West Windsor reviews 2025 budget: fund balance rises, interest income climbs, council to consider cap-bank ordinance

West Windsor Township officials on Feb. 21 reviewed revenue results from 2024 and outlined key elements of the proposed 2025 municipal budget, including a stronger-than-expected fund balance, sharply higher interest income, a pending agreement with Princeton University and a recommended ordinance to expand the township's cap bank.

"Our interest income has gone from around 800,000 to 2,600,000.0 since 2023," John Water, township chief financial officer, told the council as he led a review of revenues and supplemental information. Water said the increase followed a competitive request-for-proposal process with local banks and larger carrying balances tied to growth in other levies.

The council was presented with the township's year-end fund-balance figures. "At the beginning of 2024, the township had a fund balance of $18,200,000," Water said, and after results of operations for 2024 the balance rose to about $23,400,000. Of that total, Water said roughly $13.4 million is assigned and the township expects to carry roughly $10 million as unassigned balance into 2025.

Why it matters: a larger fund balance and higher interest income give the township more flexibility entering the 2025 budget process but also require conservative anticipation of recurring revenues so one-time gains are not used to mask future shortfalls.

Key revenue drivers and negotiations

Water summarized major categories affecting the…