Thursday, April 17, 2008

GREENBURGH BOND RATING UPGRADED - HIGHEST POSSIBLE--AAA....LESS THAN 3% OF MUNICIPALITIES HAVE THIS DISTINCTION...TOWN TO SAVE $275,000 BY REFINANCING

GREAT NEWS----------I have been advised that the Town of Greenburgh’s bond rating has been UPGRADED to AAA, the highest rating a municipality can receive from Standard & Poors Bond Rating Agency. I spoke to the Standard & Poors analyst who was assigned to review Greenburgh’s finances. He indicated that very few municipalities in New York State (less than 3%) have AAA bond rating. In Westchester County the following communities also have earned the prestigious AAA bond ratings from Standard & Poors: Bedford & Harrison. The last time S&P upgraded the town’s bond rating was in 1998 when our bond rating was increased to AA+. A high bond rating reduces interest rates.

Moody’s (another bond rating agency) maintained the town’s bond rating agency as Aa1 (the 2nd highest rating) and commented on the “town’s healthy financial position driven by strong financial management, affluent and sizable tax base and low debt position with rapid payout.” Moody’s also said that they expect “that Greenburgh will continue to maintain healthy financial operations given formally adopted financial policies, long term planning and a stable revenue mix.”

This is fantastic news for the town. Members of the Town Board ( Sonja Brown, Diana Juettner, Kevin Morgan, Francis Sheehan & I ) have been working with our Comptroller’s office ( Comptroller Mike Kolesar and Deputy Comptroller Bart Talamani) –trying to manage our budget and finances in the most efficient manner possible. Late last year the Town Board approved a fund balance policy for the town. We are tightening up fiscal controls. We are refinancing our bonds –which will save taxpayers about $275,000 over 8 years. Town residents face a bigger than usual tax hike this year. We have learned from the 2008 budget process. A new citizens budget advisory task force has been working hard—providing town officials with input that will help us give the taxpayers great value for their dollar. We can handle the up’s and down’s of the economy and will work harder than ever to run the most efficient government possible.

I would like to thank the Town Board, Comptroller Mike Kolesar, Deputy Comptroller Bart Talamani, the entire town staff & community volunteers for working as a team. A copy of the report will be released in it’s entirety after it is publicly released by S & P.

69 comments:

Anonymous said...

And highest tax increase around -- with a supervisor who doesnt care

Anonymous said...

We need massive cuts. Instead the supervisor is focused on work for taxes for the elderly and vegetable oil.

Anonymous said...

WOW A $275,000.00 savings over eight years.
ARE YOU WRITTING THIS TO MAKE THE RESIDENTS FEEL GOOD.
FORGETABOUTIT.
You try to make us think that this is a great solution to lowering our taxes.
Boy are you all mistaken.
The amount of money that you gave to Valhalla in one year was almost twice the amount.
May I ask whom are you all trying to kid.
Our thinking up to today has been one sighted but the double diget taxes ,poor management in all departments where nothing is being cut has made residents aware of the ripoffs that we have been getting for many years.
If things were managed properly with the tax money collected each year we would not be in this loosing position.
To live here in Greenburgh we have to make cuts in our life style just to survive and yet the town refuses to listen to comments to make cuts in the work force and above all spending.
One problem brought to light about the PD buying new computers and taken out a loan for ten years.
What happens when you have to get rid of these items after five years does the loan get paid up NO we have to continue paying for another five .
Is this good business? You don't give a dam because it's not your money.
About the financing if I were not a good person I would tell you point blank what you could do with these crumbs.
Shove it and you know where.

Anonymous said...

It is clear that Feiner and his handpicked cronies are out of touch with the taxpayers. But what do they care. They can lose every voter in the B budget and still get re-electd. We are the schm**ks for not forming a village. Then he would have to face reality.

Anonymous said...

Is this evidence that the PETER PRINCIPLE is alive and well in Greenburgh????

Anonymous said...

Saving $275k over eight years is nice, but not "fantastic." Though maybe you can allocate that money to hire a company to do street-sweeping, weed-wacking, raking sewer grates, etc. that the Town chooses to neglect.

Anonymous said...

We need to take a cleaver to the budget, not a fingernail clipper. We need massive payroll cuts.

Anonymous said...

What will you "massive cut" --eliminate the police? End sanitation pickup. Give me a break.

Anonymous said...

No, I mean, set up a chart for the PD with the following columns:

Number of officers, by rank, 10 years ago, 20 years now, serious crimes reported 10,20 now. And lets look at growth and question. And do we have a lot more sargents, leutinents, etc. And lets also look at OT. And just for comparison, lets find out what the county or state would charge to take over policing function.

