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   WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. (EDITED & With Reporting by John Bailey, updated 9:30 P.M. E.S.T.) November 15, 2003: Saying that homeowners had to be protected from a potentially devastating property tax increase, County Executive Andy Spano Friday proposed a budget for 2004 that would sharply cut county programs and lay off hundreds of workers. 

He called for a 2% increase in property taxes countywide (excepting the county’s cities), and for the state legislature to grant the county a 1% increase in the sales tax. Spano said that if the sales tax increase was not forthcoming, a 25% increase in the county property tax would result. Commenting on prospects for New York State Legislature cooperation on the sales tax increase, the County Executive noted that State Senator Nicholas Spano told him last year when he asked for a similar increase, that if 4 Assemblypersons in the Westchester Delegation had been for the increase, Senator Spano would have sponsored it. “We could not get 4 in the Westchester delegation to sponsor it, ” Spano said dryly.

Spano said the “drastic” steps were necessary to cover the continually escalating costs of state-mandated  programs and the loss of  revenues over which the county has no control. Even with these measures, Spano said, an increase in the county sales tax is needed to avert further cuts to county services that “would render our government useless and our residents unprotected.”

CUT THIS: In response to reporter questions about the Assembly Delegation from Westchester being willing to sponsor such an increase, Spano said he felt the delegation (that last year refused to support a similar sales tax proposal), appeared more inclined to support his request this year, and were willing to talk about the possibility. Asked what would happen if they did not, Executive Spano brandished a pamphlet labeled Dismantling County Government, saying the County Legislators would have to start cutting more jobs and services from the budget he just submitted. Photo by WPCNR News.

 “In developing this budget, I was guided by three very important principles that have been the philosophy of my administration for the past six years,” Spano said. “One: I will not accept an option that puts an unfair burden on homeowners; therefore I am proposing an increase in the sales tax, which will mean that property taxes only need to be increased 2 percent. Two: We must continue to protect our children, seniors and others who are the most vulnerable in our society; therefore I am not proposing a bus fare increase or cuts to senior programs, day care or to our non-profit agencies that were cut 20 percent last year.  And three: We must protect our residents and preserve the quality of life they have come to expect.”

County property taxes make up about 15-20 percent of a property owner’s bill. The remainder of property taxes are collected by school districts, local governments and special districts (sewer, water, garbage,etc.).  Every $4 million in net spending equals about a one percentage point on the county property tax rate. The exact effect of any increase varies from community to community due to differing local assessing practices.

 

“No bloated Bureaucracy.”

 

Spano presented his $1.4 billion budget Friday to the Board of Legislators, which has until Dec. 27 to adopt a final spending plan. Of this gross budget, more than $1 billion goes to pay for mandated state costs.  

Spano said that ironically the county government, which is the only government in the state to have a Triple-A bond rating, is being penalized for being well-run and efficient.

“There is no bloated bureaucracy. We have reduced administrative costs and cut the workforce,” he said. “Therefore when state mandates escalate, we have no waste to cut to make up the difference. The choice then becomes a large increase in property taxes or a massive decrease in county services and programs.”

 

236 Workers to Go. Other “Cost Efficiencies.”

 

In all, Spano’s budget proposes to save $29.8 million in county spending. The largest amount of savings would come from the elimination of 319 job lines, of which 236 are currently filled and are being analyzed for compliance with Civil Service provisions. The savings would come from  cuts of programs and the employees associated with them, along with the outsourcing of some social services divisions.  

The bulk of the program cuts are in the departments of Social Services and Health and cover services for people on public assistance as well as a range of health services including programs dealing with tobacco and mosquito surveillance. Other cuts (and subsequent layoffs) are scattered throughout the county government.

 “These actions are painful because they affect our dedicated workforce, and they cut programs that this county is used to but, with the escalating cost of state mandates, can no longer afford,” Spano said.

