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SCHOOL BUDGET, CITY BUDGET, HOUSING FORECLOSURES, PLAYLAND MADNESS A WITCHES’ BREW
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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. NEWS & COMMENT by John F. Bailey. March 10, 2016:
THE WHITE PLAINS SCHOOL BUDGET AND THE CITY OF WHITE PLAINS BUDGETSHAVE PROBLEMS..RIGHT NOW THE SCHOOL BUDGET IS DEPENDING ON MORE AID FROM THE STATE..YET IT IS ROLLING OVER LAST YEAR’S BUDGET AND EXPECTS IT TO BE $209.3 MILLION –$3.5 MILLION MORE THAN LAST YEAR.
THE CITY ASSESSMENT ROLL HAS STAYED THE SAME BUT –SINCE IT DID NOT GO UP THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS TO ABSORB THE 1.7% INCREASE IN SPENDING THEY CURRENTLY PLAN. THIS MEANS THEY HAVE TO GET THE MONEY FROM YOU BY RAISING THE TAX RATE $13 TO $228.
THIS IS A 2.13% INCREASE IN THE TAX RATE WHICH TRANSLATES TO—AROUND $235 MORE IN TAXES FOR A MEDIAN PRICED HOME ($650,000)—THAT’S WHERE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOW DEPENDING ON THE SCHOOL INSTRUCTION BUDGET COMING UP NEXT WEEK—AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS LOOKING AT ANOTHER BIG BOND ISSUE WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR.
THE CITY HAS A BIG LABOR PROBLEM.
THE POLICE SETTLED WITH THE CITY FOR A 6.75 % SALARY INCREASE THROUGH 2017-18…BUT THE OTHER THREE UNION CONTRACTS ARE UP THIS YEAR SO YOU KNOW THE POLICE, CSEA AND THE TEAMSTERS ARE HUNGERING FOR PARITY.T
HIS WILL COST THE CITY PLENTY IF THE PRESENT SOFTNESS IN SALES TAXES CONTINUES—IT WAS DOWN 6% IN JANUARY…AN ADDITIONAL $6 MILLION IN SALARY PLUS BENEFITS IN THE 2016-2017 YEAR AMOUNTS TO A $16 PER THOUSAND INCREASE IN THE TAX RATE –TO COVER THAT IF THE SALES TAXES CONTINUE TO SOFTEN.
THAT IS A 1% INCREASE IN THE TAX RATE (UNLESS HOTEL TAXES HELP OUT)…NOT AS BAD AN INCREASE AS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT POSSIBLY FACES…BUT THE PROBLEM IS THESE SO-CALLED BUSINESSES (THE CITY AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICTDO NOT CUT EXPENSES AS THEY GO FORWARD FACING BLEAK HOME PRICES, AND LACKLUSTER ECONOMY GROWTH.
IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN HOW THE CITY PARKING REVENUES ARE DOING—AND THE CITY FUND BALANCE IS DEFINITELY NOT GROWING BECAUSE $5 Million of the sales tax set aside every year is used to pay salaries and is not socked away for a rainy day.
OVER IN GREENBURGH—WE LEARNED THAT GREENBURGH HAS BEEN VERY PATIENT WITH OVER 300 HOMEOWNERS DELINQUENT IN THEIR TAXES…LOST IN THE GREENBURGH PRESS RELEASE IS THE GLARING FACT THAT THOSE HOMES LEFT – 72 THAT GREENBURGH IS ASKING THE COURT TO FORECLOSE ON WILL BE SOLD BY THE TOWN..FURTHER LOWERING REAL ESTATE VALUES. IT SHOWS THE ECONOMY IS STILL SICK DESPITE THE ROSY FORECASTS OF JOBS BEING UP.
SPEAKING OF JOBS –THE PLAYLAND JOB FAIR IS THIS WEEKEND AT THE COUNTY CENTER—BUT MORE TO THE POINT WHO IS GOING TO RUN PLAYLAND IS THE COUNTY REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT SPENDING $58 MILLION MORE OR LESS ON INFRASTRUCTURE?
