A Lively Night At Scarsdale Village Hall
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Comments both for and against the proposed 2012-13 Village Budget and the use of reserves were given at the Village Board meeting on Tuesday night April 10th. The League of Women Voters and the Scarsdale Forum support the proposed budget which raises taxes by 5.49%, while a few residents spoke out against the budget, criticizing the Trustees for putting forth a budget that does not comply with the state imposed tax cap and outpaces inflation.
Both the League and Forum warned the Trustees against dipping into reserves to reduce the tax increase, as proposed by Trustee Robert Harrison. Speaking for the Scarsdale Forum, Howard Nadel of Aspen Road said that using reserves could set a precedent for future years, while draining funds available for emergency use and for capitol projects. Instead, a report from the Forum’s Fiscal Affairs Committee recommends that, “the Village consider various measures to achieve cost savings as well as to increase certain fees, … the Committee believes that it is through the implementation of these kinds of measures the Village should endeavor to lower the tax rate, not the use of additional reserves.”
Nan Berke, reading a prepared consensus from the Scarsdale League of Women Voters agreed that the undesignated fund balance should not be used to comply with the tax cap. In the League’s statement they offer the following reasons for their position:
• Any number of contingencies could arise under the proposed bare bones budget where additional funds from the surplus would be needed;
• The tax cap is an artificial number that does not necessarily reflect what is in Scarsdale’s best interest;
• The use of undesignated surplus could potentially be viewed negatively by Moody’s and result in a downgrade of our AAA bond rating;
• Taking funds from the undesignated reserves would negatively impact next year’s budget.
However, Michael Weinstein of Butler Road and Robert Selvaggio of Rochambeau Road urged the Trustees to decrease tax increases.
Using strong language, Weinstein told the Board, “When I reviewed the budget I was left speechless….the bottom line is, if you adopt this budget you have failed in your role as trustees. Over the last 10 years we have increased taxes at twice the rate of inflation. How long can we do this and continue to consider this a desirable place to live? In the last five years as many have endured deep financial hardship, has their incomes or their property values increased by 34%? The state has recently enacted a cap. It is interesting how cavalierly the Board let that go.”
He added, what would happen “if we put a sign up on the Hutch that said, Move to Scarsdale. We aren’t content to have the highest property taxes, our goal is to increase them at twice the rate of inflation.” He closed by saying, “It is time to live up to the fiduciary spirit of the title of trustee and reject this proposed budget.”
Selvaggio commended the Village Manager for submitting an initial budget proposal that complied with Governor Cuomo's tax cap, but added that the current proposed tax rate increase is both above that cap and two times the general rate of inflation. He said, “We have been on that unsustainable trajectory for over 10 years.”... and “we need to break the back of this twice-the-inflation-rate tax increase trajectory now.” He suggested that the Trustees use the savings from the snow removal budget for taxpayer relief, and add $300,000 to reduce the Village tax increase from 5.5% to a bit under 4%, which is more in line with both County tax increase of 3.2% and the school tax increase of 3.8%.
Toasts for Toder:
Before giving the Trustees the floor to laud Toder, she said, “I am deeply saddened to learn that the social actions of the Village Board had caused such acute psychological distress—to some who have been retired for decades.”
Trustee Jon Mark said it was an honor and privilege to serve with and learn from Richard Toder, crediting him with great intelligence, good humor and abundant energy. He said that Toder “was as good a listener as he was a talker,” and “was not afraid to call it as he saw it.”
Trustee Stacey Brodsky said that “Richard leaves a hole that we already feel.” She said he had the “quickest wit, the greatest energy, the biggest smile and was the person in the room who always seemed to be having the best time.” She thanked him for his “painstaking work on the revaluation and on longstanding litigation on behalf of the Village,” and said “Richard set a high standard all of the time.”
Trustee Robert Harrison said that “he learned a great deal from him,” and told the community that as a parting gift, Toder had labels made for Bob that read, “Hi I am Bob Harrison, the Trustee that cares. Do you have a complaint? Let me know so that I can take action.”
Trustee Steves said that Toder taught him what it means to be prepared for a meeting, the importance of speaking your mind and being well-informed and thoughtful.” He hopes the community will somehow recognize Toder’s value to the Village.