Other savings include: $4.5 million in cost efficiencies and operational changes and $1.5 million from bus routes.

 

No New Revenue Source Means Property Tax Jack.

 

Even with these cuts, if there is no new revenue source found then a steep property tax increase is needed. Therefore, Spano is once again proposing a one cent on the dollar increase in the sales tax, as well as  an increase in the county share of vehicle registration fees.

In his budget message, Spano warned that further cuts would be needed if the state Legislature fails again to authorize an increase in the county sales tax.

“If this unfortunate alternative comes to pass, we have a list of further cuts to county services and the

savings each will provide. They would render our government useless and our residents unprotected. They would destroy the very fabric of our quality of life. Non-profit agencies that do so much to  protect seniors, women and children would, in all likelihood, disappear due to lack of funds.”

 

 THE PROBLEM: “FINDING” $100,570,544 IN REVENUE OR CUTS

 

The requirement that the county pay a significant portion of the costs of state programs continues to be the greatest problem for the county, Spano explained.  The costs of these programs continue to rise in real dollar terms far more than the state reimbursement.

The most expensive program is Medicaid, the state program to provide health benefits to the poor. Next year the county’s share of this program is projected at $220.57 million, an increase of $16.4 million from 2003.

Other increases in state programs that county taxpayers will foot the bill for include:

·        $6.56 million more for other welfare programs, compared to 2003

·        $14.6 million more in state-mandated contributions to the state retirement system

·        $ 4.6 million more for the state-mandated program to provide attorneys to indigents

·        $2.3 million more on state-mandated programs for children with disabilities.

The county is also faced with an increase of $10 million in the cost of employee health benefits, $6.3 million in 6-N and 6-J (related to insurance and workers compensation) and the need to ultimately fund a new contract with most of the county workforce, which has been without a contract for almost two years.

 

Tobacco Settlement Money Unavailable Due to RJR Tobacco Bond Downgrade.

 

On the other side of the ledger, revenue is expected to be down next year, for reasons out of the control of the county. The two main elements here are:

·        Loss of almost $14 million in the 2004 installment of money from the settlement of the national tobacco lawsuit. Moody’s has downgraded RJR Tobacco Co.’s  bonds, making the  county’s share of tobacco settlement money unavailable for now and possibly for the next three years.

·        A decrease of $21.7 million in the fund balance from budget year 2002. Under county law, any fund balance goes into the general fund two years later. The balance from 2002 is $24.5 million .

 

THE SOLUTION: “THE BEST OF BAD OPTIONS”

 Increased revenues, cuts in services, layoffs  

 

To close this gap, Spano is proposing  the abolishment of 319 county jobs, of which 236 are currently filled. Most of these jobs are in the departments of Social Services and Health.

 

He is also calling for state authorization to raise the sales tax by one cent on the dollar and to raise the vehicle registration fees. The spending cuts and the new revenues, if enacted, would mean that just a 2 percent increase would be needed in county property taxes.

Cuts  

In the Department of Social Services, 181 lines will be eliminated. Of these, 110 positions will be outsourced to private vendors and another 31 positions are now vacant. The next largest cut is in Health, where 81 lines will be eliminated, of which 12 are vacant. Other position cuts are scattered throughout the county government.

In the case of DSS, Spano proposes to outsource some of the services, which will generate about a 10 percent savings in the first year and more in subsequent years. RFPs (Requests for Proposals) will be distributed for these four DSS divisions:

·        Welfare to work employment services, elimination of 34 county positions

·        Mandated preventive services for children at risk to prevent placement into foster care,  elimination of 51 county positions

·        Foster home development and maintenance services,  for programs to find foster homes, train and certify foster parents, elimination of 7 county positions 

·        Administration of homeless services,  elimination of 18 county positions.

 Spano stressed, “I want to make it clear that we are not cutting services to these individuals and families who get services through DSS. We think these services can be provided in another way or elsewhere at less cost to county taxpayers.”

