality and the library announced they had reached an agreement to make up a $149,000 budget shortfall that had led to a public, weekslong disagreement.
In January, the library announced a reduction in hours, closing at 8:00 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. on the weekdays and 5:00 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. on weekends. The reduction, in addition to cuts in online subscription media access, was largely attributed to a 36.5% increase in health insurance costs for staff, alongside rising building utility costs.
However, even after the reduction, the library was still short $149,000, a sum the municipality had been refusing to cover, proposing instead that the library eliminate parking subsidies for patrons to make up the shortfall. Ultimately, the municipality agreed to increase its contribution by $75,000, partially offset by a restructuring of the library’s employee parking permits, and the library agreed to cover the remaining $74,000 through increased fundraising efforts.
In 2026, the town spent 4.98 million dollars on the library. Of that, 3.8 million dollars is mandated by the state, while 1.1 million is a voluntary contribution from the municipality’s operating budget, a number that Princeton Mayor Mark Freda said might decrease in the future.
“We fund that library really, really well,” said Freda. “That’s a lot of money, and [it] has an impact on every property that’s paying taxes, and the taxes are high in this town, as they are. I think in the long term, the library is gonna have to try to figure out ways to find that money elsewhere, and not assume the town’s going to be able to keep giving them more than what we’re required to give.”
Though the library has a 17.8 million dollar endowment, much of it is restricted and cannot be used to fill any potential budget shortfalls, primarily because of legislation.
“The Friends and Foundation tracks donor intent and distributes funds based on the organization’s authorized investment guidelines and distribution policy in accordance with the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act of 2006,” wrote the library’s Board of Trustees in a statement to the Tower. “This means that because of donor rules and legal guidelines, the money can’t just be used freely to fill a sudden budget gap.”
Before the municipality and the library reached an agreement, Princeton resident and PHS parent Raz Godelnik emailed both extensively, arguing that the town must prioritize library funding.
“It’s a question of priorities; what are the priorities of [the municipality]? If the library, which is really sort of the most democratic institution, one that is serving everyone … is not a priority, if you can’t find [$150,000] to compensate for the deficit, I would ask whether the municipality is making the right decisions about our priorities,” said Godelnik.
However, Freda argued that the town cannot meet the funding needs of any one institution without limitations, particularly with already high property taxes making Princeton increasingly unaffordable for many. “We could have the greatest services in the world, but if people can’t afford to live here, what good are those services?” said Freda. “If I tell you it’s going to cost you $1,000 more per year than you can afford to live here and [as a result] you got to go [leave], it’s like, what good did I just do you?”
Despite the relatively small shortfall, the issue generated a significant amount of controversy in Princeton, reaching the front page of the Town Topics and leading to significant community input. According to Freda, much of it was more emotional than practical.
“Some people decided, ‘Let’s tell everybody that loves the library they must write emails and call the elected officials and say, ‘Give the library whatever they want.’’” said Freda. “In spite of all that emotional response, … there was a small group [from both the municipality and the library that] continued to say, ‘Let’s keep talking, because the budget is not going to be finalized until April 27 and right up until that meeting, we [can] ... see if we [can] figure something out.’”