Other Business:
Building Woes: Perhaps the most impassioned speaker at the meeting was Village resident Sandy Frankel who took the mike during the public comments section. A resident at 17 Richbell Road, he and his wife Ruth have voiced frequent complaints about a neighbor’s construction project and Mrs. Frankel recently presented a petition to the Village with 200 signatures complaining about the Village Building Department.
Frankel told Trustees, “I am not here to address the dirt issue where we have been forced to swallow dirt during the construction. The Village gave me no protection.
I am here to address the unilateral, unauthorized change in the topography of the Tretter’s (his neighbor’s) driveway.” He explained, “This narrow neck of property has been the focus of controversy between the Tretter’s and the Rose’s since the Tretters began their construction project.”
He continued to claim that the grade of the Tretter’s driveway had been changed so that it now drains onto his property -- and also stated that a drainage pipe has been installed inches from his property that will cause the water to flow onto his land.
He said that the Tretter’s project had caused “tens of thousands of dollars in damage to his garage,” and urged the Trustees to come to visit his home that night to view the exposed drainage pipe. He also suggested that the Building Department’s lack of attention to the drainage issue was retribution for the petition filed by Ruth Frankel.
Cudner-Hyatt House: Former Mayor Ed Morgan spoke about the Cudner-Hyatt house on behalf of the Scarsdale Council for the Arts. He said, “this is really about the plight of a 1745 Colonial farmhouse,” which he called “an endangered landmark.” He urged the Board to give the “community the chance to become aware of what this is about and coalesce around a solution.”
Personnel: With the installation of the new Board, the Mayor announced Trustee liaison and committee assignments and appointments to Village Boards and Councils. Robert Steves was appointed Deputy Mayor, Jonathan Mark as Police Commissioner and Kay Eisenman as Fire Commission. The full list of assignments and appointments can be found on the Village website.
Glenn Kramon of the NYT to Speak at Scarsdale Forum April 15
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The Scarsdale Forum cordially invites the public to its third Sunday Speaker Series program on Sunday, April 15 at the Scarsdale Woman’s Club, 37 Drake Road at 3 P.M. Glenn Kramon, assistant managing editor for The New York Times since 2006, will speak on how the newspaper is changing and not changing with the times in his lecture “The Changing Times.”
Kramon oversees long-term reporting efforts in the newsroom. Kramon’s projects include the dangers of distracted driving; the safety and environmental hazards of sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks; the overlooked problem of concussions among young athletes; cheating on taxes, and the loopholes and inequities in the tax code; questionable medical treatments; whether or not the United States is moving toward a more secure energy future; routine abuse of clean-water laws; the financial exploitation of American soldiers by insurers, investment companies and lenders; the exploitation of the elderly by a variety of businesses; environmental devastation in China; and the proliferation of tax and regulatory breaks afforded religious organizations.
Reporters whom Kramon has supervised and edited have won eight Pulitzer Prizes, and have been finalists for the Pulitzer 22 times. They have also earned a number of other honors including 10 George Polk awards for courageous journalism, seven Gerald Loeb awards for distinguished business journalism, the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting and the Grantham Prize for environmental reporting. In June 2003, Mr. Kramon became the first recipient of the Gerald Loeb/Lawrence Minard award for outstanding work as an editor.
Mr. Kramon is a graduate of Scarsdale High School and received a B.A. degree with honors from Stanford University in 1975. Following his remarks, Mr. Kramon will answer questions from the audience.
The Sunday Speaker Series programs are open to the public, free of charge and are underwritten in part by a generous grant from the Irving J. Sloan Education Fund, made possible by the Liz Claiborne-Arthur Ortenberg Foundation.
For more information, visit ( www.ScarsdaleForum.com ), call (914-723-2829) or e-mail ([email protected]).
Statement from Independent Candidate Harry Reynolds
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There is the popular saying that one should beware of getting what one wishes, for one may get what one does not want. On March 20 I was not elected Trustee but I got what I wished for.
My Non-Partisan opponents, Mark, Lee, and Eisenman received, respectively, about 390, 384, and 351 votes. I congratulate them. I received 140 votes. The total of votes cast was 468 in a village of 17,000 residents of whom 11,500 were registered to vote. Putting aside who won or lost, the figures speak aloud the long history in Scarsdale of voters so unmindful of a local election and its consequences that they appear to be walking around our electoral process like unemployed extras on a movie lot.