THAT’S WHAT THE DEVELOPER HANDPICKED BY THE ASTORINO ADMINISTRATION WANTS THE COUNTY TO SPEND…AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE AND THE DEVELOPER WANTS TO RUN PLAYLAND FOR 30 YEARS…ARE THEY SERIOUS? I THOUGHT THE APPEAL OF THIS DEAL WAS WE’D BE RELIEVED OF PLAYLAND DEBT SERVICE AND THE COUNTY WOULD MAKE MONEY?
WE TAXPAYERS DO ALL THE PAYING AND THE DEVELOPER GETS ALL THE LIVING.
BUT DOES THE COUNTY BUDGET COMMITTEE TAKE UP PLAYLAND FIRST ON THE AGENDA MONDAY. NO.
WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT THE COUNTY TAKING CARE OF PLAYLAND THE LAST 6 YEARS DURING THE ASTORINO YEARS, AND DURING THE SPANO YEARS? WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT THE COUNTY BOARD’S REVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL DEAL? (A LOOK AT BY A DISORGANIZED POSSE OF LEGISLATORS RIDING BY ON A FAST HORSE.)
WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT HOW CLOSELY THE DEVELOPER LOOKED AT THE PROPERTY…$60 MILLION IS A LOT TAXPAYER MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN AND IT HAS TO BE SPENT BY THE COUNTY WITHIN 3 YEARS. THE COUNTY TAKES A DECADE TO REBUILD A SWIMMING POOL
THIS PLAYLAND SCREW UP IS A LOUSY JOB BY THE ASTORINO ADMINISTRATION, AND THE SHEEPISH COUNTY BOARD IN REVIEWING THE FIRST DEAL.
AND REMEMBER SUSTAINABLE PLAYLAND WAS THROWN OUT BY THE COUNTY BOARD BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT ASSURE THE BOARD THEY WOULD FINANCE WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO WITH THE PARK AND REVEAL WHO WOULD BE THEIR VENDORS….
IF THE BOARD APPROVES THIS 30 YEAR DEAL –WITH SHARPLY HIGHER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE COUNTY SHARE OF THE PROFIT SHARING…THAT COVERS THE $60 MILLION DEBT THE NEW VENDOR WANTS THEM TO PICK UP IT IS A BAD DEAL FOR THE TAXPAYER.
WHAT’S NEW? EVERY GOVERNMENT DEAL IS A BAD DEAL FOR THE TAXPAYER.
GREENBURGH SPEEDS UP FORECLOSURE PROCESS. GREENBURGH FORECLOSES ON 72 PROPERTIES.RECEIVES SETTLEMENT/PAYMENT OF BACK TAXES ON 298. “Will Not Wait to File Foreclosures in future years.”
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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. From Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. March 7, 2016:
Last week the town filed a Motion for Judgment of Foreclosure in State Supreme Court to foreclose on 72 properties. The final list is for 72 parcels representing approximately $7.1 million of delinquent taxes (including interest and penalties) of which 16 (including 2 demolished) are classified as family residences.
We are now waiting for a Judge to sign the papers. The town will than have ownership rights to these properties and will sell or auction off the properties.
When Receiver of Taxes Anne Povella and Michael Pflaum, special counsel in the office of the Town Attorney began the process in December 2013, the delinquent tax list for 2010 and prior tax liens consisted of 370 parcels representing approximately $19.9 million of delinquent taxes (including interest and penalties at such time).
Thus to date, we have reduced the list of delinquent tax liens by 298 parcels representing almost $13 million. By April 29, 2014, when the List of Delinquent Taxes was filed, the number of parcels was reduced to 222 representing approximately $13.0 million. For the most part, the $6.9 million reduction was the result of full payment or entering into a tax agreement (that required current taxes to be paid as well as a deposit for the remainder).
