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WPCNR MAMARONECK AVENUE AMBLER. MAY 22,2010: White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley, YMCA Branch Executive/VP Hélène Mogridge, Westchester County Legislator William Ryan, White Plains Common Council President Tom Roach and YMCA President/CEO Deborah Bowles celebrated the White Plains Family YMCA’s 110th Anniversary on May 18, 2010 at the YMCA at
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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey May 21, 2010 UPDATED11:05 P.M. E.D.T.:
White Plains Commissioner of Finance Michael Genito advised WPCNR again Friday afternoon in a written statement that the finance department does not have “final numbers” on the budget and “does not know when they will be ready as the hectic city budget week drew to a close.
Thursday, Genito said final numbers on the 2010-11 budget were not available because the Common Council was considering more changes to the budget in addition to the firing of police and firefighters Monday night, three of the Mayor’s aids, 15% payment of health benefits for appointed, elected and non-union managerial personnel, and bonding for $368,000 in operating expenses.
Genito, asked if such changes could reach one million dollars, said they would not. The Council to date has suggested cuts of $4 Million in the proposed budget of $160.2 Million, bring the budget down to approximately $156 Million, and lowering the tax increase to $221 additional on the average home in White Plains (valued at $728,000).
The actual tax on the median home in White Plains (which currently sells for $650,000 and is assessed at $18,375) will be $3,160 under the new tax rate, using the new Basic STAR Exemption. Each year the city property tax sets an all-time high.
Genito said the final budget figures could have been crunched by Thursday as promised Monday evening, however with the council considering more changes, legalities of such changes had to be investigated, and worked through, in order for the changes to be validated. There is no date yet when the new “crunched” budget would be. Mr. Genito declined to identify the changes the Common Council was considering.
The Council voted in Executive Session Monday evening to fire 9 firefighters and 12 police officers. The next day the Mayor issued a statement saying the city door was still open to continue negotiations. Then the next day, Wednesday the city fired the 9 firefighters and 12 police officers.
However the three Mayor’s aids whom the Common Council decided to eliminate: the Public Information Officer, the Mayor’s Administrative Officer and an Assistant Counsel in the legal department who was with Mayor Adam Bradley as his legislative aid, in Bradley’s Albany office when he was an assemblyman, are still on the city payroll through June 30, the end of the fiscal year when they will go barring a Common Council change of heart. Personnel Officer Elizabeth Wallace confirmed the three were still on the payroll today, (even though the 12 police officers and 9 firefighters were fired Wednesday).
The President of the White Plains Police Benevolent Association, James Carrier told WPCNR “I have no idea why the city would fire these officers now,when they are funded through June 30.”
Carrier said the union contract with the city enabled the city to decrease police personnel at any time, and no notice was needed.
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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. From News Reports. May 20,2010: The White Plains Times website reports that Zanaro’s — the original City Center Restaurant there since 2003 along with Applebee’s since the City Center opened will close Tuesday, May 25. WPT reports it will be replaced by Buffalo Wings. The spokesorganization for Cappelli Enterprises has not responded to a WPCNR query about this rumor which surfaced in the last 24 hours. Cappelli Enterprises has recently replaced one of the City Center’s major vacancies with a Shoprite and is in the process of preparing the space. The company has also promised a second major tenant to fill the other major space.
Zanaro’s never really caught on as a big time meet and greet place in White Plains, though the atmosphere in the old bank building was very intriguing and had nice ambience and tasty food.
Buffalo Wild Wings tends to duplicate the fare and atmosphere at many of the sports bars and restaurants along Mamaroneck Avenue making up the White Plains “Drinking District.” The Mamaroneck Avenue “Drink and Greet” strip is the destination for entertainment for 20 and 30 year olds throughout the tri-state area on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights– an audience that Zanaros did not cater to (in this reporter’s opinion).
