Police, Streets, And Staffing Took The Biggest Hits

To balance Princeton’s revised 2026-27 budget under the lower proposed tax rate, city staff said about $3.1 million in general fund spending was cut from the earlier version presented in August. Finance staff told council the biggest reductions landed in public safety, street maintenance, development services, and parks and library staffing.

Chief Financial Officer Kelly Wilson said public safety saw the largest decrease, about $1.8 million. That included removing six police positions that had been included in the earlier proposed budget. She said those were six full-time equivalent positions requested by departments when the city was considering a higher tax rate.

Street maintenance funding was also reduced by about $1 million. Wilson said the city kept a base budget of $500,000 for street maintenance in the general fund, rather than the $1.5 million total she had hoped to include. She added that another $500,000 for street maintenance remains in the CDC budget, bringing the total available for that purpose to about $1 million, though specific projects affected had not yet been identified.

Other reductions included a development services personnel position and staffing changes in culture and recreation. Wilson said those parks and library-related changes included two park maintenance technicians, a library reclassification, and a shift from part-time to full-time staffing that was removed from the revised proposal.

The cuts drew concern from council members who noted that infrastructure and public safety had been identified as top priorities. One member also pressed to restore the development services position, saying it was important as Princeton continues to grow, but the position was not added back during the work session. Staff said the revised budget was intended to remain balanced while maintaining current core services at existing levels.