THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. June 3,2008; The New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief called for a 4% Tax Levy Cap across school districts yesterday, an aggressive Circuit Breaker program to replace the state STAR Basic and Enhanced Relief programs, and a new budget voting process where school district budgets would only have to go before voters if the proposed budget exceeded the budget cap. The Commission also provided for the voters of a district to place an “underride” vote on theballot to keep the levy growth to a level beneath the calculated levy cap.

The Report, 124 pages in length, was forwarded to the media by John Reid, the Executive Director of the Commission. The  “Final” report is due to the Governor by December 1, (after the elections). This delays any reform in property taxes to the 2010-2011 tax year, at the earliest, by WPCNR estimates.

4%?

Applied to the White Plains City School District, White Plains would be hard-pressed to keep their budgets at a 4% year-to-year tax levy increase, since the district’s lowest tax increase in the last 11 years was 4.94% in 1997.

 Since 1997, the district has increased taxes, 5.51% (1998), 6.72% (1999), 7.64% (2000) , 7.94% (2001) , 8.59% (2002), 6.89% (2003), 7.53% (2004), 9.36% (2005), 8.12% (2006), 6.95%(2007) ,   and this year (2008), the school district quoted a 5.98% tax increase, however, when you take into account the significantly reduced STAR BASIC and ENHANCED EXPEMPTIONS, never announced by the district or the state legislatue, the tax increase is actually 8%.

Levy Cap Needs Definition

The recommendation on the levy Cap is hedged, though, the Commission recommends including new construction of homes, businesses and renovations in a district being added to the levy cap because they write that “expand(s) the school district’s tax base without affecting existing taxpayers.”  The Preliminary Report does not explain what this actually means and how this would be figured into their proposed Levy Cap, and the overall effect. 

One of the problems with the White Plains City School District is that new construction in White Plains of which there has been plenty, has not kept up with the certiorari drain that has plagued the district tax base.

Capital expense/Debt Service Votes Exempted from Levy Cap.

Another softening of the hard levy Cap is Capital items are exempted from being included in it. Just as capital expenses and debt service are excluded from the contingency budget figured by the state, the Commission recommends, “Capital items – one-time expense or debt service – would continue to be authorized by public vote, and would not be included within the levy cap.”

White Plains would Face a 60% Override Plurality Tied to State Aid.

On Override votes, say, where White Plains may want to spend a budget next year (bound to be a whopper since this year’s budget was relatively modest by White Plains spending patterns), school districts would have to submit an approval of the override – subject to the amount of state aid the district receives.

Take White Plains. The County Seat  currently receives 8%  of its $184.4 Million budget for 2008-2009 in state aid. The Commission recommends that to override, if a district receives  an increase of more than 5% of their budget in state aid, 60% of the voters would have to approve the override. This year’s White Plains budget of a 6% Tax Increase (8% in reality), passed by 52% to 48%.  That is a problem.

This year White Plains received a state aid increase, much ballyhooed by the state legislative representatives of 9.35%. Applied to this year’s budget vote, the proposed new “aid” override policy, would have meant that the White Plains School Budget would not have passed at the 52% to 48% margin, and the contingency budget would have to be put into effect.

The usual Suspects

The Preliminary Report calls for a halt to new legislative mandates; no new mandates from the State Education Department without complete analysis of fiscal impacts, an Office of the StateComptroller report on the cumulative cost to localities of complying with all new regulatory and legislative mandates.

The report endorses the Triborough provision of the Taylor Law to exclude teacher step and lane increments from continuation until new contracts are negotiated; calls for centralized and streamlined school district reporting, and a Commission tas force on other State mandates to research reforms between this Commission’s final report in December.

Wrapping up the recommendations is a requirement to have districts report on collective bargaining outcomes; A study to evaluate a new Tier 5 within the pension system; establish a BOCES statewide energy purchasing program to save energy costs, and finally, establish uniform statewide assessing standards (undefined).

The Commission recommends a Commission Task Force on Special Education (purpose not defined), and a Commission Task Force on Fiscally Dependent School Districts for the Big Four Cities.

Suozzi Comments

In Chairman Thomas Suozzi’s cover letter to Preliminary Report, he notes in the opening paragraph to Governor Patterson, “While titled “preliminary,” this report recommends major policy changes — especially a property tax cap — that need not wait for our final report.”

Cover Letter

Mr. Reid’s cover letter introducing the report comments:

I  am pleased to share with you a copy of the Preliminary Report of the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief.  The report is, in large part, the product of hours of testimony, discussion and research by hundreds of individuals representng the broadest spectrum of interests and perspectives.

