WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR Roving Photographer. October 14, 1007: The stands have arrived on the husk of old Parker Stadium as the stadium rounds into the homestretch, preparing for the kickoff on Thanksgiving Day, November 22.

Parker Stadium: 38 Days to Kickoff. October 14, 2007

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WPCNR’S THE REAL DEAL By The Wedding Jeannie, Jeannie Uyanik. October 13, 2007:  Décor is boring.  It’s become boring.  Couples have allowed it to be boring.  No one is really doing anything new, innovative, wow or amazing.  That’s the conclusion; let’s rewind a bit to see how we got there and how it MIGHT be fixable.

For every area of the wedding or event industry, there continues to be innovation, modernization, new twists on the old styles, old twists on the new styles and overall movement forward.  Food has gone organic, vegan, international; new flavors, novel presentation methods, and tastes for every palette.  Photography has gone from film to digital and in doing so, we see unbelievable new work constantly; album quality and design has been revolutionized and we see development every day

Then why have flowers and décor remained so stagnant? 

If a florist were reading this, I am sure that the first instinct would be to say “absolutely not – we are innovative all the time” – but I officially DARE any designer or florist to show me something new.  Something that really was different from anyone else (and by the way – by new, I mean accessible to the masses – of course, with a million dollar budget for décor, we are all able to achieve greatness). 

Seriously though – think about the last event or wedding that you went to where you were really awed in a way that you had never seen before.  And that’s precisely where the problem lies.  A lay person reading this would probably think of a few examples of an event where the décor was outstanding.  How often are you decorating your home or your office with the same budget that you do a large event or wedding – rarely. 

So when you compare the possibilities, anything that you see looks amazing.  Any picture looks beautiful because its not something with which you are familiar.  And that’s how the industry has managed to creep along.  Without great innovation, without great fanfare and without anyone really noticing the design industry has endured with the same old same old.  If you were to look at pictures of the last 10 large events that you went to, you would begin to see a pattern; a standard; a mediocrity that even large budgets have difficulty escaping.  So, instead of focusing on the negative, let’s be productive. 

How can you escape the décor ennui of the new century? 

 First, do your homework – even if you have NO interest in flowers, décor or design – at least go to meetings with your decorators or designers with a solid sense of what you do and do not like.  Choose the colors that you would like represented at your event and use them to tie the event together (from location, to stationary to the day of).  For a wedding, don’t go overboard in the use of colors; they should be accents, not overwhelming flashy reminders that you like pink. 

Consider that everything in a location is part of the décor; the linens, the chairs, the place setting, the floors are as important to the look of an event space as the flowers.  Even if you can’t necessarily afford to hand pick all of these items separately (especially if you are having an event at a place that provides standard ware already) at least be cognizant that they do play a role in the way a room looks. 

Choose a designer or florist that is willing to work with your whole setting and not just plunk some vases on tables.  I exaggerate of course; rarely do florists plunk anything but be careful not to just pick a florist because you think they have fresh flowers.  For instance, there are some amazing florists in the tri-state area that can make arrangements for retail/carry out sale in unparallel fashion.  But there is not a direct correlation between owning a flower shop and being able to do flowers for a large event. 

There are huge hurdles in designing a room, even if only the flowers are involved.

You have to have a large enough team to set up quickly; you need to have solid connections for large quantities of flowers and back up people if those do not come in and you need to be able to visualize a large space not just a table.  Use elements of an event to your advantage in planning the décor.  The favors that you put on the table are décor.  Don’t just select packaging or a favor that will not fit in with the rest of your design element. 

The Art of Japanese Flower Arrangement

A wedding that we executed with an unsubstantial budget received high acclaim because we implemented an ikebana décor scheme.  Wikipedia describes this Japanese art of flower arrangement in the most precise terms,

 “In contrast to the massing of blooms typical of flower arrangement in western countries, Japanese flower arrangement is based on the line of twigs and/or leaves, filled in with a small number of blooms. The container is also a key element of the composition. The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth and man.” 

While the budget for décor was minimal, the result was extraordinary because most people had never seen this style of arrangement and also because we used elements of the bride’s South African heritage to personalize every aspect of the design – there was no plunking of flowers at this event!    You have to think outside the box and complacency in simply picking out an arrangement that you see in a book will continue the lethargy that seems to have taken hold of the wedding and event floral industry for the past 8 years. 

