To the Editor:

In reviewing the steps taken during the initial stages of consolidation, we can only hope that our elected leadership keeps local resident, Commodore Robert Stockton in mind. Stockton California was named for Commodore Stockton. At one time, Stockton, like San Bernardino, and Scranton were all thriving municipalities, about the size of Princeton. Now all three are bankrupt.

Now is the time for our elected officials to protect our financial future, while considering consolidation. For example, we now have two municipal buildings. Totally, there is about twice the square footage of office space compared with surrounding municipalities.

An article in Town Topics (“A Two-Person Solution for the New Princeton,” July 18) states that “…in the interest of doing away with old perceptions for the two buildings, the committee has been referring to them, for example, as the ‘Witherspoon Building’ and the ‘Monument Building’ respectively.”

This is our one chance to do this right. Instead of kidding ourselves that changing reference names will accomplish anything, it might be good to think what happens when a bureaucracy has too much office space. Assistants get hired, more staff is added, taxes go up etc.

Why not lease out one building, and tell the administrators that they have to utilize the space available in the remaining municipal building? It isn’t the total answer, but it’s a start. Somehow we need to get past the mindset that renaming buildings is a meaningful step to achieving the savings possible through consolidation.

William Stephenson

Governors Lane