WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. February 7, 2005.: Mayor Joseph Delfino addressed the Common Council this evening delivering a glowing report card on the city’s “Renaissance.” He claimed strong economic resurgence of the city during the last year. He downplayed the negative bond rating recently continued by the Moody’s Investor Service, even saying Moody’s was impressed by the city sales tax progressions.
The Delfino Network: Mayor Joseph Delfino of the City of White Plains addressing the city on WPGA-TV, White Plains Government Access. Photo Capture from Channel 75, by WPCNR News.
Among plans he announced were a rubber-wheel trolley, and he said he would introduce an initiative to involve merchants, residents and property owners to revitalize the West Side of the city as part of his Phase IV Revitalization program, assuring that Winbrook, the city’s largest public housing complex would continue to be the anchor of that sector of the city.
Mayor Delfino’s most pointed and passionate remarks concerned the city finances, saying, “All our economic indicators point to successes never experienced before in White Plains, and show that we’re managing our growth effectively. Our office vacancy has dropped nearly 75% since I took office seven years ago. The coordinated review process which we implemented in phase I of my economic development plan has had an enormous impact on the renovations of formerly obsolete office buildings. Building permits last year set a record. More than 2,240 building permits were issued last year compared to 960 in 1990.
Our sales tax (receipts) has increased 12% this year alone. Our mortgage recording tax and our pilot payments are adding new and increasing revenue streams to our budget. The investments we’ve made in our future the last four years are just beginning to show returns and they are better than even we had expected.”
WPCNR reported that at the close of the First Quarter, September 30, sales taxes were reported running 15% ahead of 2003-04, and now after the Christmas October November, December quarter, according to the Mayor, they are running at 12% ahead of last year’s pace.
The B-Word: Bond Rating is Addressed.
The Mayor then touched the “B-Word,” discussing the negative bond rating Moody’s Business Service continued last month after meeting with the Mayor:
“Much has been said about the negative outlook attached to our bond rating six months ago (actually one year ago in January). Our bond rating is one of the highest in the country for a suburban city. Moody’s Bond Agency Rating (er) explained to us in a visit to our city recently, that they would like to see an entire year’s returns on all of our new development before lifting our negative outlook. This is reasonable.
In fact, Moody’s proclaimed that after that visit with us, the rating agency was not overly concerned and that our sales tax was coming in strong.”
What did Moody’s Really Say?
The Mayor’s statement appears very optimistic because the Moody’s report issued January 18, as a result of that visit to White Plains appears to take a different view:
Moody’s writes as of January 18: “The negative outlook reflects challenges the city faces restoring structural balance and maintaining a satisfactory financial position following three years of operating losses and expenditure pressures for fiscal 2005 and beyond.”
Perhaps the Mayor draws his inference from this language from Moody’s that compliments the city’s efforts in a long paragraph describing exactly the development the Mayor spent most of his State of the City speech talking about: “fiscal 2005 is expected to end with a slight surplus reflecting an increase in the property tax rate, fee increases, and stronger than budgeted sales tax revenues….The city expects sales tax to exceed budget in fiscal 2005 by $3.3 Million.”
Moody’s also expressed this view of the city financial position: “Moody’s expects the city’s financial operations, which reflect losses in each of the past three years, will be challenged to stabilize or improve in the medium term given continuing expenditure pressures.”
Moody’s report of January 18, 2005, notes that to change the rating (remove the negative outlook), the agency would like to see “Structural balance of General Fund operations for fiscal 2005.”
However, Moody’s cautions they could move the rating down if the city experienced “A fourth consecutive year of operating deficits and an erosion of the General Fund balance.”
Bonds Go Like Hot Cakes.
The Moody’s Report not withstanding, the Mayor said, investors were snapping up the city’s bonds at low interest rates:
“ I can tell you investor confidence in our city has never been higher. Our recent bond issue (that Moody’s was rating in the report just quoted) traded at some of the lowest interest rates the market has to offer, 2.1% and 3.9%, and for the first time in years, our bonds required no insurance. There’s nothing negative about that. Investors realize we are managing our growth effectively and managing our finances superbly. We are trading at Triple A levels. Banks want our paper. Our financials are more than healthy, they’re in exemplary shape.”