 

Health Department Cuts

 

For the Department of Health, Spano proposes to eliminate or reduce funding for programs where people can obtain low-cost services elsewhere. His proposals affect some administrative positions, as well as the following divisions, with some layoffs resulting:

·        Family planning programs that currently operate out of Yonkers, White Plains and New Rochelle district offices, for low-income and immigrant populations  (9 positions eliminated)

·        Children’s dental services in Yonkers and White Plains, eliminating basic dental care for children who can get these services through a dentist that accepts Medicaid  (6 positions eliminated)

·        Public health information, which provides information to the public, responds to Freedom of

 Information requests and mans a “live” telephone hotline (5 positions eliminated)

·        Tobacco enforcement,  eliminating civil enforcement of laws dealing with the sale and use of tobacco products (6 positions eliminated)

·        Mosquito control, a scaling back of the county’s efforts to control mosquitoes that carry the West Nile Virus, but maintaining the county’s larviciding efforts of storm drains (7 positions eliminated)

·        New Rochelle District  Office, closing of the clinic that offers STD, TB, HIV-prevention,  immunization and cancer screening services that people can still get at the Yonkers and White Plains district office, with public transportation available (16 positions eliminated)

·         Services for preschoolers with disabilities, reducing oversight of the program (15 positions eliminated)

·        Environmental health, scaling back on restaurant and pool inspections  (6 positions eliminated)

 

Other programs that are slated to be cut are:

·        Employee Assistance Program  (5 positions eliminated) 

·        Probation’s Domestic Violence program, now funded with a federal grant that is elapsing (4 positions eliminated)

·        Willson’s Woods Pool (where the pool is temporarily closed for renovations)

·        Public Safety’s  major case squad  and violent crimes task force (no layoffs, function absorbed by department, savings from overtime)

While there is no bus fare increase proposed, the budget calls for cutbacks in some routes. They are:

·        White Plains to Manhattan Express bus route eliminated

·        Playland route eliminated

·        Some other routes adjusted for less frequency.

 

Also, $4.5 million in savings will be realized from operational changes as follows:

·        Reductions in  overtime in the Correction Department, due to the opening of the new penitentiary and a need for fewer posts

·        The warrant squad will be moved from the Probation Department to Public Safety

·        The Department of Public Works will take over maintenance of all Public Safety vehicles

·        Public Works will take over from Information Technology the job of overseeing  the facility management of the Records Center

Revenues — 2% Hike in Property Tax Included.

 

Even with these cuts, there is insufficient revenue to prevent a serious property tax increase. Therefore, Spano called for:

·        a one cent  increase in the county sales tax to generate $87.9 million over 10 months

·        an increase of $5 or $10 (depending on the size of the vehicle) per year in the county’s share of the vehicle registration fee, to generate $4.5 million in new revenue

·        increase fees for the departments of Parks, Human Resources, Health and Labs & Research which would generate about $1.02 million in new revenue

With these cuts and new revenues, Spano’s proposed property tax increase would be 2 percent.

 

Play that 1% Sales Tax Number Again, One More Time.

 

As he tried unsuccessfully last year when he proposed a sales tax increase to hold the line on property taxes,  Spano once again called upon the state Legislature to give Westchester the authority to increase the sales tax by one cent on the dollar throughout the county, excluding the four major cities.

He noted that Westchester consumers pay the lowest sales tax in the state. The county only receives 18 percent of the sales tax collected in Westchester.  

“Nassau County has a 4.25 percent county sales tax and collects $901 million.  Suffolk has a 4.25 percent sales tax and collects $1.035 billion. We have a county sales tax of 1.8 percent and collect $279.6 million,” Spano said. “In surrounding counties, their sales tax pays for a greater portion of their budget. In Westchester, we should not be asking our property taxpayers to pick up more of this burden.” 

He added, “We are working as hard as we can to get the state Legislature to give us the relief they have given to other counties.” 