Buffalo Wild Wings serves a lot of chicken with unique hot sauces — a specialty developed in Buffalo, New York. It could be called New York chicken, perhaps. Also on the menu are ribs, beefy burgers, wraps and Buffalitos, and sandwiches, and you can purchase 14 different varieties of hot sauce you can try at home.
But Buffalo Wings biggest advantage is it offers a full bar “with a wide selection of draft and bottled beer.” The date for when the “Buffalo Bar” comes to town is not out yet.
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WPCNR THE LABOR NEWS. From Johny Nelson, New York State Department of Labor. May 20, 2010:
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WPCNR NEWS AND COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. May 19, 2010:
Buried on page 18A of the Journal News today was a chilling front page story, that should have been on the front page, but was buried as usual because it is important.. The Associated Press reported:
“The federal government announced Tuesday it was nearly tripling the size of an area in the Gulf of Mexico that’s closed to fishing because of a massive oil spill off the coast of
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it had closed nearly 46,000 square miles, or about 19 percent of federal waters.”
Well, this is sobering. Just 20%. No problem.
The new Black Death is still leaking with creeping horror into America’s greatest fishing grounds.
The geniuses at BP have fit a small pipe into the large pipe to capture “some” of the oil, but they do not know how much. They are hopeful they can perhaps refine it. This is being played as fixing the leak. But the black hole is still leaking.
Come on, saving your stinking investment is ludicrous.
At the beginning of this week, scientists in a New York Times dispatch, speculated that the Gulf currents are going to bring the Black Death into the waters and perhaps onto the West coast of
Dead Sea II here we come.
Better get those mansions on the West Coast of Florida,
So the Gulf is being turned into a dead sea by these energy experts. It is not the first blowout either. But they have not been able to cap this one. I want to repeat that: They have not been able to cap this one.
These corporate giants caused this horror. And they cannot fix it, yet.
BP and Haliburton in combination with systems maker are responsible.
What has our President done to them?
Nice concerned speeches.
Has he canceled all government contracts with Haliburton for their alleged incompetence?
No.
Has he suspended BP’s rights to drill elsewhere at other rigs across the Gulf, or wherever they may be under
Of course not.
Haliburton and BP who ran this rig were on duty, folks.
This forgiving nature that is being extended by our condescending government to the corporate robber barons of 2010 – from Goldman-Sachs to Citibank to Bank of America, and all the banks, the Wall Street ganovim—(sounds like vermin) — to Haliburton to BP – fills me with disgust.
BP and Haliburton have wrecked an ocean with their technical incompetence that failed. Pointing to the past as proof all this technology should have worked, is no excuse.
The only organized activity that has any accountability is baseball and fastpitch softball – when someone makes an error – the fans know who it is. No question. Even so, the official scorers are so lenient these days that unless you’re at the game, you really don’t know whose incompetence really created the win or loss.
I am tired of lenient government official scorers.
And where are the oil-soaked bird pictures? The dead fish photos? Is the national media covering up the damage?
Come on. If President Obama has any shot of getting reelected in 2012, he has to treat the oil boys really nice, and go through the motions of wrist-slapping and improving regulation, just like he’s doing the wrist-slapping of Wall Street, while ignoring the hoarding of loan money that the banks just are not pushing out.
Everybody’s better on Wall Street, in boardrooms of the banks, and now even
The Gulf is never going to get better.
Everywhere you look the incompetence, greed, and corner-cutting philosophies of the “captains of industry,” read that, “gang leaders” are every bit as dangerous to the well-being of the common man as street gangs – instead of tattoos and secret symbols they wear pinstripe suits and white shirts – and say they are “sorry,” and like Mercedes symbols.
Wall Street – hey – the government should have never allowed those bonus payments – earned thanks to the bailout – those should have been garnished once those dirty rats touched the money. And calling them rats, insults the noble rat who is resourceful, bold, and does not cheat, continue to float balloon mortgages, and forecloses because they can.
Does any one realize that the lower south and southeast part of the
That our supply of seafood from the Gulf is about to disappear like that?
What are they going to do put up signs to fish saying: AVOID OIL AHEAD. OCEAN CLOSED.
