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Published: 18 October 2010

Created: 18 October 2010

Last Updated: 18 October 2010

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The Scarsdale Teen Center (STC) is pleased to announce that New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin is the recipient of its tenth annual Visions of Community Award which will be presented at a community brunch on Sunday, December 5, 2010.

In addition to her current position representing the 88th NY State Assembly District, Paulin has a long history of civic service. In the past among, she has served as Executive Director of My Sister’s Place; Vice President of the NY State League of Women Voters; President of the Westchester League of Women Voters; Founder and Chairwoman of the Westchester Women’s Agenda; Trustee of the Scarsdale Village Board; and Citizen Member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators Special committee. Paulin lives in Scarsdale with her husband, Ira Schuman and their three children.

When asked about her latest honor, Paulin replied: “Receiving the Visions of Community Award is very special to me. As a resident of Scarsdale, a mother of three children and Scarsdale’s representative in the NY State Assembly, I am very proud to have been a part of this success story. The Scarsdale Teen Center is an excellent example of how this community pulled together resources and people to create a place for our teens to socialize in a safe, alcohol and drug free environment.”

President Margarita Meyer issued the following statement on behalf of the STC Adult and Teen Boards: “We are thrilled that Assemblywoman Paulin has agreed to be the recipient of our tenth annual Visions of Community Award. Paulin epitomizes lifelong commitment to community service especially with regard to our youth and their families. She has been an enthusiastic supporter of our mission and we look forward to honoring her vision of community.”

The Scarsdale Teen Center is in its eleventh year of operation and is located at 862 Scarsdale Avenue. Invitations to the entire community will be in the mail later this fall. For further information, please contact the Scarsdale Teen Center at 914-722-8358 or visit its web site at www.scarsdaleteencenter.com.

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Published: 18 October 2010

Created: 18 October 2010

Last Updated: 19 October 2010

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As Westchester County residents pay the highest county taxes in the country, the subject of tax relief is high on everyone’s list this election year. County Executive Robert Astorino says “stopping the tax madness is his number one priority.” But the issue is not only one of county taxes. With the New York State budget severely strapped, the state has passed down many expenses to local municipalities, putting pressure on local government to raise taxes to close the gap.

Some have called for a cap on local property taxes, however, capping taxes is more easily said than done. Scarsdale Mayor Stevens addressed the issue at a meeting of the Westchester County Municipal Official Association on October 14 and explained why a tax cap would make it difficult for local governments to meet their obligations.

In her words:” I believe that tax caps are not fundamentally sound fiscal policy. These caps restrict the amount that property tax revenue can increase from year to year to a low fixed percentage, a formula based on the inflation rate, or some combination of the two.

While such caps may hold down property taxes, they are likely to impair local governments’ ability to provide education, public safety, and other services residents demand and need. They also are likely to make the local revenue system more regressive.

Property tax caps do nothing to change the main drivers behind higher property taxes. They cannot slow the increase in the cost of pension, health care, or fuel, or for that matter the costs of state mandated programs, which are forces outside of the control of local officials. Nor do they change the demand for local public services, such as quality K-12 education, public safety, and good roads. Academic studies have found that in most cases, property tax limits have led not to a shrinkage in the public sector but instead to a shift to other revenue sources, such as state aid and fees and other taxes which are often more regressive. In places where the caps have had an effect, however, the outcome has been negative.

Further I would suggest that property taxes should only pay for property related costs – such as public safety, roads, sanitation, education, etc. and not for society functions such as Medicaid and pensions for public servants and other similar programs that the state has mandated to the county and local governments. We local governments would not need to raise our taxes as much were it not for the shifting of these programs to county and local governments. I suggest that if the state wants to provide property tax relief it look to reducing mandates to the local governments and face its responsibilities instead of passing the buck.”

The subject is one that is being hotly debated. Candidate Robert Cohen who is running for NYS Senate has come out in favor of a statewide cap on local property taxes and sent the following comment to the site:

"Of course we do need to get rid of state mandated expenses imposed on local governments, but New Yorkers are hurting, and we need to start with long-term property tax relief, now. We need to make a credible commitment that we will bring our property tax burden down to a more reasonable level, and hopefully stop the exodus of residents leaving our state. Then we can continue to work on the complex process of unwinding our decades-old unfunded mandate regime."

His opponent Suzi Oppenheimer favors reducing state mandates on local governments to decrease the burden on the municipalities and here is what she has to say:

"Mandate relief is a major part of my program to help cut costs and reduce property taxes. As Education Committee Chair, I have focused on mandate relief, shared services, and cutting red tape for school districts. One of my mandate relief bills was signed into law this year. I have blocked any new unfunded mandates from being reported out of the committee and am working with the State Education Department to have it reduce existing mandates under its authority. I also have other cost cutting mandate proposals that the Assembly has not yet embraced but that did pass the Senate this year. Continued progress on mandate relief is a major priority of mine for the next session.

This year I sponsored a new law that allows taxpayers to get their local tax receipts by e-mail in order to save costs for local governments.

