THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

ASSESSMENT REPORT MADE PUBLIC

Posted on February 3, 2011 by John Bailey

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. FEBRUARY 3, 2011:

Local officials from the Westchester County Municipal Officials Association (WMOA), the NYS Office of Real Property Services, the Westchester County Tax Commission and the New York State Assessors Association today unveiled the final draft of the report of the Westchester Collaborative Assessment Commission (WCAC) during a press conference with Westchester County lawmakers, with the goal of ensuring tax fairness, transparency, greater public support and understanding of property assessments and taxes for Westchester’s residents. Joined by Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers), the Board’s Committee on Housing, Planning & Operations Chair Bill Burton (D-Ossining) and other legislators, members of the Westchester Collaborative Assessment Commission presented its findings during an executive committee meeting of the Westchester County Municipal Officials Association.

The report identifies the need to undertake a Countywide data collection project, require accurate updating and verification of property characteristics and continuous maintenance of all property records, which can be the fundamental component for achieving fairness and equity in the assessment system. “These surely are difficult times. We must provide New Yorkers with property tax relief,” said Chairman Jenkins. “Everyday residents have seen their property taxes rise at unsustainable rates and the soaring increase to their cost of living. The debate is no longer whether or not there is a problem, or what caused the problem. The debate is instead over how to ease the burden on homeowners.”

The Westchester Collaborative Assessment Commission, a coalition established by resolution of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, prepared the report that identifies the problem of outdated assessment methods and the lack of resources dedicated to the property assessment system in Westchester County. The report has taken 20 months to complete and over one thousand hours have been dedicated by a committee of elected officials, city managers, local assessors, state agencies and County representatives. “The study team reviewed current assessment administrative and valuation practices throughout the County,” said Al Gatta, Commission Chairman and Village Manager of Scarsdale. “By examining procedures, tools, resources and staffing levels in comparison to the statutory requirements and escalating assessment litigation, the study group defined a path to significantly improve assessment practices.”

Westchester’s municipalities collect property taxes, about 16 percent of which goes directly to finance county government. The county has more than 25 assessing jurisdictions that impose additional property taxes. In almost every municipality in Westchester, the property tax levy is based on a house’s valuation assessment. The county uses an equalization rate set by the state, which is then used to figure tax bills for homeowners in municipalities with varying assessments. The system results in unpredictable alternations in county tax bills from year to year among municipalities. Taxes fluctuate depending on development, tax challenges, or certioraris, and whether local assessment practices have changed. Some communities like Somers, Rye, Pelham, New Castle, Harrison, Mount Kisco and Eastchester will see their county taxes increase, while other communities like Mount Vernon, Peekskill, White Plains, Mount Pleasant and Greenburgh will see there rates go down.

In an effort to rectify this condition, last year, the County Board created the Westchester Collaborative Assessment Commission, which is responsible for the development of a regional model for the collection and maintenance of property data that would be used by local assessing units as the standard for recording the characteristics of every parcel of property in their communities. “It is proper, timely and absolutely critical for the County, cities and towns to form a partnership that will bring modern methods, tools and technology for the assessment of property that will no doubt advance the system to a 21^st century model which will help bring long-term social and economic wellbeing to Westchester,” said WMOA President Chuck Lesnick. “Reassessment would lead to a fairer and transparent process in that property owners would better understand their tax bills.”

“This is a gigantic step towards resolving an age-old problem in Westchester that has resulted in years of bad assessment practices and unfair taxation,” said Legislator Burton. “The Board worked with our municipal partners to develop this project, which will significantly ensure greater transparency, equity and efficiency in the assessment process, which means immediate savings for taxpayers.”

The following are major observations and recommendations within the report:

· The creation of a standardized and consistent data collection system that incorporates accurate and detailed property characteristics must be used to build the foundation of a modern mass appraisal system, and shall include a process for ongoing maintenance;

· Potential funding options for a Countywide program of data collection were devised;

· A State and County calendar of dates should be established for all municipalities, including taxable status date, valuation date and tentative and final assessment roll publication dates;

· The creation of a four-year reassessment cycle with year one establishing the base value of a property which shall apply to each of the four years of the cycle subject to adjustment within the cycle only if there is a change in use, physical condition or occupancy. The report specifies seven conditions under which an assessment adjustment is permitted;

Jenkins believes that solving the property tax crisis in Westchester County is an important step in making our county more affordable for families again and a home for economic growth. “This proposal is a creative way to develop solutions to this on-going problem.”

Copies of the report can be found at www.wmoaonline.com.

Unclear How Ridgeway Open Space Will Be Deeded to the City.

Posted on February 2, 2011 by John Bailey

WPCNR South End Times February 2, 2011 UPDATED 6:10 PM EST:

The French American School of New York has further clarified its stance on possible quote “deeding” over 75% of its Ridgeway Country Club property to the city. Howthe land will be “deeded” to the city is to be determined.

