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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2005. By John F. Bailey. October 17, 2005: John Carlson, candidate for Common Council accused the City of White Plains of  managing its budget in an “Enron like atmosphere” based on the city’s refusal to provide him with any form of final fiscal 2004-05 budget numbers. (To date, the city has said publicly they made their budget with a surplus of $1.5 million, thanks to increased mortgage taxes, but the city has not released even a preliminary spread sheet to the public or the media showing the final 2004-2005 results, even though asked by media. The city has also not published first quarter 2005-2006 results.)

JOHN CARLSON Holding News Conference at City Hall today. Photo by WPCNR News

A call to the Mayor’s office asking when preliminary financials would be released, and if they would be released before Election Day (November 8) has not been returned.

Carlson, describing himself as a corporate banker professionally,  said this kind of “Enron-like atmosphere,” not reporting city financials in a timely, public manner did not make him feel comfortable. He criticized the city for not making three year expense budget and revenue projections. He said it was the Common Council’s job to ask for those numbers and scrutinize them.

In a wide ranging critique of city financials, Carlson accused the city of smoke and mirrors accounting, citing the city take over of the parking authority, and fund balance drawdowns, and increased parking fees and fines and ticket blitz as budget fixes, with no long term financial budget projections. He accused the present Common Council of being “bobbleheads” for not demanding and scrutinizing city budget trends, and allegedly accepting whatever city hall wanted to do.

Criticising the ballooning certiorari settlements the city has made, Carlson said the city Mayor’s Office should be more proactive in challenging the certiorari suits and make it clear to businesses filing for certioraris that these suits were not welcome. He did not say how he would do that. He did say that if he were on the Common Council he would with his other councilman members go toAlbany to lobby for legislation to make the taxation of commercial and residential properties equal.

Carlson questioned the city’s claims in a campaign brochure circulated by Mayor Joseph Delfine that crime was down 38%, citing Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics released this morning that violent crime in White Plains was up in 2004 over both 2003 and 2002. WPCNR is attempting to acquire those statistics released by the FBI to discuss them with the Department of Public Safety for clarification.

Carlson when asked by WPCNR,  said he had not called Commissioner of Public Safety Dr. Frank Straub to discuss the reasoning behind the Police Department statistics and the reasons why, (in Carlson’s opinion), the FBI says violent crime was up, and White Plains says it was down. Carlson said that by the city’s own information arrests were up which he said did not indicate to him that crime was down. Carlson said he wanted to know what was the truth.

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. October 16, 2005: After waiting a month, the Board of Education approved tax certiorari refunds totaling $1,146,969 last Tuesday evening in Executive Session, according to Terrance Schruers, Assistant Superintendent for Business. The board approved the refunds, $712,118 for Brook Hills Condominiums 1,2,3; $198,498 for Heritage Towers; and $236,353 for Crystal Towers.

The refunds brought the total amount of tax refunds the School District has had to pay back to businesses and condominium/coops (including Westchester One,  Bloomingdale’s and Nordstroms)  by the School District this year to $8,473,059 since January, 2005.

The latest round of certriorari settlements were approved by the Common Council of the City of White Plains in August. The School District tabled the approval of the settlements last month, pending discussion with counsel. However,  in Executive Session last Tuesday night approved settlements in those amounts

Schreuers said the refunds covered the last five years for Brook Hills, the percentage of taxes refunded ranging from 0 to 30% of taxes paid from 2000 to 2005;  refunds of taxes from 1998 to 2005 for Crystal Towers showed refunds of 6% to 34%; and 3% to 18% for Heritage Hills from 1997 to 2005. Schreurs reported the reductions in assessments will cost the district $226,000 in tax collections a year.

Schruers said the refunds were caused due to the lower rate at which condominiums are taxed as opposed to the residential tax rate. He added that there a number of condominium certioraris in litigation with the city that he expected would have a significant impact on the district budget, by forcing the school to bond more monies to pay for the larger certiorari amounts in refunds from previous years, plus loss of revenue in future years. Schruers said he expected more condominium settlements and applications for certioraris in 2006. The School District is allowed to bond without citizen approval for amounts up to $10 Million.

Based on previous payment policies established by the board earlier this year, the current certioraris will be paid out of money set aside and money raised from a  bond offering approved with the 2005-2006 School Budget.