Other changes we adopted help municipalities and counties, such as the new pension tier, which we passed in 2009 and requires increased employee contribution, and the Medicaid Cap program, which limits what counties have to pay towards Medicaid. To reduce property taxes, I also strongly support the state taking over the county’s share of Medicaid, restoration of the STAR rebate program, and enhancement of the STAR exemption program."

Whether the state, county or the local government foot the bill, ultimately costs are passed through to the taxpayer. If you think you are paying too much in taxes, what do you think can be done to stop the blame game between local, county and state officials, and more importantly, how can we reduce overall expenses?

Post your comments below:

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Published: 11 October 2010

Created: 11 October 2010

Last Updated: 11 October 2010

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To date, Westchester County has submitted three implementation plans to a Federal Monitor in response to the settlement of a 2009 lawsuit filed by the Anti-Discrimination Center of New York. The settlement requires Westchester County to spend $51.6 million to build 750 units of affordable housing by 2016.

Where does this stand? The first two implementation plans were rejected by the Federal Monitor, and there is no word yet about the third plan that was submitted in August, 2010. However, even though the County has no implementation plan in place, the clock is still ticking on the timeline to build the housing.

By the end of 2011, financing needs to be in place for the first 100 units of housing so several municipalities are already submitting proposals to the County to help meet this deadline. If the Monitor finds that the County has failed to act, the Monitor can hold the County in contempt and assess penalties.

At a joint meeting of the Scarsdale Trustees Law and Land Use Committees on October 5th, the Trustees discussed Scarsdale’s role in the settlement and how we could be pro-active and demonstrate a willingness to cooperate.

Scarsdale Mayor Carolyn Stevens recently attended a four-day course on Affordable Housing offered for municipal leaders at Pace Law School and shared the following information:

• The County does not intend to challenge local zoning codes but is asking municipalities to adopt a model zoning code drafted by the County
• There are no quotas for the number of units in each community but the County is asking local municipalities to look for creative solutions to help reach the required 750 units.
• Currently there are plans to build 115 units of assisted living housing on Saxon Woods Road. Depending on the rules from four to twenty-three of those units could count as affordable housing.
• Briarcliff, Rye and Lewisboro are already moving forward with affordable housing proposals. Given that 1,200 units of affordable housing were built in Westchester County in the last ten years, she suggested that 750 units in the next six years was not an unreasonable demand.

Trustee Richard Toder acknowledged that without an implementation plan there is a great deal of uncertainty about how to proceed and much is not clear. However, he warned that the Federal Monitor could lose patience with the County’s delays and that it is within the Monitor’s authority to enforce consequences and seek penalties. If the Monitor is unable to collect from the County, it is conceivable that he could move to the municipalities. Saying that “we should be ahead of the truck, rather than under it,” he proposed that the Village staff study the issue and the adoption of the model ordinance and investigate available sites in Scarsdale consistent with transportation needs for the residents.

Stevens added that there may be opportunities on Garth Road above commercial space for affordable housing and agreed that Village staff should study the issue.

Trustees Eisenman and Steves both agreed that Scarsdale should be ahead of the curve though Trustee Flisser asked that the study not identify potential sites.

Ultimately the committee voted to have the staff review the model zoning code suggested by the County to determine how it fits with Scarsdale code and the potential impact of amending our zoning code.

The issue was also discussed at a meeting of the Scarsdale Forum the following night, Thursday October 6, and below are Mayor Steven’s remarks:

The Village Board is also taking a look and making some determinations on what we need to do and should do under the County’s settlement agreement on Affordable Housing. Unfortunately at present there is not an implementation plan that has been accepted by the Monitor appointed by the Court to oversee the agreement. The County submitted its third version of the implementation plan on August 9th…this has not been accepted or rejected by the monitor. Over the last year I have attended a four day course for community leaders at Pace Law School specifically dealing with the settlement and the implementation plan as well as four shorter sessions of elected officials to get a handle on what the plan requires of the various communities and to gain some insight into this issue as well as looking at some creative approaches to the issue. The Village Board, through a combined committee of the Law and Land Use Committees met to begin our discussions of what we as a Village can reasonably do to help the County meet its obligations under the agreement. The fallout from the County failing to meet its obligations under the agreement could well be financially onerous and result in other consequences that would not benefit any community in the County. It is incumbent upon this community along with all the other communities in the County to determine what we can reasonably do to assist the County in meeting its obligations. The lack of an implementation plan makes some of this difficult…as was stated last night we don’t want to get too far ahead of the bus but we don’t want to wind up under the bus. The Village Board last night determined that we look at the model code provision that the County is putting forth to determine what, if any impact, it would have on this community and our own zoning code. We asked staff to review the proposed code and report back to us in two months. We will be continuing the discussion to determine what should be the next step in stepping up to help the County meet its obligations. Whether one thinks that settlement was a good idea or not is no longer the issue – the issue is what are we as citizens of the County as well as Scarsdale going to do to resolve the issues raised in the agreement.