Mischa Zabotin, Chairman of the Board of FASNY, right,in this week’s appearance on WHITE PLAINS WEEK, (he appeared with White Plauns attorney,Michael Zarin,left) wrote in a statement to WPCNR Tuesday evening:

“It occurs to me that I may have taken a shortcut in describing how it FASNY plans to handle the open space that we commit to deed, probably through a perpetual conservation easement. I did not mean to say that we necessarily plan to give it to the city of White Plains per se as you report in your story about the open house.

I meant to say that FASNY wishes to deed the land to White Plains (dark gray and dark green shaded areas on property layout above) in a broader sense. We do not yet know today the specific mechanism through which we will accomplish this.

We will seek the expert advice and assistance of organizations such as the Westchester Land Trust to determine the best practices in open space preservation.”

Asked if “deeding” meant FASNY would continue to own the land–and any city recreational use of it by the city under whatever deeding is decided upon, would require FASNY approval, Mr, Zabotin wrote in a statement:

I am not an attorney so will not get into the specifics of how a conservation easement or deed work. Fasny’s intent is that the land we do not need for our campus be preserved as open space and used in a manner determined by the residents of White Plains, probably as passive recreational space. We would not seek to use for further development any of that open space once its boundaries have been defined.

I hope this is all clear.

NOAA opens 4000 miles of shrimp waters in the Gulf

Posted on February 2, 2011 by John Bailey

WPCNR GREEN NEWS. From National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. February 3, 2011:

NOAA Thursday will reopen 4,213 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters off Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to royal red shrimping. The area was closed to this type of deep water fishing on Nov. 24 as a precautionary measure after a commercial shrimper discovered tar balls in his net. The “fingerprint” analysis to determine whether the source of the tar balls was the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil was inconclusive. Further fish and shrimp sampling and testing from the area showed no oil or dispersant contamination.

This reopening was announced after consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. All commercial and recreational fishing is allowed within this area.

“Extensive testing of royal red shrimp and other fish from this area revealed they are safe to eat,” said Roy Crabtree, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service southeast region. “Seafood safety and consumer confidence remain a priority for NOAA, and we will continue monitoring Gulf seafood for as long as necessary to ensure its integrity.”

NOAA continues to work closely with the FDA and the Gulf states to ensure seafood safety. Additionally, the agency is continuing its post-spill broad-scale seafood sampling strategy that includes sampling seafood from inside and outside the closure area.

To date, all seafood tested by NOAA and FDA post-spill demonstrates seafood is safe for consumption. Results from the sensory analysis found no detectable oil or dispersant odors or flavors, and results from the chemical analysis for oil-related compounds and dispersants were well below the levels of concern.

Royal red shrimp are caught in Gulf waters deeper than 600 feet and are the only shrimp species targeted with trawls at these depths. The more common Gulf shrimp species are brown, white and pink shrimp, and are caught in waters less than 300 feet deep. NOAA has not received reports of tar balls in fishing catches at shallower depths in this area.

These waters were initially closed to all commercial and recreational fishing last summer because of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill and were reopened to all fishing on Nov. 15 after hundreds of seafood specimens sampled from the area, including royal red shrimp, passed both sensory and chemical testing.

An area covering 1,041 square miles immediately surrounding the wellhead still remains closed to all commercial and recreational fishing. The fishing area closure was first instituted on May 2, at which time it covered about 3 percent (6,817 square miles) of Gulf waters around the wellhead. As oil continued to spill from the wellhead, the area grew in size, peaking at 37 percent (88,522 square miles) of Gulf waters on June 2.

NOAA has a number of methods for the public to obtain information or be notified when there is a change to the closed area:

Sign up to receive Southeast Fishery Bulletins by email at [email protected]
Call 1-800-627-NOAA (1-800-627-6622) to hear a recording of the current coordinates (message in English, Vietnamese, and Spanish – coordinates in English)
Listen to NOAA Weather Radio for messages about the closure
Follow us on Twitter: usnoaagov to get a tweet when the closed area changes

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit us at http://www.noaa.gov or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/usnoaagov.

Greenburgh,Facing Tax CERT DELUGE Ponders Full Reval of Property

Posted on February 2, 2011 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE FEINER REPORT. By Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner.February 2, 2011:

In recent months the Town Assessor, Edye McCarthy, Town Board members and I have met with school, village officials and civic leaders –asking for their input: should the town undertake a reassessment.

We had a Town Board discussion with the public and state officials Monday night. The town (including school district, fire districts) loses about $10 million a year in certiorari refunds—revenue losses to the town. .

I have asked two highly respected members of the community to provide the Town Board with recommendations: the next steps we should take. This is their letter/suggestions. What do you think?

PAUL FEINER

January 26, 2011

Supervisor and Members of the Town Board

Town of Greenburgh

177 Hillside Avenue

Greenburgh, New York 10607

Re: Town-wide revaluation and reassessment

Ladies and Gentlemen:

As most of you know, the Supervisor has asked the undersigned, Peter Derby and Tom Rothman, to assist the Town in evaluating whether a Town-wide revaluation and reassessment will prudently and fairly address both the burdensome and costly issue of property assessment valuation challenges and their tax refunds and the perceived inequity of the current system of property assessment/taxation in the Town and whether a Town-wide revaluation and reassessment is the most equitable and cost effective method of addressing these issues.