An additional 94 parcels representing approximately $4.5 million were removed from the list prior to the filing of the Petition and Notice of Foreclosure on July 1, 2015. Since the filing of the Petition and Notice of Foreclosure, an additional 56 parcels representing approximately $4.7 million have been withdrawn from the list resulting in the current list as described above.
It is important to note that removing a parcel from the list was not subject to our arbitrary discretion. Removal required compliance with Section 1138 of the Real Property Tax Law. Thus, either the tax liens were redeemed in full, the tax liens were subject to a tax agreement, the owner of the parcel had filed for bankruptcy or collecting the tax lien was subject to a legal impediment.
Examples of a legal impediment include parcels subject to other legal disputes (that ultimately will result in a sale whereby the Town will collect in full) or a parcel that will cost the Town more to own than the taxes due. Also included in this category are parcels subject to a valid sales contract that has yet to close. There are six remaining parcels that we expect to collect over $.9 million at closing.
This is the first in rem (foreclosure process) that the town has taken in many years. We have decided to do this annually in the future.
By not waiting – it will be easier for residents to come up with the dollars that they owe, work out payment plans and avoid foreclosure. I feel that we have done everything possible to help property owners avoid foreclosure.
At least seven letters were sent to everyone who owes back taxes.
I devoted many hours – meeting with residents who contacted me, connecting them with non profits and others that were willing to be of assistance to them.
Some people sold their property to avoid foreclosure. Others worked out payment agreements with the town or obtained reverse mortgages.
The Receiver of Taxes and Town Attorney’s office also had numerous meetings with property owners—and was successful in reducing the list of property owners on the foreclosure list.
To encourage payments of back taxes the Town Board even enacted an amnesty on interest in 2013.
Paul Feiner
White Plains Centennial Concert Today at Grace Church 5 PM
START YOUR WEEKEND WITH WHITE PLAINS WEEK THE MARCH 4 SHOW–SEE IT NOW ON www.whiteplainsweek.com
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JIM BENEROFE IS BACK WITH
JOHN BAILEY AND PETER KATZ
WHITE PLAINS WEEK
16TH YEAR ON THE AIR
THIS WEEK
ON
THE REPUBLICAN CIRCUS–A RECREATION OF REPUBLICAN DEBATE STYLES.
TRUMPCARE
TIMES IN TRUMP PANIC–HILLARY CORONATION
THE PLAYLAND GO ROUND —
WHAT IS THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE DOING?
THE WESTCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER EXPANSION
CAN BURGER KING SAVE WHITE PLAINS RETAIL FADEOUT? IT’LL TAKE A LOT OF WHOPPERS.
AND MORE
DOWNLOAD THE MARCH 4 WHITE PLAINS WEEK AT
www.whiteplainsweek.com
or SEE THE LOCAL NEWSMEN ON YOUTUBE AT
County Development Corporation Will Finance Westchester Medical Center Foray into $230M Ambulatory Care “Walk-in” Facility for Central Westchester
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New Westchester Medical Center Ambulatory Care Facility to serve walk-in patients, was announced Wednesday at the Westchester County Local Development Corporation. The facility, to be located adjacent the present Westchester Medical Center pavilion (red brick building) was announced Wednesday.
WPCNR HEALTH TRENDS. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. (Edited) March 3, 2016:
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) unveiled plans Wednesday to build a $230-million, 280,000-square-foot Ambulatory Care Pavilion adjacent to Westchester Medical Center on its Valhalla campus.
Michael Israel CEO of Westchester Medical Center Health Network explained, “The development of an ambulatory care (“walk-in service” ) hub on our Valhalla campus will respond to key changes in health care delivery, while addressing a critical shortage of space as our programs and patient volume continue to grow. This project will enable us to offer outpatient services currently not available on our campus and further showcase the latest in healthcare technologies.”
The view of how the new Westchester Medical Center Ambulatory Pavilion scheduled to open to serve “walk-in” patients in 2018 will be situation adjacent to the present WMC building. The view is from the Sprain Brook Parkway, looking West.