That the southern
I do not want to hear about being green any more.
I want those responsible for ripping off the people and wrecking the planet with their greed suffering big time.
I want all BP interests declared unwelcome in this country, and give them a year to divest themselves.
Remember Haliburton and their facility Kellogg Brown Root’s faulty showers that electrocuted soldiers, built for the army in
Haliburton’s “connections” should not save them after this one.
Well failure again has cost us – this time it is costing us an ocean…and all the food in it and who knows.
The President should go after these two behemoth bunglers.
Put Haliburton out of the government contracting business big time – and throw BP out of the country, strip them of their government contracts – suspend their wells, and if that is not practical—fine them the amount of their profits on U.S. sales or hey world-wide for that matter.
You cannot begin to imagine the cost the new Black Death is about to cause.
There will be more Gulf Horrors.
And where are the nation’s environmentalists on the Gulf spill?
Could we have a little protest please?
Where is the 100,000 march “Gulf Day” protest?
This is the greatest environmental disaster the
On Memorial Day weekend the environmentalists need to memorialize the Gulf.
Meanwhile the black death continues to spew.
No American should buy any BP gas – not one gallon of it again.
Punish them on the bottom line.
And get those windmills up in the gulf for wind power…because it is about to become a
Hey
Big Oil may have already cost us the planet.
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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. May 18, 2010: White Plains voters gave the Board of Education and the School District and new Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Christopher Clouet a resounding vote of confidence tonight.
The 2,273 voters casting ballots passed the school budget by a 66% to 34% margin, 1,525 in favor of the $183.5 Million budget (incidentally $27 million more than the proposed city budget proposed by the White Plains Common Council Monday night) and 748 opposed. Sheryl Brady and Charles Norris were elected to second terms on the school board.
Dr. Clouet told WPCNR he thanked the voters for their support of the budget in a very difficult year, and appreciate their turning out to support public education in White Plains.
The Unofficial Results Tabulated Tonight at the Board of Education Headquarters on Homeside Lane
Clouet speaking on White Plains Week two weeks told viewers of the local news program that the $183.5 level of spending was the absolute bottom level the district could entertain without impacting the quality of education in White Plains. The budget reduces teacher staffing significantly, eliminating 41 full-time teachers, 39 support staff (teaching assistants), 4 administrators for a grand total of 83.1 Full-time employees
Here are the details on what the budget means for White Plains.
The Big Picture.
The 2010-11 proposed budget raises the tax levy 2.39%, which delivers a 3.7% increase in the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $534.63.
For the median White Plains home (pegged at $650,000) for a property owner under 65 — this delivers a $400 tax increase, raising the school property tax on that median home to $8,340. If you are over 65, you get a $365 tax increase to $6,529. Bear in mind if your home is valued more than $650,000, your tax is higher.
To figure out what you pay under the new STAR EXEMPTION and ENHANCED STAR EXEMPTIONS, deduct $2,740 from your assessed value if you’re under 65 and multiply it by $534.63. If over 65 deduct $5,480 from your assessed value and multiply it by $534.63.
City and School District Tax Effect: $11,500 on the median home.
When you combine the school district tax of $8,340 with the new city tax rate announced Monday evening for the median White Plains home. The city’s Commissioner of Finance Michael Genito said the average White Plains home is valued at $728,000 and they would pay $221 more under the new city tax rate announced tentatively Monday evening as $171.97.
For the $650,000 home with an assessed value of $18,375 the total city tax at the $171.97 tax rate is $3,160. Add that to the new school tax for that $650,000 home and that home will pay $11,500 to the city and to the School coffers. When you add the county tax, about $2,700–the tax bite rises to over $14,000.
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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. By John F. Bailey. May 18, 2010: Today the police and firefighter firings decided on last night in Common Council in Executive Session, were announced to the Department of Public Safety.
