Princeton council previews wheel and excise tax options to raise tens of thousands for paving

A council member presented multiple scenarios for a paired wheel and excise tax that, if adopted, would let Princeton collect the fee directly rather than the county and dedicate more revenue to street paving.

The council heard staff estimates showing the city currently receives about $27,000 annually; under the lowest new scenario that figure could increase to roughly $57,000, and higher scenarios would produce still larger amounts. "Of course, this money helps the city pave streets," a council member said, framing the proposal as a means to fund lane-mile repairs rather than general spending. Council members noted the city has about 100 lane miles to maintain and discussed whether the change would affect eligibility for state community crossings grants, with staff explaining the program is now more competitive after a statewide funding reduction.

Members asked for data on administrative collection fees and vendor arrangements; staff said vendor fees are accounted for in the net estimates. A council member said he opposed raising taxes given the economic climate but favored moving collection to the city, while others said they wanted time to review the numbers. The council did not vote on the ordinances and agreed to schedule the item for further consideration at the next meeting with an option to include public comment.