The project will break ground this spring and is expected to be completed in 2018. The Westchester County Local Development Corporation is financing the project at no risk to the county. The borrower WMCHealth is solely responsible for repaying the bonds. (More in the WPCNR News Feed below)
Israel said that the eight-story steel and glass Ambulatory Care Pavilion targeted for completion in 2 years, will include 185,000 square feet of ambulatory care service space, including an Advanced Imaging Center, Ambulatory Surgery Center and Heart and Vascular Institute, and a 20,000-square-foot private-room expansion for Westchester Medical Center, plus another 75,000 square feet for physician offices.
The new building project is expected to break ground this spring, as Westchester Medical Center’s new 6,000-square-foot lobby and its new Caregiver Center for patient families are opened.
The Westchester County Local Development Corporation will finance the project and includes $44 million for other capital projects and may re-fund up to $52 million for certain bonds for a total not to exceed $340 million.
There is no financial risk to the county.
The sole obligation for repaying the bonds rests with the not-for-profit borrower, not the LDC. Because WMCHealth is a public benefit corporation, the LDC amended its bylaws to expand the LDC financing ability to include public benefit corporations. The additional reach was approved by the state on Tuesday to allow for today’s announcement.
The new Pavilion Team: From left, Mark Tulis, Vice Chair, WMCHealth; Mitchell Hochberg, Chair, WMCHealth;
Richard G. Wishnie, Director, WMCHealth; Deputy County Executive Kevin J. Plunkett;
County Executive Robert P. Astorino; Ilyse Spertus, PhD., Director, Local Development
Corporation (LDC); Michael D. Israel, President and CEO, WMCHealth; Stephen J.
Hunt, Chair, LDC, Nicholas Longo, Director, LDC; Mark K. Stanton, Director, LDC, Gary
F. Brudnicki, Senior Executive Vice President, COO and CFO, WMCHealth; Jerry
McGrath, Director, LDC; William M. Mooney III, Director, Office of Economic Development
The announcement was made at a meeting of the Westchester County Local Development Corporation (LDC), an agency created by Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino, which makes tax-exempt financing available to not-for-profit institutions at no risk to taxpayers.
“Hospitals have long been critical to our quality of life in Westchester, but they are also a fast-growing part of our county’s economy,” said Westchester County Executive Astorino. “Today’s announcement represents a giant boost for both healthcare and the economy. This is the single biggest financing for our LDC to date and by working together with Westchester Medical Center, we are improving healthcare outcomes and creating jobs, which is a winning combination.”
Expected to generate 180 new full-time jobs when complete as well as 225 prevailing wage construction jobs, the WMCHealth Ambulatory Care Pavilion is believed to be one of Westchester’s largest non-residential building projects in recent memory, and the largest healthcare project since Westchester Medical Center’s 400,000-square-foot main tower was built in 1977 and its 250,000-square-foot Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital was built in 2004.
Drop-off area of the new Ambulatory Care Facility.
“This is just another example of the significant investments that WMCHealth is making to further its mission of providing the finest care as close to home for the adults and children of our region,” said Mitchell Hochberg, Chair of the network’s Board of Directors.
Israel said that WMCHealth was proud to partner with County Executive Astorino and the LDC on collaborating on a project of this importance.
“By the time WMCHealth’s Ambulatory Care Pavilion cares for its first patients in 2018, we will have invested nearly $1 billion in infrastructure, technology, renovation and expansion on the Valhalla campus alone, in just over a decade,” Israel added.
Astorino established the county LDC in 2013 to fill a void that had existed since January 2008, when the state’s Industrial Development Agencies, including Westchester’s, lost the authority to issue bonds on behalf of non-profit organizations. Since then, the LDC has provided not-for-profits in Westchester with access to $264 million in low-cost, tax-exempt bonds for the financing of job-creating construction projects. The WMCHealth project marks a first for the hospital and th
About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,400-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, NY, spanning seven hospitals and several campuses and locations in the Hudson Valley. Its flagship, Westchester Medical Center, is the only regional resource for tertiary and quaternary care, covering 6,000 square miles in eight counties and serving more than three million people. WMCHealth employs more than 10,000 people, with nearly 3,000 attending physicians. With Level 1 and Level 2 Trauma Centers, the region’s only acute-care children’s hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals and numerous health-related centers, programs and services, today WMCHealth is the leading and pre-eminent provider of integrated health in the Hudson Valley.