The Mayor did not speak at all on budget challenges for the new year, the numbers of sales tax receipts after two quarters, nor labor challenges, nor fund balance erosion and how he was going to address those thorny matters. The message on finances was the city is on target and O.K.
City of Downtown Living.
The Mayor extolled the continued success of rentups and condo purchases in new units in the downtown, reporting that 90% of Bank Street Commons was leased; 95% of Clayton Park is leased, and 162 of the 211 condos at Trump Tower at City Center have been taken to contract. “Each of our city’s neighborhoods offer their own unique setting and amenities as well. It’s not just downtown it’s our city.”
He said “My administration’s smart growth policies in Phase I and II plans have created the exciting urban environment White Plains was destined to be while protecting the residential character of our neighborhoods.
Eye on 2005 – Maple Avenue Resolutions & Trolleys & West Side Story & BID Expansion.
The Mayor said the city was working on two residential proposals (on Hale and Maple Avenues) “which continue to be modified by working with the residents and the developers to insure that the projects work well with the neighborhood that’s open government at its best.”
The Mayor announced “I’m looking forward to develop a rubber-wheeled trolley in the downtown. Last year we received $250,000 from the Department of Transportation to develop the system. It will be a unique and energetic addition to our downtown.”
The Mayor officially announced for the first time that the West Side Story revitalization is going to be a reality, saying,
“I’m very excited about the East Post Road and Lexington Avenue Corridor. With cooperation between my administration, merchants, residents, clergy and other stakeholders, this truly promises to be the most rewarding and yet unique outgrowth of our city’s renaissance, encompassing a wide range of redevelopment small business assistance, recreation and cultural opportunities. We’ll be working with representatives of the Winbrook community to insure they play a major role in the planning effort and that their neighborhood remains a vital part of our city’s core.”
The Mayor promised development of a Phase IV Economic Development Plan to address the West Side Development project.
The Mayor said he was looking at expanding the BID (Downtown Business Improvement District), into the Lexington Avenue and East Post Road area of the city “in order to bring its programs and services to these and other areas of our city.”
Affordable Housing.
The Mayor promised he was going to “manage our economic growth effectively in order to help those in need of affordable housing and to distribute the economic benefits derived from our new development for the good of all our residents.” Earlier the Mayor mentioned he had been responsible for bringing 184 affordable housing units to the city.
He held out hope that soon he would be able to announce acquisition of more open space from New York Presbyterian Hospital, and another effort to make White Plains a more walkable city.
Saying how “grateful” he was to be “your mayor,” and that he was “invigorated and excited by all that lies ahead,” the Mayor thanked his wife Ellie for putting up with his long hours and the support of his son, Joe, and daughter Cindy.
Big Close
He closed with these words, saying as he came to deliver this speech this evening, he was
“so happy to live in a city where population is up and crime is down. Where developers residents and administration officials can sit down together to design the best project. Where cultural diversity is celebrated not ignored. Where government leaders try to find a compromise and fall prey to partisan politics. Where it’s less than a mile walk from our train station to our Westchester (Mall). Where you can drive 10 minutes and be on a flight to anywhere in the world.
The years ahead promise to be even more exciting. Soon the new hotel and residential project will begin rising in the new downtown, bringing even more activity and vibrance to the heart of our city. We’ll continue to work to produce affordable housing at every opportunity. Open space acquisition will continue to be a top priority. We’re working as hard as ever to improve the quality of life for our city residents, to create linkages throughout the city and spread the revitalization throughout all our husinesses. And we’ll continue the smart growth policies that encourage investment in our downtown, while at the same time provide protection for our city’s neighborhoods.
“We are a growing city. We are managing that growth effectively. I thank each and every one of you for your contributions and understanding. It’s been an outstanding seven years. It’s been years of progress for our city, and we’re beginning to reap our rewards. To see more than 2,000 of our residents turn out for our Christmas Tree Lighting, and more than 12,000 for our New Year’s Display, is truly overwhelming and truly gratifying. It’s all about people. It’s all about quality of life. It’s all about the city of White Plains. Thank you very much.”