And in terms of creativity and innovation for flowers and décor en masse, I will leave this to the design experts.  I simply plan the events, but I am excited and waiting for the next “big idea” in design for events where budgets are not at $250,000 just for the flowers.  I would welcome the opportunity to see something new – and hopefully, this little piece can inspire a revolution. 

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BULLETIN:

WPCNR FOR THE RECORD. From the Department of the Budget. New York State. October 11, 2007 UPDATED 5:10 PM EDT:  The WPCNR NewsLab has created a printable version of the documents shown in the first edition of this article, for those wishing their own personal copies of the projected White Plains 2008 through 2011 forecast budgets filed with the Department of the Budget….

Simply click on this link: http://www.wpcnr.com/images/pdf/wp_101107.pdf

Though the Mayor has released the forecast portion of the financial statements on file with the Department of the Budget, there is more to the documents. The city supplied a complete accounting of revenue sources and expenses. WPCNR, as a public service to those councilpersons and state legislators and citizens who have not had access to these projections to date, herewith publishes these missing pages. The first page is the Projections page, already published:

The footnotes read:

Fiscal year 2007-2008 represents 2007-08 proposed budget.

Property tax rate assumed at 7% each year, assessment roll assumed to remain at current $289.9 Million with the exception of additional assessments as indicated below.

Property tax increased 10% in fiscal year 2008-2009 to account for two PILOTS returning to the Assessment roll.

In accordance with the City Charter, succeeding year revenues cannot be budgeted above prior year actual totals. As such fund balance is budgeted, but not used.

Other Debt proceeds reflects the potential bonding of certain tax certs in fiscal year 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 subject to Common Council approval. This will only be done if needed.

Debt service payments for potential bonding of tax certs included in the event that the financing does occur.

The City currently has various new revenue initiatives in the development stage that are not included in this Plan.

If revenue enhancements are approved, plan will need to be modified accordingly and bonded(SIC) of tax certs will be eliminated.

Parking Rate increases in 2007-2008 and 2010-11 per City Policy

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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. By John F. Bailey. October 11, 2007: Mayor Joseph Delfino yesterday sent a letter to Assemblypersons Adam Bradley (89th District) and Amy Paulin (88th District) with a copy of the projections of the White Plains City Budget through 2011, as reported by WPCNR yesterday.

In the letter, the Mayor says he does not endorse the budget, saying it is a projection only, subject to the vagaries of fate,  and does not endorse the salary increases forecast in the budget projections, saying he cannot vouch for their accuracy, and he will not violate the Taylor Act governing negotiations with public employees. The Mayor says the budget is a projection only and indicates that the one-shot financial additons put in the budget are not guaranteed, and again makes the case for  the 1/2% sales tax increase home rule request he is requesting either of the two legislators to introduce in the assembly. The Mayor goes on record as saying he does not endorse the 28% tax increase incorporated in the four year budget, which includes the 2007-2008 current budget year the city is now in.

The Letter follows, as it was released to the media today:  

Assemblyman Adam Bradley

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin

Attached is the five-year budget outlook that the City is required by the State to have on file in the Finance Department.  I am releasing this information “without prejudice,” and there are several caveats that I have to make regarding this information.

First, I, as Mayor, cannot verify that the forecasted increases predicted in this document as it relates to salaries and benefits is accurate.  I am acutely aware of and sensitive to any Taylor Act implications this would have.

Second, I am not, by any means, endorsing the 28% tax increase forecast over this period by this document.

Third, there are several anticipated revenues that simply cannot be verified, such as the sale of city-owned property and other so called “one shots” that are included.

Fourth, this information is prepared by the Finance Department and is updated at least twice annually, and in some cases, more often than that.  As you are aware, the administration of a city the size of White Plains is a fluid situation that changes continuously.  Many factors can and have upset the balance that this document forecasts.  Fuel prices, inflation, public safety issues and a host of other factors greatly influence the City’s finances.  Some of these issues can be forecasted fairly accurately, some cannot.

Fifth, any change in State aid or passed on expenses from other levels of government affects every municipality’s ability to budget accurately.

However, what has had the largest impact on the City’s budget over the last five years are several unexpected expenses that are beyond the control of the City’s administration.  The real estate formula applied by the State has led to a surge in tax certiores, impacting last year’s budget by more than $2 million more than was budgeted for.  In addition, the recent, unprecedented jump in the State Pension Fund contributions has significantly impacted the City’s budget.