I ran for election on the claim that from beginning to end the electoral process of the Scarsdale Citizens Non-Partisan Party is, admittedly, secret, and thus contrary to every principle of a democratic society. No argument was advanced against that claim by Mark, Lee, or Eisenman, individually. No answer was made to my claim that Scarsdale’s nonpartisan system is unique among electoral systems in this country and in that part of the world we call the West. As for the system’s keeping secret what occurs before the nominating committee, the only place on earth where that justification could be claimed with a straight face is the fifth floor of a poorly lit asylum late at night.
On March 14, a week before the election, I wrote the following on Scarsdale10583:
“As for the Trustees seeking re-election, Ms Eisenman and Mr Mark, and as for Mr Lee running for the first time, I have no reservation whatsoever with respect to their competence and integrity. What divides us on the ballot is the issue of secrecy that I have raised not against them but against the NonPartisan System’s indefensible love affair with secrecy. As a native born citizen of this country, as a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, and as the son of a Russian mother, I was raised in a culture rebellious against any authority, civil or religious, social or political, claiming any power over me originating in secrecy. My arguments against the Non-Partisan System’s use of secrecy have been plainly laid out and they have been left unanswered. The residents of Scarsdale now have the occasion to vote for or against that secrecy. If they vote for secrecy, that stark fact will be historically recorded. In a sense, my effort will have accomplished something by way of compelling that confession. And that is why I am running. I want to see how my friends and neighbors vote in 2012 on the issue of secrecy in government, whether they move to the left or to the right, for in the absence of supervening reasons of state that justify secrecy, there is no center in which secrecy may hide. In the end, we must decide the issue and let the fat lady sing, so that we can turn out the light and go home.”
Update from Village Hall
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Mayor Miriam Flisser discussed the status of the conversations about the Scarsdale Building Department and other issues at the March 27th meeting of the Village Board. Here are her remarks: The Village Board continues to be involved in many projects: On April 16, we will hear a presentation from LI Saltzman, our consultants for Historic Preservation. If you would like to preview the report and photography produced in their recent windshield survey, please go to Scarsdale.com, and look for Historic Preservation under Hot Topics. Then join us in Rutherford Hall on April 16 at 6:30 PM.
In addition, we are working on issues raised by residents concerning the Building Department. We continue to receive input from residents about specific instances, and we welcome all community experience. I have been working on concepts for administrative review, based on this input, and have been able to categorize them in 5 main areas:
1) Planning: The role of Land Use Boards, and also how information from the Building Department affects their deliberations.
2) Notification: How notifications have limitations, and how modifications of approved projects are exempt from notifications
3) Enforcement: including inspections and actions based on them; especially current practices in inspections.
4) Recourse: Correction and other issues, especially those involving neighbors.
5) Changed environment, especially concerning water, and practices for regulation and enforcement.
Our next meeting will concern the first topic, Planning Boards, the date to be announced.
Finally, this Board's sitting term is ended, with this being our 24th meeting, and we will re-start next month with a newly elected member, Mr David Lee, who will be sworn in, along with two Trustees beginning their second term, Trustee Kay Eisenman and Trustee Jonathan Mark on Monday April 2 @ 3:30 PM in Rutherford Hall. This is a public event that you are invited to join. We bid farewell to Trustee Richard Toder, a community volunteer with a long and impressive history of service to Scarsdale, and we express our gratitude for his contribution to this, and other organizations that he has served.
In addition to saying goodbye to departing Trustee Richard Toder, the Board passed the following resolutions:
The Board of Trustees awarded contracts for segments of the Fox Meadow Stormwater Improvement Project to two firms. The portion of the work at George Field Park was awarded to NDL Associates of Yonkers for $912,500. The segment that runs from Cambridge Road to Cooper Green and south on the Post Road was awarded to Acocella Contracting of Scarsdale, for a total of $642,500.
The bids for the work at the High School parking lot and Harcourt Woods were rejected and that portion of the project will be redesigned, re-bid and re-advertised. Learn more about this project at Scarsdale.com.
Authorization of the third Ronald McDonald House Day in the Country for pediatric cancer patients and their families, to be organized by the Scarsdale Uniformed Firefighters Assocation. The event will be held on Thursday July 19 and the Crossway Firehouse and at the Scarsdale Pool.