About the Local Development Corporation
Created in 2013 under the state’s Not-For-Profit Corporation Law, the LDC provides non-profits access to millions of dollars in low-cost, tax-exempt bonds for the financing of job-creating construction projects. These benefits are provided at no cost or risk to the taxpayers of Westchester County.
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NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OFFERS PLANNING DISCUSSION ON CITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUES. PLANNING COMMISSIONER WILL ATTEND “TO LISTEN”
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The Tuesday March 8 Meeting of the White Plains Council of Neighborhood Associations (WPCNA) will be held from 7:30-9PM at Lower Level Meeting Room, Education House, 5 Homeside Lane, White Plains.
As a follow-up to previous meetings the CNA plans to have a
Roundtable Discussion about Citywide issues and Neighborhood Concerns.
Please bring ideas, concerns, opinions, and questions to what we hope will be a vibrant conversation.
White Plains Planning Commissioner Chris Gomez has accepted our invitation to participate in this meeting as a listener and resource person. Neighborhood Reps, please plan ahead as to what you want to contribute.
Photograph of the Day: Burger King Opens in Galleria
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BURGER KING HAS ESTABLISHED ITS PRESENCE IN WHITE PLAINS BY TAKING OVER THE LONG VACANT MCDONALDS SPOT ON THE GALLERIA FOOD COURT EMPTY FOR ALMOST A YEAR. THE HOME OF THE WHOPPER WAS DOING A BIG BUSINESS WHEN WPCNR LEFT THE MALL AT 12:30 TODAY…THIS PICTURE WAS SHOW AT 11:45 A.M. WELCOME BACK WHOPPER! IT IS NOT KNOWN WHETHER CITY HALL IS PLANNING AN OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING.
White Plains School District Goes to Electric Optical Scan Voting Machines for May 17 Budget Vote.
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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the White Plains City School District. February 27, 2016:
The Clerk to the Board of EducationMichele Schoenfeld announced this week at the regular Board of Education Meeting that Optical Scanning Voting Machines would be used for the first time in the annual School Board Budget Vote May 17, (instead of the pull-lever mechanical voting machines used for decades).
Ms. Schoenfeld also announced that Battle Hill voters will now vote in the Battle Hill Community Room, instead of Fire Station 5 which has been closed by the city.
WHITE PLAINS WEEK–THE FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26 SHOW ON INTERNET NOW ON PLAYLAND, CITY ECONOMY, AIRPORT PLANS, WILD WEATHER, WHITE PLAINS HIGH GRADUATION STATS MORE
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PETER KATZ, JOHN BAILEY, JIM BENEROFE THE WHITE PLAINS WEEK NEWS TEAM–COVERING THE CITY WEEKLY IN THEIR 16TH YEAR ON THE AIR.
SEE THE FRIDAY NIGHT TELECAST AROUND THE WORLD AT
www.whiteplainsweek.com
or on YOUTUBE AT
JOHN BAILEY AND PETER KATZ
on
THE PLAYLAND $58 MILLION DOLLAR SURPRISE
THE WILD EAST WEATHER
ANNE FITZSIMMONS APPOINTED CHIEF OF POLICE
GEORGE WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY COVERAGE
THE WHITE PLAINS ECONOMY SOFTENS IN JANUARY
STATE DELIVERS STATISTICS ON WHITE PLAINS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION PROFILE.
TRANSCARE THE AMBULANCE SERVICE ENDS SERVICE.
GREENBURG DECIDES TO CONTINUE SUBSTANTIAL ASSESSMENT SAVINGS FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OWNERS AND CONDOMINIUM OWNERS TO SPARE GIANT TAX HIKES
BOB MORRONE RETURNS TO WVOX