WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. Special to WPCNR. May 13, 2008: The Common Council this evening indicated to the mayor a series of cuts in the $161.7 Million proposed budget that would trim the budget $505,000, trimming the city tax increase from 4.9 to 3.9%. The bulk of the half-million cut would, sources say come from trimming the $6,064,892 set aside for the Reserve for Financing by $300,000; rejecting an additional $150,000 funding for the White Plains Performing Arts Center as requested by the Mayor, and trimming $55,000 for the Service Department, the White Plains Armory based office that specialized in aiding senior citizens and others with protocol questions and procedures to obtain benefits.

The Reserve for Financing are the monies set aside for merit raises, projected union settlements for all four city unions, allowances for official vacancies. According to the budget book, “Monies for all potential settlements have been included in the City’s reserve for financing and have not been budgeted in departmental salary accounts.”

WPCNR points out that in official Aid to Independent Municipalities applications, the city filed financial projections anticipating 5% increases in total salaries paid by the city in 2008-2009.