A police veteran told WPCNR this afternoon, “this is a sad day in the department.” The officer told WPCNR he does not recall in his memory spanning two decades of any police or fire layoffs. He also lamented that a good portion of remaining police officers might choose to retire. According to Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong (who was out of the city today on a planned assignment), 31 of the 206, (now 194 after today’s cuts) are eligible to retire, and about 18 of those officers are “senior” “ranking” officers.
As previously reported by WPCNR previously, the city strategy to eliminate 39 police and fire uniformed personnel became reality this morning.
The Common Council implemented that policy and cut 12 police officers (all of whom are the most recently hired and trained police officers, who are placed on a preferred list and will be the first to be brought back should good times and city revenues turn up some day).
The city also announced the layoffs of 9 firefighters. The city has chosen to not replace the 9 vacancies in the police department (funded positions, now vacant) bringing the total cut in police strength down 21 officers.
On the fire side, in addition to laying off 9 firefighters, the Common Council in their Executive Session action Tuesday evening, by default, chose not to fill 9 vacancies in the fire bureau. That brings the dip in fire department strength to 18 personnel, bringing the final strength of the FD down to 152.
Mayor Bradley, commenting on the uniformed staff cuts released this statement to the media:
“My Administration has been focused on preserving jobs and dealing with a very serious fiscal crisis while protecting taxpayers who are already overburdened.
In the case of the Teamsters and the CSEA, we were able to guarantee those unions no layoffs and provided the City significant cost savings of approximately $2 million.
The Mayor’s office made every good faith effort to reach a similar resolution with our police and fire unions.
In light of the current budget situation, the Common Council felt it had to move forward with its decision night obligations.
However, the door is still open but the city needs similar concessions from the police and fire unions as those already obtained from the Teamsters and the CSEA.”
WPCNR asked Mr. Bradley why CSEA and Teamsters were guaranteed jobs over the next year without certainty that revenues would be there to fund the financial commitment. Bradley told WPCNR, “they gave us the savings we requested in return for guarantee of no layoffs.”
Asked how the city could commit to paying revenue it may or may not have, Bradley said his budget director and Commissioner of Finance Michael Genito and consultant Eileen Earl Bradley were “very confident” in their projections of the revenues for 2010-11.
WPCNR asked why the city chose to protect the 45 non police-trained (CSEA personnel) in the Public Safety Department, thus leaving trained police officers as their only way to cut. Bradley said “Does it make sense to have a trained police officer doing those jobs.”
Bradley said that Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong and Police Chief James Bradley had assured him the city will have “the same number of police officers on patrol.”
Asked if either Jim Carrier (police) or Joe Carrier (fire) union heads had contacted Mr. Bradley about coming back to the table, Bradley said he was unaware of that. He confirmed that all aspects of the police and fire contracts would be open for discussion in July when the present police contract (awarded by binding arbitration in 2008) expires.
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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. May 18, 2010 UPDATED 4 P.M. E.D.T.: The Common Council, meeting in Executive Session has agreed to defund 12 uniformed police officers and 9 fire-fighters, to deliver $2,000,000 of the $2.06 million in savings the council wanted from the police and fire unions in the $156.2 Million budget the council agreed on in principal earlier Monday evening on “Decision Night.”
John Callahan, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff reported the layoffs to WPCNR after the Executive Session. Callahan said the council decided to make the layoffs because the city could not come to an accommodation with the police and fire unions, as it had with the Teamsters and CSEA, which have been guaranteed no layoffs in return for waiving the pay increases of the last two years recently negotiated plus benefits worth $1.9 Million.
Callahan had said the 12 police officers let go (if the defunding stands), will save the city $1,180,000 and the 9 firefighters, $880,000 for a total of $2,060,000.
Asked if the Commissioner of Public Safety, David Chong, felt the layoffs were feasible, Callahan said Commission has indicated the departments will be “able to do the job and keep the same number of officers on patrol by shifting officers from positions to patrol.” He said Chief James Bradley could supply details for WPCNR Tuesday morning.
Callahan said the layoffs were not definite, but WPCNR notes it does put pressure on the police and fire unions.
