Scarsdale 10583

The Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees of Scarsdale met for a brief meeting on Monday night 4/16 to review options for lowering the tax increase for 2012-13. At an earlier meeting, Trustee Bob Harrison had suggested that the Village dip into reserves to reduce the increase and comply with the state-imposed 2% tax cap. At this meeting he again made his please, claiming that over the last four years the village tax rates has grown at a compounded rate of 26%.

All the trustees who spoke at the meeting expressed concern about rising rates, but the consensus was that raiding reserves could set a bad precedent for future years and have an impact on the Village’s bond rating.

Jon Mark said, “we are all sensitive to taxes, we all pay taxes and we all feel the pain.” He urged the Board of grapple with the underlying issue of the needs for services in a time of shrinking revenues and said, “We should pound the doors in Albany to reduce mandates.”

Stacey Brodsky also cautioned against using “band aids,” and said, “The real analysis is to look at spending and separate out mandated expenses. We have gone as far as we can go with slashing costs without impacting residents. The next step is to engage people in the community in conversation to find out if there are services they are willing to forego in order to contain expenses.”

Kay Eisenman agreed, saying, “Dipping into fund balances is a dangerous way to go. We may have unforeseen circumstances that will necessitate dipping into the reserves. Even though one gentleman lambasted us (about tax increases) the other night (at the Village Board meeting), he didn’t say what he would like to see cut.”

Mayor Flisser concurred. She said, “We are facing significant infrastructure deterioration that could pose safety issues. We should not use reserves to fund the budget. In hard times, you don’t take the money out of the bank to spend, you save it.”

Bob Steves, who heads the Finance Committee proposed a compromise to allow the Village to lower the tax rate increase without using reserves. He proposed to transfer a portion of the savings from the 2011-12 budget to next year’s budget. The Village has saved a considerable amount in snow removal costs due to the warm winter. Though it’s too early to know exactly how the year will close out, Steves, Village Manager Al Gatta and Treasurer Mary Lou McClure were confident that $246,000 from this year’s budget could be transferred to 2012-13 at the close.

Therefore, the Trustees moved to decrease the tax levy by $246,000 for 2012-13. In conjunction with the $208,000 reduction already made to next year's budget the tax rate increase will be approximately 4.1% and put the Village in compliance with the state cap – after allowable exemptions.

Comments (4)

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written by CCP, April 20, 2012

Garbage pick up in this village should be reduced, whether village residents want it or not. To have a "garbage man" come all the way up my driveway to pick up 1/2 can of garbage 2X per week is absurd, let alone the notion that they will actually open up the garage to get it. Are we all that lazy? And regarding leaf collection, let's do away with these ridiculous piles of leaves still overflowing into the street (despite useless village threats to homeowners) and the large crews that move at the speed of a snail to collect them. Bag the leaves or have your landscaper haul them to the village. ( Mulching isn't always an option if you have multiple large trees on your property) It will also reduce the problem with clogged storm drains.

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written by Graybeard, April 19, 2012

I applaud the Village Trustees for their unwillingness to dip into reserves to create the illusion of coming under the State-mandated cap, and praise them for their responsible budgeting approach of applying common sense in assessing real needs and making difficult decisions on priorities. I dissent from the Oracle 's contention that the School budget has substantial waste and extravagant expenditures. The School Board, in my view, also took a responsible approach to the budgeting process this year and also fell under the so-called "cap." What in that budget does the Oracle deem extravagant or wasteful? Identify those expenses and we might have a valid discussion.

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written by Bob Selvaggio, April 19, 2012

Scarsdale taxpayers all owe a debt of gratitude to Trustee Bob Harrison who pushed hard for this 25% reduction from the tax increase the Village Board presented in public hearings last week. Kudos also to his colleagues for seeing the reasonableness of his arguments.

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written by The Oracle, April 18, 2012

The Village Board should be praised for its responsible budgeting process. There really is no waste in the village budget as I see it. The Village, for instance, doesn't replace a vehicle until the engine falls out. The only way to reduce the village budget is to slash services, and I don't think most residents want the end of sideyard garbage pickup or reducing garbage collection to one day per week or reducing library hours further. (Eliminating leaf pickup in the fall is the one exception -- we could save a bundle and this would encourage residents to mulch their leaves in place). In my experience, we get excellent value from the Village for our tax dollars. And the village property tax component is the smallest portion of our property taxes. The bull in the china shop is the school property tax, and the School District is where there is substantial waste and extravagant expenditures.

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