Princeton Borough proposes pay hikes for mayor and council

With the Borough facing a $23-million debt, some area residents are raising questions about a recently proposed salary increase for Borough Mayor Marvin Reed and six Borough Council members.

Under the proposal, Reed's current salary of $6,500 for his part-time position would nearly double to $12,500. The pay for council members — who serve part-time — would increase from $5,500 to $7,500.

The proposal was introduced by the council Feb. 1, and a public hearing on the issue is scheduled for Feb. 22. If the pay raise proposal is adopted, the salaries would be implemented retroactively for the year 2000.

Council member David Goldfarb said he believes the pay raises are appropriate and long-overdue. "It's been 12 or 13 years since a pay increase and the value of money has [decreased]. There was pressure to reevaluate the standards," he said.

Goldfarb also cited the need to attract future civil servants and the need to recognize the significance of the mayor's position as reasons to support the pay raise.

"At an extremely low salary, you can't attract enough qualified candidates," Council president Roger Martindell said. He added that he wanted the proposed salary to be higher, but his colleagues did not agree with him.

Republican Fred Brodzinski, who lost the mayor's race to Reed last November, also believes the pay raise would be appropriate.

"Mayor Reed works very hard," Brodzinski said. "It would be an insult if he doesn't receive a pay raise."

Opposition

Not everyone supports the pay raises, however. Alan Hegedus, a Republican who lost a bid for a council seat in November, opposes the pay increase proposal because of its potential effect on the Borough's debt.

"I think these proposals are poorly timed," Hegedus said. "They do not have the suggestive mindset that says we're working on the debt problem. And these massive expenditures — we just cannot afford these," he said, referring to the road improvements, parks and building projects on which the Borough plans to spend $18.8 million during the next six years.

Hegedus also has suggested that the mayor and council work for a dollar a year "until the bond rating is restored."

Goldfarb disagrees with Hegedus's analysis of the pay increase's effects on the debt.

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"I don't regard the Borough debt as being disproportionate or burdensome," he said. "The compensation represents a small portion of the budget. I think we're healthy financially."

Patricia Strazza, municipal chair of the Princeton Borough Republicans, also said she opposes the pay increases and questions the agendas of the mayor and the council.

"Their positions should be viewed as public-service positions," she said. "They're part-time positions. They've been there for awhile, yes, but the Borough is in bad shape. I just think it's odd they're giving themselves raises."

Goldfarb said he is not sure how the Princeton community will react to the pay raises at the public hearing, but said he suspects there may be opposition.

"If they had a choice between raising and not raising the salaries, they'd choose to not raise the salaries," he predicted, but noted that public opinion would not determine the proposal's fate.

"We'll consider their final analysis, but in the end, we will make the appropriate decision."