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)

Check, Please: County Tax Bills Fan Out Over White Plains

Posted on April 3, 2004 by John Bailey

WPCNR FINANCIAL TIMES. By John F. Bailey. April 3, 2004: Residents of the city are opening up letters from The City of White Plains containing their Statement of County Taxes for 2004, and the true dollars-and-cents impact of the Westchester County property tax increase on White Plains is hitting home.

If you own a home in White Plains, your County Property Tax is going up 22.3 %. The County Tax bills are due at the end of the month.

The impact varies, of course, according to your assessment. But here is the impact on two homes.

One, situated in the quiet, in-demand Lower East Side of the Southend, assessed at $18,475 Taxable Valuable (a market value of about $600,000) is being billed $1,849.49 in County taxes, an increase of $404.41 over the 2003 county tax tab of $1,494.08.

Another home in the posh country-cozy Southend of town, assessed at $23,900 Taxable value, with a market value of approximately $700,000, is kicking in $2,455.97 in total county taxes, up a painful $523.18 from the $1,932.79 they paid in 2003.

School Tax Next in Line

Add to this, the proposed City School Tax Increase of 7.53%, translating into approximately $500, for homes of these values will add another financial layer of pain. Still to come is the tax increase the City of White Plains is expected to impose in its 2004-05 budget, that will be unveiled Wednesday to the Common Council. Of course, there is always the possibility the City of White Plains will attempt to meet the budget gap in another way besides tax increases.

The city budget gap is estimated by its Budget Director, Ann Reasoner to be $10 Million minimum, due to state mandates alone. That is before salary increases, city-responsible operations of the city theatre, and increased budget demands of all city departments are figured in.

Sales Tax Increase Saves Republican Orange County.

There is the possibility the city may take a leaf from the Westchester County playbook and attempt to recoup part of its total mystery deficit (they have never put a total figure out as to how much total extra revenue they need to meet their expense baloon), by requesting another sales tax increase, as Orange County did last week and had the sales tax hike approved benevolently by the State Legislature on Wednesday.

According to the MidHudson News website, Orange County’s County Executive Edward Diana, a Republican, in order to balance his budget, included $17 Million in his 2004 budget from an anticipated ¾% county sales tax increase. This increase was unanimously passed by the State Senate this week, and the Assembly passed it by 99-45. County Executive Diana said, according to the Mid-Hudson News, he would take a final vote on the tax Friday.

An Intriguing Solution

Were White Plains to take this sales tax fix route, Assemblyman Adam Bradley, or Assemblywoman Amy Paulin would possibly be asked to introduce the bill in the Assembly.

According to Westchester County Legislator, George Latimer, Orange County has increased property taxes by 22% and 12%, the last two years.

No matter how the city chooses to make up its deficit no matter how big, the financial impact of the county, school and city revenue demands are now becoming sobering reality for White Plains citizens.

A seasoned observer of tax rate minutiae, estimates a total tax increase for residents between the three taxing authorities of county, school district and city as approximately $2,000 on his residence alone, if the city chooses to increase taxes alone.

Feiner Alert: Two Resolutions to be Voted on Saturday.

Posted on April 2, 2004 by John Bailey

WPCNR GREENBURGH GAZETTE. From Greenburgh Town Supervisior Paul Feiner. April 2, 2004: Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner announced that the Greenburgh Town Board will vote on the attached 2 resolutions at a Special Meeting of the Greenburgh Town Board on Saturday morning at 9:30 AM. The Town Board will dedicate Taxter Ridge as permanent parkland and take steps to turn an abandoned house at the park into an affordable home for a town employee. Those having comments on the proposed resolution are invited to e mail Supervisor Feiner at [email protected] or to call him at 993 l540.

New York Sports Clubs Is In as City Center Garage Health Club. LA Fitness is Out

Posted on April 2, 2004 by John Bailey

WPCNR Main Street Journal. By John F. Bailey. April 2, 2004, Updated with Health Club profile, 11:30 E.S.T.: Louis Cappelli today announced he had signed a lease Friday with New York Sports Clubs, the health club based in White Plains on North Broadway, to occupy and manage the state of the art health club he is building atop the City Center Garage. Cappelli said it was his company decision not to sign the lease with LA Sports Fitness, as he had previously announced.

NEW YORK SPORTS CLUBS TAKES OVER on top of the City Center Garage, shown here on March 13. Mr. Cappelli reports he has signed the lease today. Photo from WPCNR News Archive.