Your insight during this process has been invaluable.  The Commission Members, Special Advisors and the staff  look forward to continuing our dialogue on this most crucial of issues.

WPCNR’S THE REAL DEAL By The Wedding Jeannie, Jeannie Uyanik of Cap and Gown Weddings with Elizabeth West. June 1, 2008: Last week we gave you the rules of thumb for a successful rehearsal dinner. This week, contributor Elizabeth West is going to offer some creative ideas and real world examples that readers can easily implement into their own rehearsal dinner design concepts.  Here’s Liz…

 

The Wedding Jeannie

Jeannie Uyanik

Wedding Planner to the World

WPCNR Columnista

 

 

 

Many brides are faced with the challenge of designing a creative and fun wedding without turning it into a sweet sixteen or an over-the-top Bat Mitzvah. With all the coordinating napkins, invitations, bubbles, and favors available, the wedding can quickly go from chic to something that looks like it came out of a Hello Kitty™ store.  And while I can appreciate a clever and whimsical idea, I usually tell brides that the best place for those ideas is at the rehearsal dinner.  Since everyone is usually a bit nervous with anticipation of the big day, it’s the perfect time to create an event that’s fun, relaxed, and personal.

 

 

Generally speaking, the actual wedding day is about the bride.  The groom can easily blend in with the other groomsmen and basically has one job- to show up.  This is why I often recommend making the rehearsal dinner more groom focused.  It’s the time to pay homage to the men in your life.  Often for the wedding, the groom’s ideas get instantly vetoed or overlooked (and sometimes rightly so).  So if you have to budge- why not do it with the rehearsal dinner?  It often can result in a fantastic and meaningful event.

 

We did this recently with a couple named Noelle and Thomas.  The bride confessed that she had ruled the decision making process for the wedding day, so she loosened the reins and allowed the rehearsal dinner to reflect the personalities of some important men in her life: the groom, her father, and the groom’s father. 

 

The bride’s father had a signature dish that he loved to make, a southern specialty called Shrimp n’ Grits.  When guests took their seats, there was a white bag of grits at each place setting.  Attached to the bag on the front was the evening’s dinner menu and on the back was a custom recipe card for her father’s Shrimp n Grits.  It was an inexpensive way to highlight a family favorite recipe, a great way to display the menu and a super favor for the guests- especially the ones from out of town. 

 

The music for the evening was inspired by the groom’s father.  A man of the 50’s and 60’s, he enjoyed the classics like Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and Dean Martin.  So the couple created a song list for the evening that featured many of his favorite tunes.  And to let the guests in on the significance of the music, they included a note at the bottom of the menu card.  This was an understated but much appreciated gesture from the couple to the groom’s father.  And many of the older guests unexpectedly got into the nostalgia of the music and were so excited not be listening to The Black Eyed Peas! 

 

When it came to the dessert, it was a no brainer.  Since the groom was born and raised in NY, he was a lover of cheesecake.  So the couple did a trio of gourmet cheesecakes that would please almost any guest:  traditional NY style, pumpkin, and Turtle Cheesecake.  And as a last minute surprise, the bride had a custom groom’s cake brought out.  The groom happened to be a physician, so it was in the shape of a giant scrubs top.  It was a hit with the guests and a special treat for the groom from his bride.

 

Focusing on the groom is just one route you can go for inspiration.  Another option is allowing the details of the wedding to dictate what the rehearsal dinner should be like.  In 2006, we planned a black tie wedding at the W Hotel in midtown NYC.  Everything was super modern, sleek and very night-club like.  So for the rehearsal dinner, the couple went in the opposite direction.  They literally had beer and pizza in a classic New York pizzeria in Little Italy.  This offered the wedding party an intimate time before the big day to be relaxed and to enjoy being together without any unnecessary fanfare. 

 

The opposite works as well!  Several years ago we had a bride that was from a small community where she was very well known and loved.  Not wanting to hurt any feelings, she hosted a large wedding under a tent at her parent’s home.  The wedding was elegant but extremely relaxed.  The food was all served on stations and the event just flowed naturally.  The couple still wanted to treat their closest friends and family to a spectacular dinner.  So the night before, they bought out a local restaurant and served a decadent five course dinner to these special guests.  They presented each guest with a unique gift and used that night to make all toasts and speeches.  The next day was truly just for celebration and having fun!

 

It’s really easy to make the rehearsal dinner something you’ll look back on as a special time.  Get creative and whimsical!  Use your groom or family as your inspiration.  Take a different approach than you did with the wedding.  Or if you find yourself in a traditional situation…..just let your mother-in-law plan it.  But if she wants your input- be ready