Obviously, the tremendous revitalization and success the City is having is also causing it to suffer because of the formula the State utilizes in setting the equalization rate for property taxes.  These losses may have been off-set greatly had the City been allowed to have its own Industrial Development Agency (IDA).  White Plains has been forced to forfeit the administrative and other fees charged to developers by the Westchester County’s IDA.  I appreciate your efforts to secure an IDA for the City that will enable us to perhaps, finally, provide property tax relief to our residents from such an agency.

Other unexpected issues arise almost daily.  Just last week the City learned that a State government agency was purchasing a formerly commercial office building in the City.  This property will now come off the City’s tax rolls causing a half million dollar drop in assessments and creating a $500,000 loss in property tax revenues annually.  The increase in the sales tax rate would help us recapture some of these losses.

I am simply asking that White Plains’ sales tax rate be equal to that of the other large cities in Westchester County.  This increase is totally justified given the large number of County and other government offices that are located here.  These office buildings, court houses and other agencies pay no property taxes and yet the City is forced to provide services for the thousands of government employees who commute here daily.  The only way for the City to recoup the costs of providing services for these governmental uses is through the sales tax collected on expenditures by employees of these agencies. The sales tax increase would help recapture some of the expenses of these services instead of passing them on to White Plains residents.

The same argument also holds true for the more than 250,000 people who visit the City daily to work, shop and recreate.  I shudder to think of what the taxpayers would have paid if it were not for our aggressive redevelopment plan. In six major projects that the City has undertaken, Bank Street Commons, Clayton Park, the Ritz Carlton, City Center, the Jefferson Condominiums and Fortunoff, where new development replaced either vacant stores or vacant land, the total tax revenues, which includes PILOT payments, increased from $1.8 million before the redevelopment to nearly $12 million in total this year.  But the property taxpayers only receive a fraction of this new total.

The School District alone receives nearly $8 million of this new revenue and the County receives approximately $1.6 million.  The City portion from these projects has increased from $360,000 pre-development to more than $2.3 million today. But it is the property taxpayers alone who have been forced to shoulder the burden of catastrophic and unanticipated expenses forced on the City from higher levels of government.  

Raising the sales tax rate by one-half of one cent would generate more than $10 million annually which would be used to relieve the property tax burden on our residents. IRS analysis has shown that 90% of the revenues collected would come from people who live outside the City – mainly from the 250,000 to 300,000 people who visit our City daily to work, shop and/or enjoy the vibrant entertainment venues the City now offers. 

The City has been unfairly accused of not having a five-year plan, which, as you know, is required by the State to be maintained in the Finance Department.  While I agree that it’s important to have a flexible five-year plan looking forward, I ask who could have predicted the enormous and unanticipated expenses brought on the City in the last five years alone?  I respectfully ask if you could provide a five-year projection on expected state expenses that will be passed on to White Plains and /or any increases or decreases we can expect in State aid so that a more accurate five-year projection can be made.

I believe very strongly that we’ve been successful at creatively filling the gaps that have occurred over the last five years.  And yet, we have endured the annual criticisms of the use of so-called “one shots” to close our budget gaps.  We’ve been criticized for the sale of city-owned land, increasing property tax rates, the use of fund balance, and for the many other methods we’ve employed to stabilize our budgets.

It’s time to give our property tax payers a break.  I want our residents to be the beneficiaries our City’s renaissance.  The half percent sales tax increase will ensure that our residents will receive property tax relief in the amount of at least $10 million or annually if we do so.

Sincerely,

Mayor Joseph Delfino

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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE.  By John F. Bailey, The CitizeNetReporter and Peter Katz.  October 10, 2007 5:33 PM EDT UPDATED WITH PIX: Readers of WPCNR may recall the discussions at recent Common Council meetings regarding the city’s financial future against the background of Mayor Delfino’s request to the council for legislation asking New York State to approve a ½-percent increase in the city’s sales tax. During those discussions, verbal pressure was applied to the Mayor to produce projections of what the city’s financial needs will be. Why does the city need to  raise an extra $10 Million in sales taxes by increasing the rate by ½%, it was asked.

Previously, State Assemblyman Adam Bradley, who was asked to spearhead efforts in Albany to have the sales tax increase approved, took the position that without a clear understanding of the city’s needs, it would be hard for him to justify a sales tax increase to the folks in Albany. The Mayor’s recent public position was that he’d provide the numbers after the Common Council acted on his request.