Earlier in the evening, Mayor Adam Bradley said to a packed house, he hope there would not be layoffs.
The Council took the Executive Session action, after publicly firing (by defunding) three key members of the Mayor’s staff: the Public Information Officer, Antoinette Biordi, the Assistant Corporation Counsel, Jay Peltz (hired to handle certiorari cases), and the Mayor’s Administrative Officer Judy Chris.
The twelve police officers defunding is effective May 28. The defunding of 9 firefighters is effective May 24.
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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. May 17, 2010 UPDATED 8:35 A.M. E.D.T. May 18, 2010: As predicted by WPCNR this afternoon, the Common Council slashed the $160.2 Million proposed budget by $4 Million tonight, expecting $2.06Million in givebacks in a settlement with the police and fire unions. As this is being written an Executive Session is under way in which the council is discussing the police and fire union situation.
Police and fire unions picketed city hall prior to “Decision Night” tonight. In a packed Common Council Chamber there were 41 police and firefighters filling the chamber, and knots of them in the exterior hall and extending down the staircase. Photos for WPCNR by Patti Cantu
The Common Council took a number of steps tonight with the council team of Benjamin Boykin, David Buchwald, Milagros Lecuona, and Council President Tom Roach pushing through precedent-setting cuts that took a $4 Million chunk out of the Mayor’s proposed budget and reduced the proposed city property tax rate from $186,71 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $171.97/$1,000 of assessed valuation. Michael Genito, City Budget Director and Commissioner of Finance said this reduced the city tax increase on the average White Plains home (priced at $750,000) from $445 to $224.
Contributions on Health Benefits Ahead for electees, appointed officials, non-union mgrs.
The Council took dead aim at health benefits, deciding to pay 15% of their health care benefits going forward, and decreeing that all elected officials, and appointed officials and non-union managers pay 15% of their health care benefits in the 2010-11 budget year.Councilwoman Beth Smayda who, representing the Budget and Management Committee that had suggested the health benefit measure said she supported the new health care contribution policy. She told WPCNR she was not sure how many elected/appointed employees are affected by health benefit contributions, but savings are estimated at $60,000, effective for the new budget year.
The Council , despite strong advisory against it from Mr. Genito, also agreed to save $368,000 (including police cars and information technology capital expenses) by bonding for that expense short term.
Council Fires Mayor’s Staff In Public
In an historic turn of events, the council fired three employees in public.The core group of five gutted the Mayor’s office deciding to “defund” three key positions installed by the Mayor: his Public Information Officer(Antoinette Biordi), his Administrative Officer (Judith Chriss, and an Assistant Corporation Counsel (Jay Peltz) . The Mayor’s office is left with two Executive Secretaries and Chief of Staff, John Callahan. The defunding of the three positions saves $400,000. Councilpersons Dennis Power and Tom Roach said that perhaps one person could be retained at a lower salary to handle the public information function.
David Genito in explaining the reduced budget, said that $1.9 Million in the $4 Million in cuts was thanks to the givebacks and waiving of pay increases by the Teamsters and CSEA unions. He said that the city expected a $2.06 Million in savings from the police and fire unions, which has yet to be negotiated. Mayor Adam Bradley said he hoped the savings could be achieved without layoffs.
(In the standing-room-only council meeting, which was conducted without microphones, the figure expected from police sounded like $2.06 Million throughout the meeting, sounded to most observers like $2.6 Million, and since no releases were issued to media detailing the changes, the misimpression that the council was cutting $2.6 million resulted in the first edition of this article reporting the cut expected from police as $2.6 million. )
City Hall was picketed by about 100 police and fire uniformed personnel on Main Street prior to the start of the meeting. Firefighters wore t-shirts reading “Cuts Kill.” Police wore message shirts reading, “Call 911, Leave a Message No Layoffs.”
Mr. Genito and city part-time budget employee, Eileen Earl Bradley, said they would consolidate the changes the council spelled out tonight and have the new budget ready for the council by Thursday morning.
