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This is an opportunity for young people who are trying desperately to find a job in a touch economy. The jobs are with
Council Gives Raises after Firing Police/Firemen-Forcing Retirees to pay Med Ben
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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. May 29,2010: The Common Council voted unanimously in adopting the budget last week, and in doing so approved raises for a series of Commissioners, who have been on the job in the new admnistration only five months – this after delivering a steady mantra of how the city unions must sacrifice and help the city climb out of its financial hole
Included in the largesse are a $5,000 hike for Chief of Staff /Corporation Counsel John Callahan , Commissioner of Parking and Recreation,Al Moroni, The Building Commissioner,, the Planning Commissioner, the City Clerk, The Library Director, the Personnel Officer, Director of Purchasing, the Commissioner of Public Works, and both Deputy Commissioners of Public Works,the Youth Director, Deputy Youth Director, Commissioner of Traffic, among others.
The Mayor and the Common Council are not receiving any raises.
But after five months of preaching sacrifice, most of the Commissioners and Deputies received raises.
Since it was widely jaw-boned that the city was cutting back and money-saving was the policy, it was quite a shock to see the raises materialize.
The raises of up to$5,000 to $16,381 for Al Moroni, the Parking Commissioner and Recreation Commissioner, each come after WPCNR noted yesterday that 700 retirees are going to pay $1,102 or $2,396 of their health benefits as a result of the very same budget.
The raises actually cover the cost of paying the $2,396 or $1,102 cost in medical benefits that the Commissioners and managers and appointed personnel will be forced to pay.
Mayor: Works on 2 New Med Plans Retirees/ Full-timers Won’t Have to Pay For
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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. By John F. Bailey. May 29, 2010: Mayor Adam Bradley contacted WPCNR Friday evening and assured WPCNR that, as he said in his remarks last Monday evening at the Common Council, he “had deep reservations” about requiring some employees and retirees to pay 15% of the cost of their health care benefits as the Common Council approved the budget-cutting step.
WPCNR reported exclusively Friday that 700 retirees (who started working for the city before July 1,1995, will begin paying $1,102 if they have an individual Empire Blue Cross /Blue Sheild plan and $2,396 if they participate in the Empire family plan effective July 1.
Bradley told WPCNR Friday evening, the administration has found two companies which may offer less coverage to the retirees and the employees who are forced to pay 15% of the medical benefits in the just-approved 2010-11 city budget, but will enable the employees and retirees who select them, to again receive their benefits without paying a share of them. Bradley said the city is looking these companies, but the availability of the plans is not to be expected before January 1, 2011.
After WPNCR reported the widespread effect of the pay 15% of benefits policy Friday afternoon, it was learned that letters to the retirees affected, who include former Mayors (including Mayor Joseph Delfino, Bradley’s predecessor), councilpersons, Commissioners, managers and appointed personnel were mailed out Friday. Previously retirees had only sketchy notions, at best, that they would be hit with $1,102 or $2,396 charges for health care.
John Callahan, city Chief of Staff explained in a written statement earlier this week, the new plan(s) that the city may offer would work in a e-mail earlier this week, before WPCNR learned the high number of retirees affected by the Council medical benefits decision Monday evening.:
“Retirees who were subject to a collective bargaining agreement (unionized workers) and who commenced work with the City prior to July 1,1995 will have an amount of up to 85% of the premium charged by the Empire Plan contributed to their health insurance premium by the City. The administration is seeking to identify insurance plans whose premiums are less than the Empire Plan’s premiums and to offer at least one such plan to the City’s retirees as an alternative to the Empire Plan. Thus, if a plan whose premium was 85% or less than the premium charged by the Empire Plan was offered by the City and was chosen by a retiree, the entire cost of that plan’s premium would be covered by the City.”
WPCNR asked if the administration had asked the police and fire unions to revise their contract to require that police and fire retirees who joined the city after July 1, 1995, pay 15% of their retirement medical benefits, Mr. Callahan and Mr. Bradley said “No, they had not.”
Bradley said the police and fire unions were only asked to have new hires to the departments pay 15% of their benefits.
This is puzzling. Since the administration had no plans ever in the next year or two to hire new police officers and firemen any time soon due to the budget constraints, it is not clear how any savings would be achieved by simply asking new employees to pay 15% of their medical benefits.
700 Retirees (unionized,too) Pay $1,102 to $2,396 in Med Benefits In Budget Cut
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.WPCNR Common Council Chronicle Examiner. By John F. Bailey. May 28, 2010 UPDATED 5:04 P.M. E.D.T.: About 700 Union members and non-union retirees are in for a surprise July 1. They will be paying 15% of their health care benefits. And no one has told them.
WPNCR has learned that letters to retirees were mailed out today, Friday. Watch for them in your mailbox.