The Council Response is an Endorsement. Tom Roach, President of the Common Council followed the Mayor with a laudatory endorsement of the direction the city is going. Roach complimented White Plains Commissioners whom he said were selected for their expertise and not as political appointees. He also complimented the Rotary, the White Plains Beautification Committee, among others were helping White Plains grow. Photo Capture from Channel 75, by White Plains News.
Tom Roach, is his Response Speech, was very complimentary and essentially said the council was behind the Mayor’s policies.
The speech was conspicuous in not making any comments on the health, or lack thereof, of city finances, or what the Democratic councilmembers were going to work toward in improving the city’s financial picture, or that of the School District.
Roach did say that affordable housing was an issue the Council was going to work for by possibly increasing the payment required of developers who opt to pay off their affordable housing responsibility with a set fee, instead of building actual affordable units.
Roach said the approaching overhaul of city supplemental building codes, had been distorted by the media as being a boon to developers. (An example, installation of plastic pipe for plumbing, instead of copper) He said the council viewed relaxation of the codes permitting more modern technology as being cheaper for the homeowners, too, not just the developers.
Roach sent a message of partnership with the Mayor:
“Though the Mayor and I serve in different parties, I believe that for the most part, this council is united in their desire to see the best things possible for our city, and on most issues, they agree. To sum it up, in our downtown, life has returned. This was a dead downtown… It has returned to its former glory. Anyone who was here during the holiday season can attest to that….the key to redevelopment…is residential life in the downtown area. The days of building an aquarium, or a convention center to bring life back to a downtown are gone. It’s realized now that if people live in the downtown, shop downtown, walk downtown, it creates an aura of security and encourages other people to join them, and that’s what we have in our downtown and it’s building rapidly.”
In other action,
Comprehensive Plan Review Committee: The mayor announced his Comprehensive Plan Review Committee had been formed, however, did not announce the names of the persons selected to that committee. For those of you who missed the earlier WPCNR report on who these committee members are, they are:
John Martin and Mary Cavallero, Co-Chairs, Ann Edwards, Ron Jackson, Louis Trippet, Isabelle Villar, and John Vorperian. They are joined by Patrick Austin, Guy D’Antona, Steve Brown, Virginia Falzarano, Vito Fragala, Ron Goldstein, Carlos Roskell, and Eli Schoenberg.
Condo Jam: The public hearings on the Hamilton at Church and Barker and the condominiums at Hale and Maple Avenues were adjourned to March 7.
Galleria Makeover: In the lone public hearing, the Common Council approved Mills Properties plans for opening The Galleria to Main Street and creating five restaurants with sidewalk cafes to energize the West End of Main Street. Their architect anticipated beginning the project this spring.
Cappelli Watch: Elsewhere on the agenda, Councilpersons Rita Malmud and Arnold Bernstein expressed concerns about the Louis Cappelli-Martin Ginsburg legal dispute over ownership of 240 Main Street. The Mayor told Ms. Malmud and Mr. Bernstein that Mr. Cappelli had a deed to 240 Main, implying it was appropriate for the council to refer out Mr. Cappelli’s plan to build 41 units of affordable housing on that site adjacent the Ginsburg “Pinnacle Project.”
Certioraris (tax refunds and therefore forever lost revenues) in the amount of $419,924. 10 were approved by the council for three properties known as the Gateway 1 Group at One North Lexington Avenue, as a result of a negotiated settlement between the city and those owners. Their assessments were reduced a total of $3,889,300 covering the years 2002/03,03/04, and 04/05.
Cappelli Watch II: The 221 Main Zoning amendment raising the height of buildings allowed in the Central Business District to 400 feet with a special permit, was scheduled for a public hearing March 7.
Voting Machines: Tom Roach, in his response speech, announced the good news that the city has quietly overhauled all of its mechanical voting machines, and that they stand ready for the 2005 election. Roach said that the expected statewide switchover to an electronic voting machine system, based on technology expected to be chosen by the state last year, has been put off indefinitely, due to questions raised in the recent Presidential election that electronic voting machines are subject to manipulation and fraud.
Roach reported the city employed a voting machine firm to inspect machines, replace parts if necessary, and refurbish the city’s fleet of voting machines
Employee of the Month: Patricia Staffiero, Youth Specialist with the White Plains Youth Bureau was named Employee of the Month for her innovations and efforts at the Bureau.