If the county does not get these new revenues, the Board of Legislators will have to determine what further cuts to make – or whether to approve a higher property tax.   

“If we don’t receive these new revenue streams by next year, your Board will not have easy options,” Spano said, “There will either be a property tax increase of 25 percent, further cuts in county government which will, in effect, dismantle it, or something in between.”

He added, “Everything we have worked so hard to achieve would be imperiled. We would become, very simply, a caretaker

for state programs.”

WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. November 13, 2003: An orderly, quiet, relentless squad of supporters of convicted New York Transit Police officer Richard Diguglielmo, currently in prison in the seventh year of a 20-year to life term for the killing of Charles Campbell in the parking lot of his father’s deli, picketed District Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s private book-signing party for her law enforcement colleagues at Vintage on Main Street in White Plains Wednesday evening.

 

A MOTHER’S MISSION: DiGuglielmo’s mother, Rosemarie DiGuglielmo was on the picketline. WPCNR asked how her son, the police officer was holding up in prison:   “He’s a strong man, He’s strong in his conviction. He knows what he did was right. He knows that was the only the only thing he could have done. Could he stand there and watch his father’s head be blown off? The first blow (with the bat) was to his father’s leg and the scars are still on his leg from that blow.  He (Campbell) then broke his hand (with the bat). All I can say is I wish someone would go and interview my son.” Photo by WPCNR News.

One of the sign-carriers was Rosemarie Diguglielmo, the former police officer’s mother, who said her group was continuing to picket Mrs. Pirro’s book publicity stops because the District Attorney’s book, To Punish and Protect, (that many of her employees inside were purchasing),  distorts the circumstances of the shooting. It was the third such Pirro publicity tour that the “PirroBusters” have picketed. 

 

In Mrs. Pirro’s book, To Punish and Protect, Mrs. Pirro and her collaborator write that Charles Campbell whom officer DiGuglielmo shot to death, after Campbell, (having being wrestled to the ground by officer DiGuglielmo and his brother-in-law and then let up), went to the trunk of his illegally parked car and removed a baseball bat from the trunk of his car to defend himself.

 

The Pirro book does not disclose to the reader that Mr. Campbell proceeded to hit the father with a bat before Mr. DiGuglielmo shot him. The Pirro book, in addition does not disclose Mr. Campbell’s arrests and convictions in the early 80s, which included arrests for assault and credit card fraud.

“PIRRO BUSTERS” protest D.A. Book Signing at Vintage in White Plains Wednesday night. The group was protesting omission of facts from Mrs. Pirro’s book. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

Rather than disclose Mr. Campbell’s tendency to violent confrontation in the past, the book paints a glowing portrait of an exemplary young man, with endorsements of his character. Protesters carried signs disclosing Mr. Campbell’s prior arrest record, and accusing The Journal News of trying Mr. Diguglielmo in the press.

 

Ms. Diguglielmo says Ms. Pirro’s book distorts the facts of the shooting.

 

Ms. Diguglielmo said this portrayal in the book omits the fact testified to in court that Mr. Campbell attacked her husband with the bat, hitting  him twice, which is the basis for the group continuing to protest the book. It appears the publisher of the book, St. Martin’s Press, failed to fact-check the court transcripts  of the case. 

 

Ms. DiGuglielmo recalls the trial vividly, saying a witness at the trial testified, “Could he stand there and watch his father’s head be blown off as one of the people testified in the trial,  I thought he was going to smash his head like a watermelon.”

The Entrance to Vintage Wednesday night, 5:45 P.M. Photo by WPCNR News

 

 

Mrs. Diguglielmo also said her husband, Richard’s father, was not a robust 53-year old man at the time Campbell attacked him (for placing a sticker on Mr. Campbell’s Corvette), as Mrs. Pirro’s book describes him.