Retirees with Family Plans, who started working for the city before July 1, 1995, will pay 15% or $2,396 to continue their coverage beginning in 33 days, and Retirees with individual plans will pay $1,102, according City Chief of Staff, John Callahan Friday afternoon.
The Common Council did not tell the public about this when they quietly unanimously voted the measure enacting 15% payment of medical benefits by retired employees as part of the adoption of the budget Monday night. The city still has not advised retirees as of Friday about the big change.
The measure was said to worth $1 Million to the city, enabling the city to reduce the property tax hike to general property owners 6.85% from 9.5% previously.
John Callahan, City Chief of Staff, confirmed to WPCNR today that 700 retirees who joined the city before July 1,1995, would be required to pay the 15% even if they were members of a union.
Regardless of when they joined the city, all appointed and elected city officials, including former Mayors, Councilman, Commissioners, Managers, regardless of when they joined, would be paying 15% of their retiree health benefits, Callahan told WPCNR.
The city benefits office confirmed there would be an increase for the union personnel joining the city before July 1, 1995, independently Friday afternoon. In response to an inquiring union employee, the benefits office spokesperson said the union member would have to be paying for their medical benefits, but they did not know the amount yet.
Pending figures from the city which were not revealed in the back-up material Monday evening, the school district Empire Blue Cross plan in 2007-08—paid $16,336 for each member on a family plan, which would mean that a retiree on a family plan paying 15% would pay $2,450 (close to what Mr.Callahan said a retiree with a family plan would pay under the city plan approved.)
If each of the 700 persons were required to pay an average $1,500 that would amount to $1,050,000 – amount of the savings snared by this measure.
Councilman Dennis Power told WPCNR Friday afternoon that the council was aware that approximately 700 persons were affected. Asked if the council knew the financial affects on these persons, Power said the council was shown the figures. Asked if former elected officials and appointed officials such as retired Councilpersons. Commissioners,managers and even Mayors were included, Power said it was his understanding that they were.
Councilman David Buchwald, speaking to WPCNR said the council was shown the figures, but said he was not aware of how many retirees were affected by each level of the plan and what they had to pay. Asked if former higher paid employees such as Commissioners, Mayors and managers could achieve a windfall by accepting a buyout, Buchwald said the council slashed the buyout provision by 50% to prevent that from being taken advantage of by persons with more means than retired line workers.
The enabling legislation was enacted Monday evening at the Common Council Budget Approval. In the back-up material the legislation reads thusly. There was no explanation of the effects of the program or on individual retirees during the Budget Meeting Monday evening. The backup material only provided percentages retirees would have to pay, not amounts.
3 Principals Appointed to Elementary Schools
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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. May 28, 2010: At the Board of Education last Monday night, the Board appointed three new Elementary School Principals. Theresa Niss (long arts coordinator for the School District, and Assistant Principal at Post Road School was appointed Principal of Post Road School replacing Laura Havens.. Tashia Brown was chosen Principal of Ridgeway School, and Darrell Stinchcomb was installed as Principal of Church Street School for Michael DeChance who was reassigned.
Still to come on filling out the School District roster for next year is a new Assistant Suprintendent for Curriculum and Instruction to replace Margaret Dwyer, and a new Principal for White Plains High School to take over the reins for Ivan Toper who is retiring. A month ago, Suprintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Clouet advised WPCNR that a national search is on for both positions.
Each Elementary Principal in this year’s School Budget is being paid $172,433.
Advance Memorial Day Weekend Forecast Sunny and Swimmy: ONLY COUNTY BEACHES Open
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WPCNR SPLASH REPORT. From Westchester County Department of Parks and Recreation. May 27, 2010: Everybody head to the beach– the Sound or the river – it’s time to enjoy the summer! Beaches at Glen Island Park, Playland Park and Croton-on-Hudson will open this weekend. County Pools though, including Saxon Woods Pool in White Plains will not open until June 25.
BEACHES:
Glen Island Park in New Rochelle, Playland Park in Rye and Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson will open weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) beginning Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, May 29, 30 and 31.
Beginning Friday, June 25,
Hours at
Swimming fees at
Fees for Playland are $4 adults and $3 children ages 5 to 11; under 5 years old are free. Seniors pay $2 on weekdays only (except holidays) with a Westchester County Senior Citizen Park Pass. Beach admission is included for residents on day of purchase of an amusement park admission.
Swimming at Croton is free; parking is $4 with a
POOLS:
Saxon Woods in
Swimming hours, except for Playland are 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. through August 15, and noon to 6:30 p.m. from August 16 through Labor Day. Hours at Playland are 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. all season. There is no admittance one half-hour before closing at pools.
Fees for Saxon Woods and Sprain Ridge are $6 for adults, $4 for children 12 and under, $4 for seniors on weekdays only. Fees for Tibbetts Brook and Willson’s Woods are $8 for adults, $5 for children under 12, and $5 for seniors weekdays only. Parking is included in admission fees.