Then the council went into Executive Session to cogitate on the police fire negotiations.
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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. News & Comment by John F. Bailey. May 17, 2010:
It’s cross-your-fingers time at the Common Council.
And for police officers and fire fighters. Rumors are the council will decide on layoffs of uniformed personnel.
Tonight the Common Council meets at 7:30 P.M. to “decide” on the 2010-11 City of $160.2 Million White Plains budget – or whatever the budget totals at this time after the CSEA and TEAMSTER union givebacks mysteriously materialized last week.
It might actually be about $5 Million lower, but no one knows because there has been no status report and recalculation of the numbers reflecting the Teamster/CSEA givebacks. Do the givebacks mean the budget does not have to pay the raises for those two unions? I think so. We will learn tonight.
However, unlike any year in the past, the exact position of the budget and the supposed deficit has proceeded with virtually no Common Council public expression and probing exploration of budget options the city faces.
Instead, the Common Council has watched city Commissioners put out detailed presentations, asked for explanations, which of course have not made their way into the light of the public eye before tonight.
In what promised to be a transparent administration, the public has at this time the impression that the primary effort of this administration is to jab back at the unions, especially the police and fire unions for schmoozing the four holdover members of the Common Council, who either were not paying attention, not reading the legislation, or simply did not want to be busy during the holidays last fall when they allowed the 12-hour shifts for the police patrols to become part of the police contract, 24 hour shifts for the firefighters and acceded to binding arbitration last August, guaranteeing 3.75% and 4% pay raises.
The Teamsters and CSEA unions have now sold out the police and fire unions by going along with the administration to give back negotiated 3.75% raises in return for no layoff promises, and no pay raise in 2010. Yet, those raises will jump back into the mix in 2011-2012 when times are better. Plus they tiered health benefits for new employees.
Whatever happened to union solidarity? Sticking up for union members, and all those good things? The police and fire unions must not be feeling too happy about the CSEA-TEAMSTER leadership right now. I am glad I do not pay CSEA and Teamster dues.
At this point, the administration says these city shakedowns of the CSEA and TEAMSTERS will cut the city tax increase to 14.5%. The council wants to cut more.
But, we have no idea how they stand, and how strong a reaction the council (always sniffing the air like 6 drowsy grizzly bears) will have to any public reaction to the administration plan to cut 39 police and fire uniform personnel which would chop another $4 million off the budget which by my estimate would bring the budget down another 9% considering that according Budget Director Michael Genito says that for every $450,000 in expenditures there has to be a 1% increase in the city tax rate.
Of course, though, the Mayor has said it is up to the Common Council as to whether police and fire uniform staffs should be cut. If the Council pink-slipped 39 uniform personnel, that would cut the property tax increase down to 5.5%. And the three Common Councilmembers facing reelection in November, 2011, can cross their fingers on the crime wave and fire response time and emergency preparedness effects such layoffs might have.
The question is, during the budget review of the Department of Public Safety two weeks ago, no one on the council questioned Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong on the budget effects and possible layoff scenarios. The Commissioner in his public comments that night drew a picture of the possibility of retirements impacting the hierarchy of the police department most severely. He put up slides telling the council the Police Department Uniformed Force has 9 vacancies now, and of the 206 current active members, 4 are out on long-term, sick/injured and one is on military leave. In the future, the Commissioner stated 15% (31 of 206) are eligible to retire.
The Council never took the public opportunity to explore options with the Commissioner that night.
They did not ask in public can we live with 206, and not hire the 9 vacancies (that would take care of 9 of the 20 layoffs the city wants).
They did not ask the Commissioner how many of the 31 uniformed police eligible to retire were going to retire to his knowledge. I could see asking this dumb question: Commissioner, how many of those senior officers do you feel would have to be replaced if they retired?
The council did not ask any mix and match scenario questions as to how police uniform personnel, balancing retirements with present vacancies, could be used to get the $4.5 Million saving the administration wants. The excuse given by Council President Tom Roach, was the city is in union negotiations and could not ask those questions. Poppycock! We are talking ability to fill holes here through attrition – it has nothing to do with negotiation. The council did not explore this in public, at least.