For Sanitation, first cut out pick ups of commercial garbage, we have no control on fees, no way to determine if there is under the table payments. Second, again, lets have a chart -- number of houses/apts, number of personnel, now and 10,20 years ago. Now I would allow for reasonable growth -- eg caused by recycling runs, etc. But I would like to see result.


Lets look at this from a management view.


The taxes have gotten out of hand.

Anonymous said...

Boy you said a mouthful "taxes have gotten out of hand" this is just the beginning.
We all know that any garbage picked up commercially there is always a pay off one way or another.
If they say no that's a lie.
Yes this town should be run by a good manager not department heads.
It seems whatever certain department heads demand they get and the entire board goesw along with the demand because they don't want to make waves.
I do hope that they do not run their household in the same manner.

Anonymous said...

Contract with the State Police and the county Police for the same police protection and we could save alot of money. It's being done in the Town of Cortland. Call the Supervisor in that Town and you will find out how good it works.

ed krauss said...

It's a nice piece of news to learn Greenburgh has been upgrated by S&P's rating service to it's highest level. It's also interesting to hear the last increase came in 1998.

I think the only significant thing that has taken place,in the financial area, in the last decade, was the hiring of Mike Kolesar as a financial consultant for $5,000. Which, among other things, brought to this town its first piece of long-term financial planning, as well as other technical approaches to financing Greenburgh.

The concommitant hiring of Mike as comptroller, most likely sealed the deal with S&P.

His many years as a CFO, CPA as well as other appropriate financial experience, has undoubtedly taught him how to deal with other financial analysts. What to say, how to say it, the ability to highlight the positive and stay as far away as possible from the negative and most of all avoid obvious hyperbole (which can kill all the good) is what Mike brought to the table.

Therefore, I think the whole town owes Mike a debt of gtatitude for making this happen and the town board a big "thank you" for having the good sense to hire him.

This is probably the first of many positives, or dividends to come from the most qualified comptroller Greenburgh has ever had.

Thanks, Mike. I along with the taxpayers of Greenburgh, look forward to benefitting from your knowledge and dedication.

Not to short change Bart, I'm certain he too should be congratulated for being a vital member of our truly new Finance Team.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back Ed. We all know Kolesar is your friend and you pushed hard for him but that doesn't change anything you wrote about, him and only him, being responsible for bringing Greenburgh into the financial 21st century.

Between you and Samis a lot of truth is brought to light no matter whose nose gets out of joint.

Keep on stepping on toes. We're all crying ouch from the tax raise our financially adept town board blessed us with, so maybe they deserve to have their toes stepped on, and more. But impeachment is only for real elected officials.

Anonymous said...

How do we cut government? Very easy merge county, town and village governments. There is no need for village government. That would eliminate a huge tax burden on village residents.
Change can happen but the people of the town have to understand you can't have all this government without paying for it!
Eliminate Village government and your taxes will come down.

Anonymous said...

Ed that is such BS. And btw, can you ask your good friend Kolesar to explain why, when he was a consultant, he increased revenue on the budget, but then months later he had to reverse. No other town in Westchester had this problem.

and get real, if you think S&P cared about him, you are smoking dope.

Anonymous said...

Awesome accomplishment. Kudo's to all.

Anonymous said...

Greenburgh township has excellent services.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone think that Mike Kolesar had anything to do with the S&P AAA rating? Are yopu so naive to think that S&P doesn't look at the numbers, trends, financial policies put in place since the last rating (i.e fund balance policy, investment policy etc., less use of fund balance in the 2008 budget than in prior years thereby slowing the recent trend of fund balance usage to balance the budget as a real indication of the Town's tougher financial management position than simply the mention of Kolesar's name? If that's the case, then we should fully expect Kolesar to work the same miracles on the 2009 budget; and if you think that's going to happen, I have a bridge to sell you.

Anonymous said...

The town board will gladly buy that bridge and probably use it to go from one side to the other to cross the Taxter Ridge hole.
They'll do and buy anything to charge the taxpayers.

Anonymous said...

We cannot say anything bad about Kolesar because he came aboard when this town hit the lowest point and there is no way that this man can bring it back over night.
Poor management put us in this boat and we have been sinking for a long time.
Too much spending,Overtime and no ccountability as to the workforce needed to give us the services that we had before without hitting home owners with the highest taxes ever.
The board has not addressed any of the questions concerning the work force,overtime or spending.WHY?

\des

Anonymous said...

S&P bond ratings improvement: a testimonial to the supervisors leadership. Had the bond rating gone down, the loonies in the town would have had a field day blasting Paul. Now, they are speechless.

Anonymous said...

Its easy to get good bond ratings with a 23% tax increase. If every town in Westchester did that, my guess is that they would ave better bond ratings.

Anonymous said...

