University To Mail Checks Related To Tax Exempt Settlement

PRINCETON, NJ — Eligible homeowners will soon begin receiving checks as part of the settlement reached last year that ended litigation challenging Princeton University's property tax exemptions. The university has begun mailing checks to about 750 Princeton homeowners, the school announced on Tuesday.

As part of the agreement, the University contributed $2 million this year and agreed to contribute $1.6 million a year for the following five years to a property tax relief fund. This year’s payments are nearly $2,500 per eligible home.

Eligible homeowners are Princeton homeowners who received a homestead benefit under the New Jersey Homestead Property Tax Credit Act in the most recent year for which homestead benefits were paid by the state. Homeowners will have 90 days to deposit their checks and may use the money for any purpose.

The 2017 distributions establish a maximum amount per eligible home for the next five years. In each year of the program, any money left over after checks have been mailed to all eligible homeowners will be donated to 101: Inc., a nonprofit organization, to provide need-based scholarships for graduates of Princeton High School attending post-secondary educational institutions other than Princeton University.

The fund is administered by the Community Foundation of New Jersey (CFNJ). Eligible homeowners will receive checks directly from CFNJ in the first week of November. Questions should be directed to Joyce Jonat at CFNJ at 1-800-659-5533, ext. 225.

Last year's settlement was announced days before the trial was slated to begin. It settled a lawsuit that challenged the tax-exempt status of some of the University's buildings that are used for commercial use, such as eateries.

The university was also being accused of acting like a for-profit institution, including holding a licensing agreement for a chemotherapy drug.

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