 

She said he had had a heart attack prior to the incident, and this was why his son and son-in-law had made it a practice of dropping by the deli to pick up their father, and why they were there that fateful day. She said her husband has had two heart attacks since the fatal shooting.

 

The mother speaking strongly and without emotion, accused Pirro of trying the case in the press and accusing the family and her son Richard of being rascist.

 

She pointed out that her son had patrolled the Bronx for ten years and was not racist in any way.

 

ONE LAST APPEAL: Mrs. DiGuglielmo told WPCNR  “ I hope to God that the justices who have this next appeal in their hands see some of what Jeanine Pirro has done. She called us racist for one whole year. We got to the trial and she didn’t mention one thing about race. What was the point of that? Turning everybody against us? That was the point, to manipulate. When three top attorneys tell you she doesn’t have a case how does she wind up getting a conviction of murder?” Photo by WPCNR News

 

The Diguglielmo conviction is now on its third appeal. The first appeal was dismissed by the Appellate Court in Brooklyn, the same court that did not disbar Ms. Pirro’s husband, Albert Pirro, when he was convicted for tax evasion, and gave him a three-year suspension from practicing law instead.  The New York State Court of Appeals refused to hear the case. The Federal District Judge in White Plains said that “while another judge might rule differently, ( Judge Peter Leavitt’s charge to the jury referring to a legal situation that had been off the books for 35 years), I think it was harmless error.”

 

According to a law analyst familiar with the case, the basis for Officer DiGuglielmo’s appeal rests on the actions of Judge Peter Leavitt, who, after the defense had rested, allowed two things: Ms. Pirro’s prosecution sensing they were not going to get a conviction, as he puts it,  “switched horses in midstream”  asking for a conviction of Richard DiGuglielmo based on depraved indifference to children in the area near the deli.

 

Judge Leavitt also appeared to give the jury a way to convict DiGuglielmo. He, our source says  “dredged up an element of self defense that was specifically knocked out and eliminated years ago. He advised the jury of the notion that the shooter, the person has to know which of the two involved in the fracas instigated it. This legal interpretation was thrown out by the state legislature 35 years ago. “

 

 Our analyst goes on: “Those are two clear indications that Richard DiGuglielmo’s rights were violated and yet they’ve gone on now for 7 years on appeals. The two rights violated are the right of notice and the right of defense.

The Federal court heard it…the first time he said you haven’t exhausted all your state remedies, and now finally it’s going to the second circuit court of appeals.

It’s now a question will the judges who hear it be influenced by Jeanine like all the others.”

 

White Plains Police Commissioner, Dr. Frank Straub, and Deputy Commissioner David Chong, apparently strolling back to Police Headquarters down the street, advised the pickets that they had to keep moving and not block the entrance to Vintage, because they did not have a permit to conduct a demonstration. The pickets obeyed that instruction. The protest continued until 7:30 P.M.

 

As to Officer DiGuglielmo’s appeal, The District Attorney’s office has until December 1 to respond to papers at the Federal Court of Appeals, Second Circuit in the latest appeal of Officer DiGuglielmo’s conviction.

 

WPCNR attempted to enter Vintage to see how the signing was going and take a picture of Ms. Pirro signing books. A young woman in a tanned suit said I could not go in. I asked her to relay to Ms. Pirro my request to photograph Ms. Pirro. I was told to wait a few minutes. Five minutes later I asked a man in a black suit, apparently guarding the entrance to Vintage about my request and was told, “No. No pictures at this time.”

 

The booksigning party, apparently not open to the public, sent out invitations to employees of the District Attorney’s office and other law enforcement agencies throughout the county. Many could be seen emerging with a copy of the Pirro book in hand, leaving the restaurant.

A SILENT ORDERLY STOIC PROTEST: The protest was conducted without chants, without interfering with persons entering the restaurant. Even when bated by an attractive dark-haired woman in a dark pants suit entering the restaurant, who told the participants, “Get a life!”, they made no reaction. Photo by WPCNR