First off, Mike Kolesar is terrific and not only has he already proven himself to be a great asset to the Town but also appears to be forging a path to getting the Town running on an even keel fiscally responsible basis. My expectations are that he will create and put in place all kinds of systems to assess goals and job performance in pursuit of those goals -- a measuring stick the Town sorely lacks.

However, in as much as I consider Mike to be a friend, I must also acknowledge that Rome was not built in a day and that it is unlikely that the Town's bond rating is due largely to Mike's short time in the batter's box.

Nor can I say that the rating upgrade is solely due to the efforts of the Town Supervisor while it is equally unjustified to say that it was obtained despite the Supervisor.

Frankly, I read the same newspapers that other bloggers read; I attend the same meetings and despite this or because of it I admit that I am at a loss to explain what the rating agencies saw that impressed them. But then I sold Google two days before Friday's jump and bought Bear Stearns Friday morning ($57) and at the close ($30) before the weekend news came out announcing the takeover at $2.

So chalk it up to another unseen force which has great power but the soruce is not readily apparent to Town Hall watchdogs: like the wind which moves the sailboat, you can't see the wind but you can see the boat move.

The point that I want to make is that what Feiner should get credit for is hiring Mr. Kolesar. Feiner had to know that Kolesar would shake things up and likely there would be a lot of fallout along the way to fiscal nirvana In short, hiring Kolesar was a pretty gutsy thing to do.

Too often or not often enough depending on the point of view is that the Supervisor is blamed for everything because by being the guy at the top, the blame flows upward. But the job title should not be a one way street either. When good news comes out, the Supervisor's critics are loathe to give him credit for whatever good that occurs on his watch while racing to blame him alone for the bad when it too appears.

This is unfair.

For example, Feiner had been blamed for building up a large fund balance over the years while the existence of this balance was likened to maintaining a compensating balance against a loan. It was the existence of this large balance that was targeted as the real cause for the bond rating's upward creep and not for any special financial expertise. I know this because I was one of those who did the criticizing then.

And thereafter in recent years, the TOWN BOARD went to this fund balance because -- it was there not by chance and not by coincidence -- to provide two back-to-back years of low tax increases; a rainy day device which was used defer the pain and would have been used again to excess were it not for the getting of wisdom which resulted in a fund balance policy. Now, there's no more fund balance fat left to be trimmed and the Comptroller and the Town Board will have to seek other remedies in their 11th hour attempt to avoid another double digit increase arriving in 2009. Frankly, I don't see how this can be avoided; the fail safe point has already been breeched. But as I have illustrated above, I may not be the best stock picker on the planet and this failing may also extend to not seeing what the rating agencies apparently do see -- the rating has again increased despite the fund balance marker pointing to empty.

Thus, the reality of the moment is that despite all the complaints and all the tsouris that residents are emoting, the only voices that count have given Greenburgh a much better then passing grade; they have bestowed upon the Town's financial report card, the equivalent of a phi beta kappa degree.

So, despite the current angst, Feiner, the Town Board and Kolesar must be doing something right. And they deserve their moment in the sun. In full and without qualifiers.

As Feiner has pointed out, Greenburgh has got what most of the County doesn't, the platinum standard AAA rating.

This should mean something. Even to naysayers.

Anonymous said...

At 4/18/2008 7:56 PM, Anonymous said ... Greenburgh township has excellent services.

LOL ... Assuming you're being sarcastic ... Thanks for a humorous start to the day.

Anonymous said...

I thought that both Samis and Krauss were away on vacation. Welcome back.

Anonymous said...

Hal is correct. A triple A bond rating is the equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude. Be proud, Paul. Be proud, Mike. Be proud, Town Board.

Anonymous said...

23%

Get rid of the bloat.

Start with overtime, salaries, police, sanitation, highways.

Anonymous said...

We had a tax hike. So did others. Greenburgh received higher marks from the bond rating agencies because the town is managed in a fiscally responsible manner. AAA bond rating is a badge of honor.

Anonymous said...

No one else had a close to 23% tax rate increase. No one cares about B budget.

Anonymous said...

Dear 9:12,

"No one cares about the B Budget"

Least of all those who are responsible for paying it, the residents and, in particular, those who keep referring to giving away the "assets" of unincorporated.

The B budget is rising, the town tennis courts are in disrepair and certain Edgemont residents are concerned that there can be no less than 100% solution at hand -- waiting because the entire A and B issue must be resolved, appeal by appeal -- or no relief at all. Even as Greenburgh burns, they argue whether or not to reject help from the Fairview Fire District so as to prove themselves right on whether or not it provides a town-wide benefit.

Make no mistake, the contract with SportTime was a mistake -- in its lack of Town exculpatory relief and Feiner should not have signed it because it left only the Town at risk. But what was right about it was that it provided for repair of the tennis courts AND a badly needed revenue stream ($200,000) for the ailing B Budget.

