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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS WEEK NEWS June 24, 2007: White Plains has a good possibility of acquiring a hotel tax through the State Legislature, according to Assemblyman Adam Bradley, but Mayor Joseph Delfino’s plea for a ½% rise in the city sales tax to bring it even with other Westchester cities has to be carefully looked at and city fiscal policies scrutinized to justify it, Bradley said.
Assemblyman Adam Bradley discussed budget fix possibilities for White Plains in Albany in remarks appearing on White Plains Week, the city news roundup show on Channel 76, when he was interviewed by the WPW news team of John Bailey, The CitizeNetReporter, (left) Peter Katz, former ABC-Television Network correspondent, (center). White Plains Week is aired Mondays at 7 and Fridays at 7:30 on Channel 76, “The Spirit of 76.”
The hotel tax is a greater possibility, Bradley said: “I think the hotel tax makes a lot of sense. New Rochelle got one this year. Rye City got one last year. It’s not a burdensome tax, in my opinion, in the text that the people who are paying it already are counting on paying it. A lot of corporations already put that into their balance sheets. It’s not going to be a residential tax. It’s going to be a tax that has little pain, and it’s going to raise the city a fair amount of money particularly with the prices the Ritz-Carlton will charge, and some of these other hotels that are going to open up. I think that would be helpful and something that makes sense. ”
He did not feel the legislature would be warm to increasing the White Plains sales tax – touted by Mayor Delfino as the cure for White Plains chronic budget gaps, and the failure of sales tax revenues from increased development rising above inflation.
“The increase in the sales tax is a little more problematic,” Bradley said. “I’m not sure we want to put ourselves at a competitive disadvantage right now. We have an advantage in our sales tax. I’m also concerned at the overall reliance in our budget on city sales tax. Remember, sales tax revenues are not fixed revenues. It’s very uncommon to have a budget where sales tax revenues account for over 40% of the revenues you raise. That’s unheard-of in this region. I don’t know anywhere that does that. Contrary to what Councilman (Glen) Hockley indicated that Moody’s (a bond rating service) will like this. No. No. Those services are not going to like this.”
Katz brought up that Moody’s had warned the city against this. Bradley agreed, saying, “Exactly. When I heard Councilman Hockley had stated that, I recognized he obviously hadn’t spoken to Moody’s…because, if you did, you would know they don’t like income, revenue-raising, that’s not fixed revenue sources. Overreliance on non-fixed revenue sources is a concern for them.”
Bradley indicated he was not saying he would not carry the ball the on the half-percent revenue increase the Mayor wants, but he is concerned and wants to analyze how the city got into this position of needing to raise the sales tax to make ends meet:
“I would be concerned, not that I’m saying no, what I’m saying is, I want to understand where the city is, how it got there. We’ve had a tremendous economic revitatilzation. I certainly have some concerns that we’ve evened the reserve each of the last, at least since 2003, every year.”
Katz mused to Bradley, “There’s been a revitalization for developers, but if you look at the tax base, people just don’t understand why the tax base is continuing to shrink, despite all of the building that’s going on.”
Bradley responded: “I am concerned and I want to make sure that I understand the things that are happening and want to make sure things are being done in a wise fashion (financially) before I give an additional sales tax revenue that will be historic in nature. White Plains with its half-cent, raises substantially more revenue than Yonkers, New Rochelle and Mount Vernon do from a whole cent (sales tax). So, it really would be an historic amount, an historic percentage in total revenue generated from a very regressive tax which is the sales tax. So before I adhere to that, I would certainly want to understand the dynamic of the city budget that has created what seems to be a lengthy ongoing fiscal problem for the city.”
Bradley Will Analyze city Budget Trends
Katz suggested it seemed Assemblyman Bradley was sharply criticizing the financial matters seen the last few years, even though the Democratic party voted for the budgets, “are you now saying the Democratic Councilpeople have not been doing their job in monitoring the fiscal situation?”
Bradley said, “No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying I , myself, want to go over the city budget. I certainly have some of the top fiscal people in the country on staff, I want to review and analyze the city budget and go for a period of time to see what has transpired to understand why, during this economic revitalization, we’ve been eating into our reserves tremendously, why we’re having this fiscal problem. Clearly there are issues we all know about: We know that there was an issue about pensions and health care, that’s real. We know that commercial tax certioraris have had an impact on the budget. Those things are real. What’s not clear is why White Plains would have more problems than other cities (in Westchester). The problems that White Plains relates to and suggests are causations aren’t problems unique to White Plains. They are problems that hit other cities too, and yet they don’t seem to have the same revenue shortfalls that White Plains seems to be having right now.”
Katz asked, “Having been in Albany, seeing how money ebbs and flows in the state, and in White Plains, seeing how money ebbs and flows in the city, are we on positive a turn for the future in White Plains?”
Bradley said he did not know. He said “we need to understand what’s going on with the budget, and whether this (the extra half cent request) is something that makes sense as a fix. Because that’s what it is. We’ve already seen the short sightedness of in my opinon, of one-shot revenue deals that have gone awry.”
Katz brought up the LCOR affordable housing Bank Street project that infuses cash to balance the current budget. Bradley’s reaction:
“Selling city-owned property isn’t always bad. It is bad when you’re doing it to fix an immediate revenue need.”
Equalization Rate Execution Stayed…
Bailey asked bout the status of the Equalization Rate Relief bill Bradley and State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer are sponsoring in Albany – designed to stop the city’s bleeding on certiorari suits:
“As I’ve said continually, I’m ready to pass it in the Assembly, as long as I know it’s going to pass in the Senate. I spoke to Suzi (Oppenheimer June 14) and she wasn’t sure it would pass the Senate. If she can pass it, it will pass the Assembly. I have starred the bill, meaning it’s ready to be voted on. Basically, I’m the only one who has laid it aside and I’m the only one who can bring it back on the Assembly floor for a vote…I’m not a big fan of passing one-house bills. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. I think if there’s a partner in the senate we’re ready to pass it.”