Authorization for the Scarsdale Chamber of Commerce to utilize Village property to run the following events on the following dates:
- Westchester Festival of the Arts on Saturday May 19 and Sunday May 20 in Chase Park, on Woodlands Road and on Chase Road between Spencer and Christie Place.
- Taste of Scarsdale on Sunday June in Boniface Circle
- Scarsdale Health Fair on Saturday June 16 in the lower level parking lot of Village Hall
Board of Appeals Considers Fate of Cudner-Hyatt House
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Concern about the fate of the Scarsdale Historical Society’s 18th century building attracted a crowd to the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting at Scarsdale Village Hall on Wednesday night March 14th.
The Board of Directors of the Scarsdale Historical Society has filed an application to remove the variance that requires Cudner-Hyatt House to operate as a museum. They contend that removing the variance would allow them to explore ways to make this property financially viable and permit the Historical Society to continue their work. According to the Board, with the variance in place they are having trouble exploring alternative uses for the building and having serious negotiations with others who could take over the property. They looked into moving the building, and leasing it to another group but have not had any success.
In recent years the building has seen little use as it appears that there are no longer people in the community willing to invest their time, money and energy to produce the fairs and educational events that were formerly the lifeblood of the Society. According to the Board, the house is “no longer relevant to the community.” They argue that the Historical Society does not need to “own real estate to accomplish their mission.” Maintenance of the house is draining the Society’s funds, leaving them without resources to pursue other projects such as the digitization of historic issues of the Scarsdale Inquirer or awarding grants for the study of the Scarsdale history.
Speaking in support of the application were many who have previously fought to protect the Village’s historic assets. Society Board Member Carolyn Mehta said, “There is not much at the society that is Scarsdale based history. Right now the Society’s funds are being spent on building maintenance. We have events and fairs but no one comes. Lifting the variance will free funds for the society to do what it wants to do.”
In a written statement, Lucas Meyer, who has served on the Society’s Board for ten years said, “Despite my lifelong commitment to historic preservation I cannot ignore the fact that the ongoing maintenance of the building is beyond the scope and financial ability of the Scarsdale Historical Society. I also trust that this board understands the Society’s Board of Trustees has been extraordinarily thorough in its year-long deliberations, and that we are completely united in our decision.”
Linda Blair, who has served on the Committee for Historic Preservation and the BAR said “ I am a steward of the past but a believer in appropriate use. Though I love old things I understand what is happening now. Free this board to do what they need to do.”
However others urged the Zoning Board of Appeals not to act in haste. Speaking on behalf of the Scarsdale Forum, VP Dan Hochvert asked that the Attorney General make a determination on the variance before the Board of Appeals takes action. He also requested that the Society continue to maintain the house while awaiting a decision. A statement from the Scarsdale Forum’s Executive Committee on the house was issued under expeditious treatment and presented to the Board of Appeals.
Lena Crandall urged the Board of Appeals to refer the matter to the Village Board to do its own study to see if another group is willing to operate the house as a museum. She said, “We need another Eda Newhouse to come along with energy and imagination.”
Former Historical Society President Eda Newhouse called the application “shocking and absurd.” She told that board that when she ran the Society there were 25 people on the Board of Directors as well as scores of others on the Advisory Board. and that they “had a party every year and worked hard to find ways to keep the money coming in.” She also asked the Board of Appeals to give the item more time on the agenda, saying, “You are shortchanging the Historical Society to say what we think in such a short time.”
Former Mayor Ed Morgan spoke on behalf of the Scarsdale Arts Council. They also submitted a statement supporting the position of the Scarsdale Forum. He said, “When the trustees granted the variance they believed it was a landmark worth saving. The Attorney General can get involved at any time. Other neighborhoods have recently saved their historical societies. I don’t have all the answers but it is premature to say there are no answers. We endorse the recommendations made by the Scarsdale Forum and ask you to wait until the Attorney General can get involved.”
When the current president of the Scarsdale Historical Society returned to the table he said, “I want to thank everyone who came tonight. This is the most interest we have had in the Society in years. I agree with what was said. We are dealing with a zoning issue. We want to look for opportunities in the best possible way. As a responsible board we continue to look for options. Grant this so that we can continue to do our due diligence.”