Fees for Playland are $6 adults, $5 with a
Visit westchestergov.com/parks or call (914) 864-PARK.
For public bus transportation availability, visit www.westchestergov.com/beelinebus.
NJ BUSINESS REPORTS CONTROVERSY OVER EFFECTIVENESS OF PROPERTY TAX CAP
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WPCNR TAX SCOOPER. Special to WPCNR from New Jersey Biz. May 27, 2010: New Jersey Business, the online daily finds a debate going on as to how effective a property tax cap might be. Their report from Trenton, where New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is attempting to cut spending by imposing a property tax cap, finds that though Massachussetts education performs as well as New Jersey schools with a tax cap, the state simply taxed more as a result. Their report may be found at http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/studies_conflict_on_whether_nj.html
Buffalo Wild Wings Announces September Opening at the City Center
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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. Special to WPCNR From Cappelli Enterprises. (EDITED) May 27, 2010: Buffalo Wild Wings Grill, one of the top ten fastest-growing restaurant chains in the U.S., will open at City Center in White Plains in September. The fun, family-oriented, sports-theme restaurant will be located at
The
Louis R. Cappelli, developer of
“The Mamaroneck Avenue location at City Center provides a great opportunity to take advantage of a prime location in the heart of downtown White Plains and the heart of Westchester County,’’ said James Bitzonis, President of Four M Capital LLC. “Buffalo Wild Wings is a family-oriented restaurant where we encourage people from the community to come, have fun and watch their favorite sports teams. I think it will be a great addition to the
“The Mamaroneck Avenue location at City Center provides a great opportunity to take advantage of a prime location in the heart of downtown White Plains and the heart of Westchester County,’’ said James Bitzonis, President of Four M Capital LLC. “Buffalo Wild Wings is a family-oriented restaurant where we encourage people from the community to come, have fun and watch their favorite sports teams. I think it will be a great addition to the
Bitzonis said the company is committed to becoming part of the community and is excited to be occupying the former Home Savings Bank, an historic landmark that is part of the
In addition to offering its namesake chicken wings with 14 signature sauces, Buffalo Wild Wings has a full menu featuring everything from salads to appetizers to burgers, and a variety of specialty items and more than 30 beers on tap. Food is served in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere where customers can hang out with friends, and watch their favorite games on one of many big-screen TVs. The 8,000-square-foot, restaurant will seat more than 250.
The Buffalo Wild Wings in White Plains will be operated by Four M Capital LLC of Valhalla. The
About
Founded in 1982 and headquartered in
Westchester County Association Needs to Promote, Not Tear Down.
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WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. May 26, 2010:
I read with interest the President of the Westchester County Association op-ed piece in the Sunday Journal News.
The WCA had a free “Call to Action” meeting last week. They featured Mayor Ed Koch addressing the need for reform in
The WCA is good at talk. Big dog and pony shows with no tricks.
They promised a task force a year or so ago, among area banks, hospitals and businesses to help
To my knowledge no tangible hands-on services to help struggling local businesses have been heavily publicized by the WCA. Other than documenting the economic problems facing business in
However, given a chance to actually help
This “reform” organization trumpeted like a stuck elephant when the New York State Senate was about to take up a bill that could actually aid residential taxpayers who are paying the lion’s share of the tax bill for city and town services these days because of the burgeoning filing of certioraris– by — you guessed it — big businesses in Westchester County, big landlords, big law firms.
A certiorari is a procedure a business files with a municipality claiming they have been overassessed in previous tax years. They get awarded refunds by municipalities in the millions and future profits by reduced assessments.
They have to document their losses, and because of the equalization rate which in the last decade or so thanks to rising home values have helped business owners immensely by articificially lowering business property owners’ percentage of taxes.
Coupled with a slowing economy, business owners who do not fill up their office buildings, can claim their businesses did not make as much money as they did and were over-assessed. They are granted huge refunds. These certioraris are rarely contested, if ever, by the municipalities. You have outrageous things happening like prime office space selling in
Adam Bradley, the former assemblyman, now the Mayor of White Plains, a city whose assessment roll has been a sitting duck for certiorari filings the last ten years thanks to the certirorai game corporations have played in the city, and by a “our hands are tied” Board of Assessment Review, introduced the bill in the Assembly and they passed it.
When it when to the Senate, the great “let’s cut spending,” “let’s cut taxes” organization, the Westchester County Association swung into action. To support it? NO. To kill it. Why? Because the certiorari money stream for both business owners and the certiorari law lobby would be stopped in
The WCA fought very hard against certiorari reform, sending out news releases that misstated what the separate commercial tax rate bill would do. The WCA wrung its hands, saying this was not the right bill for
Even the former
The WCA apparently wants as low taxes as possible for businesses – and the residents of
What WCA really stands for is WE COUNT ALWAYS….because it only supports what is good for the businesses of the county. They live by their accounting, make money out of bankruptcies, cut their deals, want special perks and incentives and shoot lots of contributions to State Senators and Assemblypersons to make sure they get what they want, when they want and what is good for them.