City Projected figures for the State.

WPCNR has learned that financial projections for the city covering the next three fiscal years have already been sent to the state’s Division of the Budget to fulfill a state requirement. These may, or may not, contain the information Bradley and others said they needed. Whether or not the councilpersons, Budget and Management Committee members, and Mr. Bradley were aware of these publicly available projections having been filed, is not known.

A cover letter accompanying the projections, signed by Mayor Delfino, was dated March 30, 2007. It was received in Albany on April 2, 2007. Attached were multi-year revenue projections. The projections were provided to the state as required for city participation in the state’s “Aid and Incentives for Municipalities” (AIM) program. According to the documents, White Plains would receive $5,724,393 from the AIM program during each fiscal year through FY 2010-11.

A copy of the projections which the city sent was furnished to WPCNR by the New York State Division of the Budget in Albany. Note, however, that these are only projections and actual numbers could easily change.

The city General Fund budget is projected to grow from $144.8-million this fiscal year (2007-2008) to $161.3-million in 2010-2011. This is number apparently does not include  the Library Fund, Water Fund and Self-Insurance Fund.

21% Property Tax Increase over next three years.

Property taxes are projected to grow 10% in 2008-2009, and 7% each year for the next two fiscal years. However, a footnote explains, “Property Tax increased 10% in fiscal year 2008-2009 to account for two PILOTS returning to the assessment Roll.” Those two properties appear to be “9 West” and “Clayton Park,” which this year are paying $364,270 and $119,750 in PILOTS,  respectively. Another footnote states, “Property tax rate increase assumed at 7% each year.” WPCNR points out the use of the term “property tax rate,” meaning the 7% projected annual increases do not refer to the total dollar amounts collected. 

The projections indicate better-than-current-inflation increases of city sales taxes, at least in the short term. Present collections are about $43-million. Growth of 5% a year is projected for the next two fiscal years, with growth slowing to 3% in 2010-11, when sales taxes collections are projected to be $48.9-million.

Salary Expense to grow at 5% to 5.5%

On the expense side, the amounts projected to be needed to pay salaries of elected officials (Mayor and Common Council) are projected to grow by 3% a year, as are salaries for commissioners and certain other managerial personnel. The projections indicate that amounts necessary to cover salaries for union employees (police, fire, office workers, sanitation) would grow at 5% and 5.5% during various fiscal years. This may not necessarily mean wages will increase at those levels; it could also reflect increases in the number of employees being paid.

According to a “Multi-Year Financial Projection Summary,” salaries and wages would rise from $70,670,296 in FY 2007-08 to $81,224,937 in FY 2010-11. Employee benefits would rise from $33,312,043 in FY 2007-08 to $39,366,384 in FY 2010-11.

Good News! City Sees Certioraris as Essentially Flat. May Bond for Certs.

The projections going out three years  show no reduction in the assessment roll through 2010-11, based on the Allowance for Tax Certs which amounts to $350,000 through FY 2010-11.

However, the city notes in a footnote, “Other Debt proceeds reflects the potential bonding of certain tax certs in fiscal year 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 subject to Common Council approval. This will be done if needed.” The projection also notes “Debt service payments for potential bonding of tax certs included in the event that the financing does occur.”

The category “Debt Service” is projected to almost double over the next three years, growing from $691,944 this year to $1, 279,445 in 2010-2011.

A footnote says, “The City currently has various new revenue initiatives in the development stage that are not included in this Plan.”

In his cover letter, Mayor Delfino writes, in part, “…the City of White Plains has: a.) developed a multi-year financial plan; b.) used the increase in State aid to minimize property tax growth; and c.) documented cost savings initiatives within City operations and through cooperative savings efforts with other municipalities as part of the City’s multi-year financial plan.”

A Balanced Budget Forecast

 The Budget Projections are balanced as presented to the state. Any anticipated tax increase could be used to lower property tax or add to fund balance. It is unclear at this time why if these projections are being relied upon, why the city needs the sales tax increase.

A footnote for the state’s information attached to the budgets provides a clue how the sales tax increase might be used: “The City currently has various new revenue initiatives in the development stage that are not included in this Plan. If revenue enhancements are approved, plan will need to be modified accordingly and bonded (SIC) of tax certs will be eliminated.”