For those of you who we have not had the pleasure of personally meeting, a brief introduction is in order. We are both long-time residents and homeowners in the Town. Peter Derby has served as an internal bank auditor, a bank corporate finance director, is a founder of Troika Dialog, the first investment bank in Russia, CFO and CEO of DialogBank, the first private bank based in Russia to receive an international banking license, was Managing Executive for Operations and Management of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and was a Trustee in Irvington. Tom Rothman is an attorney, has served as a senior counsel for local finance and real property taxation matters to State Comptroller Arthur Levitt, was senior partner for public finance with Willkie Farr and Gallagher LLP, and was a long time member of the Board of Governors of the New York chapter of the Government Finance Officers Association.

We have met with the Supervisor, Town Assessor and others, have reviewed reports and draft legislation prepared by or on behalf of various towns in the County, as well as by those acting on behalf of the County, and have concluded that without the benefit of certain specific information being obtained prior to a determination to undertake a Town-wide revaluation and reassessment any request for proposals to undertake a Town-wide revaluation under the prescriptions of existing law may be counter productive and may not be the most prudent, equitable and cost effective method of addressing these issues.

It appears axiomatic that the passage of in excess of a half-century since the last comprehensive revaluation and reassessment in the Town has created an assessment/taxation system containing certain inequities. It also appears axiomatic that State mandates requiring that residential real property units held in non-condominium ownership be assessed at fair market value whereas residential real property held in condominium ownership must be assessed at a “restricted value”, or a value significantly below fair market value, and the State prohibition on reassessing residential real property following resale or change of ownership results in certain inequities. Before undertaking an initial expense of a Town-wide revaluation, an expense believed to be considerable, as well as the continuing expense of periodic revaluation to assure that the Town does not find itself in the same expensive litigation/tax refund predicament it currently faces again (i.e. see Nassau County) it would be helpful, if not mandatory, to know the likely effect on Town taxpayers of a Town-wide revaluation and whether a “better fix” to these issues may be crafted. Finally, it also appears axiomatic that many purchasers of residential real property have relied upon the Town’s current system and existing assessments in making their decision whether to purchase a home in the Town, and whether that home is affordable. Accordingly, the Town needs to be prudent, fair and equitable in enacting any changes to the existing system of assessment so as not to reap unfortunate and unintended deleterious consequences upon a segment of our community while at the same time attempting to remove other existing inequities that are also hurting a segment of our community.

To this end, we recommend a modest expenditure to retain a suitable professional to determine, among other items as may be added by your body, by utilizing an appropriate and professional scientific sampling methodology, the following:

1. The likely affect on all classes of residential real property taxation in different neighborhoods throughout the Town of a Town-wide revaluation as prescribed under current law.

2. The likely affect on residential real property taxation throughout the Town held in condominium ownership if real property held in condominium ownership were assessed on the same basis as real property held in non-condominium ownership; and the likely effect on real property throughout the Town held in non-condominium ownership if the law were changed to provide that all residential real property were valued, assessed and taxed on the same basis.

3. The likely effect on residential real property taxation throughout the Town if the Town did not undertake a Town-wide revaluation, but residential real properties held in all types of ownership were reassessed after a sale or change in ownership to reflect a sale price of an arms length sale, with non-arms length sales or change in ownership being revalued and reassessed as if they had been on an arms length basis, and all residential properties not sold within any recurring five year period, revalued and reassessed every five years.

4. The likely cost of an initial Town-wide revaluation.

5. The likely cost of a continuing periodic Town-wide revaluation.

6. Based upon the experience and/or knowledge of the expert, and given the recent high, if not unprecedented, number of settled claims and challenges, whether it can be anticipated that assessment valuation challenges and tax refunds will significantly diminish if no action is taken.

7. Based upon the experience and/or knowledge of the expert, recommendations concerning these issues and measures likely to reduce any hardships reasonably foreseeable by a Town-wide revaluation and reassessment, including hardships on those economically at the lowest levels in the Town, on retired senior citizens and on those on pension or fixed income.

8. Based upon the experience and/or knowledge of the expert, will a Town-wide revaluation and reassessment predominantly affect the expensive older homes and the expensive newer homes or will such similarly affecting the middle and lower priced homes as well?

9. Based upon the experience and/or knowledge of the expert, would it be efficient to restructure the property categories into four categories, residential, commercial, condominium/cooperative and utilities?

To eliminate the possible perception of the chosen expert having an economic interest in a determination to undertake a Town-wide revaluation, the Town may consider stipulating that the expert chosen will (may at the Board’s discretion?) be ineligible to undertake any subsequent Town-wide revaluation.

Respectively submitted,

Peter Derby Tom Rothman