The Call for Action in which the WCA demands cuts in spending, promises debates for all representative races in
But it really comes from an organization whose best interests of their members is the business owners who belong to this organization. Their idea is whatever helps them is good for everybody. Certioraris help them. But that is killing the residential taxpayer who is really subsidizing business with their taxes. Business is not paying their share in this county. The residents are.
Oh, no they say. The counjty needs reval. Trust me: reval will not be good for you Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner.
Where is the WCA in promoting the economic advantages of doing business here? Where else can you come in, get incredible perks for development (just ask), get your services essentially at very low cost – and if you’re not as successful still make a ton of money by turning your losses into tax refunds. Thanks to the beauty of the certiorari “Recap Device,” you can pay your taxes, then get them back with good bookkeeping. It is the hidden reason,aided and encouraged by the state legislature residential taxes have skyrocketed in this county. Why have school taxes and municpal taxes gone up? To replace money lost from the millions in reassessments granted the self-promoting business community.
Their very Call for Action last week highlights the problems for businesses locating here unnecessarily and is very dumb from a public relations standpoint.
You do not want to do that.
Of course, it is meant to scare the heck out of
But, unfortunately, the damage has been done.
I’d be pleased to inform persons businesses and residents of programs the WCA has, to help residents and buisnesses in the following areas, which really need to be addressed now:
1.) Get mortgages. 2.) Forestall foreclosures. 3.) Find affordable business space. 4.) Stay where they are presently doing business. 5.) Promote real estate purchases in the area. 6.) Work with municipalities to analyze certiorari filings for accuracy, honesty, and fairness just in case losses have been articially inflated. 7.) Highlight key business areas where firms can settle. 8.) Promote the advantages of
Council Approves Budget of $154.98 MILLION, CUTS TAX ^ TO 6.9% Pats Self On Back
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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. May 24,2010 UPDATED 9:08 P.M. E.D.T. 11 P.M.: The Common Council passed the 2010-11 City Budget tonight unanimously with the meeting interrupted midway through by police and fire personnel overriding Councilperson Beth Smayda’s remarks on the budget. They were gaveled to order by the Mayor, then walking out of the Special Meeting. Police and fire departments have had 21 personnel laid off in the budget passed this evening, due to what councilpersons described as their inability to come to agreements with the city, choosing layoffs as their option.
The Common Council achieved an additional $1 million in cuts since last Thursday by requiring appointed, elected officials, and non-union management personnel and retirees not under union contracts to contribute a significant 15% percentage to paying for their health care benefits. This 15% contribution to health care benefits cut the city budget another $1 Million which lowers the proposed tax increase to just under 7% to 6.85% (6.9%)
Tom Roach, Common Council President estimated the tax increase on the average White Plains home (calculated at being a $728,000) home to be between $162-$164.
According to Commissioner of Finance, Michael Genito, the new budget sinks about a Million and change to $154,982,804, from the estimated $156 Million it was last week after the police and fire department firings.
The tax rate sinks to $167.82 cents a thousand dollars of assessed value, which for the median White Plains home ($650,000) ranslates to a city tax for 2010-11 of $3,084. This year’s budget, now in its final quarter had a tax rate of $157.06.
A public hearing to approve the new sewer rents, consisting of a 16% surcharge on all water users in the city, commercial, residential and tax-emempt properties, was held. No one spoke at the hearing and the council passed the new revenue raiser that is an integral part of the new budget passed a short time later.
The 7 members of the council spoke about how they came together as a team to make difficult cuts in the budget. They all regretted the layoffs. Counciperson Smayda, whose Budget and Management committee recommendations on layoffs of employees, and wage cuts, and employee contributions to health care delivered about $5 Million in the $5 Million cut in the budget from the original $160.1 Million submitted in April, said that she did not see revenues turning around any time soon and that the budget had to be looked at as it developed through the year. Councilperson Milagros Lecouna echoed these sentiments and called for more transparency in the process. To this end, the next meeting of the Budget and Management Committee is scheduled for 7 P.M. June 14.
It was interesting to note that in the public meeting the total amount of the budget $154,982,804 was never actually mentioned. The lower General Fund figure, $142,460,020 was, however. No charts were shown demonstrating the cuts.
All councilmembers speaking thanked Michael Genito, the Commissioner of Finance, City Chief of Staff, John Callahan, and Eileen Earl Bradley, financial consultant, for their work on the budget.
Layoffs of the Mayor’s Public Information Officer, Administrative Assistant and Assistant Counsel were sustained in the budget and they at this time will not be on the city payroll as of July 1.