Cappelli said he did not sign with LA Fitness at the last moment because it made more business sense to give the lease to a local sports club rather than hurt a club’s business that already existed in White Plains. He noted that New York Sports Clubs had better financials as another reason he backed out of the LA Fitness deal. “We went down too fast on this one (LA Fitness). You want to give yourself the chance to optimize your chances. And we went to fast. When you look at it, you don’t want to compete against other businesses in town. It didn’t make sense to bring in a health club that would fight for another club’s customers.”

Cappelli reports New York Sports Clubs “Cappelli style” will open atop the garage in September.

New York Sports Clubs (of White Plains) is a subsidiary of The Town Sports International (TSI) the largest in the Northeastern United States. Since 1974, the TSI roster has risen to 125 high quality facilities in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston and Philadelphia—with membership totaling more than 350,000. The TSI network is made up of the “brands:” New York Sports Clubs, Washington Sports Clubs, Boston Sports Clubs and Philadelphia Sports Clubs. In addition, TSI features the Forum and the Joggeli Fitness Clubs in Basel and the Luxor Club in Zurich, Switzerland.

The TSI website asserts that a person in any fitness condition find facilities to meet their own health and fitness needs at a TSI gym . It has a reputation as being the club for no-nonsense fitness buffs and tailors exercise and fitness programs. TSI facilities offer racquet courts, pools and basketball courts, which fit right in with Mr. Cappelli’s plans for his Garage Health Club. The TSI club profile features weight equipment, cardiovascular equipment and other exercise apparatus. Personal training, massage, steam rooms and saunas, in addition to Sports Clubs for Kids and fitness assessments are offered.

The company credits its innovative fitness programs, pro staff, and dedication to quality and service and continual facility improvement. Learn more at the website, www.nysc.com.

Bradley On Senate/Assembly Budget Reform Pack. Guarantees Ed Aid 2 Yrs.

Posted on April 2, 2004 by John Bailey

WPCNR’S ADAM IN ALBANY. By District 89 Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley. April 2, 2004: As a candidate for the Assembly, I was an outspoken advocate for budget reform. I am pleased to announce that the Assembly and Senate members of a bipartisan conference committee have come to an agreement on a package of budget reforms that will help ensure fair, on-time state budgets that meet the needs of Westchester County by employing better long-term and annual planning, closer oversight of spending, and more public input.

As a candidate for the Assembly, I was an outspoken advocate for budget reform. I am pleased to announce that the Assembly and Senate members of a bipartisan conference committee have come to an agreement on a package of budget reforms that will help ensure fair, on-time state budgets that meet the needs of Westchester County by employing better long-term and annual planning, closer oversight of spending, and more public input.

School districts in Westchester County will benefit greatly from these reforms. The plan includes the Assembly’s proposal to require a two year appropriation for education aid – providing schools with information they need to plan ahead and avoid property tax increases. It also creates an education reserve fund in the state constitution to ensure sufficient funds exist for the payment of aid in May and June of each year.

The reform package provides the Legislature with more accurate revenue forecasts and gives additional time to review the details of the governor’s budget proposal so legislators can make better decisions by:

· implementing an “enhanced fast start plan,” a discussion between the governor and Legislature on revenue forecasts and projected expenses that would begin on November 15;

· creating a nonpartisan independent budget office to provide objective analyses of state revenues that can be used to make decisions in a timely manner – without the time consuming debate that often occurs;

· requiring the governor to submit his budget by January 15 (February 1 for a newly-elected governor);

· shortening the amendment period from 30 to 21 days to allow time for legislative review; and

· adding Health Care Reform Act programs like Family Health Plus and Child Health Plus into the overall state budget.

I have consistently supported moving the start of the state’s fiscal year from April 1 to May 1, and continuing government operations through a contingency budget if a new budget is not passed on time – two ideas that have been incorporated into the conference committee’s reform plan. By pushing back the budget deadline, we will be able to give different organizations across the state a more reliable way to plan their budgets. And by creating an independent budget office, we take away one of the biggest sources of partisan disagreement.

The package would also require a three-year projection by the governor and Legislature of the financial impact of any changes to the executive budget to provide better long-term planning. To put more money away in “rainy day” funds, the plan would create a reserve fund equal to 5 percent of all state funds to cushion against economic downturns, revenue shortfalls and natural disasters.

I commend the bipartisan conference committee for the package of budget reforms they’ve put forth. This is a good beginning, but there is much more work to be done to reform state government. These initiatives will ensure better planning and better financial forecasts, enabling the Legislature to enact better budgets. I hope the governor will endorse these reforms as we offer them to the voters of our state to ratify.