The same situation exists in the fire bureau, according to Chong. He said the fire bureau has 9 vacancies down from 170 full-strength. And of the 161 current active members, two are out long-term/sick-injured, 1 on military leave and 2 are retiring, and 35% a whopping 56 firefighters are eligible for retirement.
Again the council did not ask questions about rigs being taken out of service, how cuts of 19 firefighters (proposed by the administration, according to fire union sources) affect response time, and how many of the 56 retirement-eligible might opt for retirement.
This truly puzzles the rational reporter. Why not?
Perhaps they might have gotten information on these scenarios since that time. But, we the public do not know if they have explored this with Commissioner Chong privately. The council should before they accede to the administration plan to cut back department strengths to pre-2001 levels.
What would you do?
The Common Council has twiddled its thumbs during the most lackluster uninspired budget reviews this reporter has seen in the decade I have covered city hall.
The council has slept-walked through these budget meetings this year.
The Council has gone along with the administration budget-cutting efforts characterized by instituting a sewer rent to make a budget sleight-of-hand maneuver to take a million and change off the general fund budget, disguising what is really a tax increase.
They have gone along with the ¼ per cent sales tax increase to be dedicated to fund balance replenishment.
They have gone along with an increase in parking tickets, (which they were not consulted on), and if they were consulted on it privately by the administration, shame on them for not discussing it in view of the decline of the White Plains sales tax receipts (flat last month year-to-year) and down 8% over the first 10 months of the year.
They have not touched the hot issue of certiorari toughness. The certs from the wonderful commercial property owners in
Has anyone explored anything? How about a commuter tax?
The Budget and Management Committee has made the following recommendations:
The city commercial base has to be looked at carefully and soon, not just lamenting about the commercial results.
In fact, that’s a whole other column. The city has to get to the bottom of whether our dramatic parking rates and ticketing policies are discouraging consumers from coming to
Another thing the Council did not explore is that they have guaranteed jobs for the Teamsters and the CSEA members in the face of dwindling city revenues.
Why? Is protecting garbage and leaf pickoff conveniences more vital than public safety? I mean that is what that policy says.
Last Friday two trucks visited the WPCNR World Headquarters. One truck picked up my commingled garbage (recyclables), another picked up my regular garbage. Why could we not send one truck?
How about providing a dumpster system, as they do in Florida communities where there are three dumpsters in a neighborhood, one for paper, one for regular garbage, one for commingles. Just a thought.
And think about this: guaranteeing CSEA jobs in the police department. There are 41 CSEA employees in the Police Department. The CSEA-ers apparently are now untouchable. So we keep the desk jockeys and get rid of police which take much longer to train?
That is not a good decision. I do not want to give the impression the CSEA-ers are not as valuable, but by guaranteeing their positions no matter what, the city really limits its options.
How can they do that? The
The Council supported increasing the library budget. They asked the director lots of questions about how the library could jigger its schedule. Probably the director has supplied answers, but the public has not seen them yet. Perhaps tonight. Apparently the library is far more important to the Council that its police and fire department performance, because they grilled the Library Director intensely, but never explored with Commissioner Chong similar issues at least in public, they did not.
Layoffs? The Mayor’s Chief of Staff John Callahan reported to WPCNR that as of June 30, 2009, ten months ago, the city had 969 full-time employees. As of December 31, they had 940. As of April 30-2010, the city has “approximately” 906 full-time employees. The reduced number “is due to attrition, consolidations and layoffs,” Callahan said.
The council has gored no oxes yet. And when you are up for reelection in 17 months, you do not want to spill blood in the sand. Money, maybe, but not blood.
However, we do not know precisely where we stand on the budget with all these issues floating around I have just mentioned.
Perhaps tonight, the “transparency” will materialize.
Memo to the Common Council: The Titanic did not have enough lifeboats.
Better count yours.