An amount that was supposed to pay for the Comprehensive Plan.

Now, with the inability to guarantee meeting the open door threshold, the Town should seek to revoke the contract and remove the lingering cloud of uncertainty. And with the removal of this "claim", the Town should also shut down the tennis courts forthwith removing the large expense to repair the tennis courts and to operate them. It has been stated that use of these tennis courts has been on the decline and perhaps those who speak the loudest in their favor would recognize the immediate benefit of saving an annual $100,000+ direct expense of just those in the tennis "instruction" business. Even if it meant less money coming their way.

Game, set, match?

Anonymous said...

Hal,

The Greenville Fire District is responsible for fire protection. What's next? Paul gives money to Greenburgh 7 and tells them to "help" Edgemont. I live in Edgemont and I am tird of being treated like the poor stepchild. It is time to look at a village again. With the 23% tax increase, the numbers are a lot different.

Anonymous said...

EVERY FIRE DISTRICT SHOULD RECEIVE THEIR SHARE OF WESTHELP MONEY.
THE STATE COMPTROLLER SAID THE MONIES SHOULD BE USED TOWN WIDE.
SHOULD THE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE NOW BE BROUGHT INTO THE PICTURE.

Anonymous said...

I think the time for Edgemont to become a Village is now, before we have to spend to improve Veterans so the Villagers can use it.

Anonymous said...

Hal,

What exactly is your proposed solution re Finnerman and the tennis courts. The problem I see is that allowing the Town to decide use of Town facilities is a bland check. Paul already pushed through allowing Village first repsonders etc to use Veterans. What will he want next. But what would your proposal be?

Anonymous said...

Whatever it takes to make the tennis revenue happen, make it happen. This is gravy substituting for a milk train that doesn't stop here anymore.

With language specific to the tennis courts, the blank checkbook arguement folds under its own weight.

The tennis courts are an under utilized town expense and if the bubble revenue doesn't happen, shut them down as an expense we can no longer afford. The least number of residents will be "harmed" by eliminating this costly amenity.

And as for Edgemont incorporation, only the anonymous who cry wolf are dredging up this stillborn issue. But be my guest to try; as for those remaining, we'll just have to make do with a little less of the Comprehensive plan.

Anonymous said...

Paul can't push through anything without the Town Board's consent. Providing our volunteer firefighters with the opportunity to relax in the pool when they are willing to risk their lives to protect us is the right thing to do.

Anonymous said...

Hal,

The problem as you are well aware, is that Paul's solution is a blank check for ALL OF THE TOWN facilities. Again, I would like to hear your proposal.

As to firefighters, I suggest the appropriate disticts provide a stipend for them to use for a pool etc. I resent those districts asking me to pay.

Anonymous said...

The firefighters pay to have the ability to use the pool. IT IS EXTRA MONEY FOR THE TOWN, WITHOUT EXTRA OVERHEAD.

The reason for all the carrying on about it is that the same old complainers from Edgemont persist in making everything seem like the villages are trying to run the town, which is ridiculous.

So prevent the firefighters from using the pool. The result will be that the town will be out some money, the firefighters will be insulted and angry, the villages will see that the nuts in town want only to fight, and the hostilities will continue.

Some good result, right?

Anonymous said...

On every hot weekend day, the pool is overcrowded. Let Dobbs Ferry or other places let the firefighters use their pools. Most of unincorporated Greenburgh uses paid firefighters. As to joint assistance, the volunteer and paid pretty much stick to their own groups.

Also, parks administration, under Feiner's control, allows pretty much any town employee in.

Its time for Feiner to play fair, either the villages pay for parks or they dont use. What is so hard to understand about that?

Anonymous said...

With the lease to SportTime, everyone will pay to use the tennis facility, incorporated, unincorporated, volunteer firemen and paid firemen.

But only unincorporated will receive the revenue stream from the license fee.

Using the tennis courts has nothing to do with using the pool.

I am neither a lawyer or a politician. I have assumed that someone possessing these qualities can find a way to solve just this one problem. Or maybe they can't. In which case I argue shut down the tennis courts so that no one can use them and unincorporated residents will save money.

Or maybe SportTime can join the Westchester Library System. Any community that has its own Library or contracts with a WLS member Library can use the facilities of any other member Library -- and they don't have to pay (pro rata) to participate in all the costs of the system's "branches" either. No one seems to object to Ardsley residents using the Greenburgh Library under this arrangement which sidesteps the A/B issues quagmire. So, if SportTime has a leasehold on the tennis courts; if unincorporated receives the lease revenue (or license fee, or service fee), is there not an angle or arrangement that will pass muster and make everyone happy?

No one, repeat, no one will be using the SportTime facility without paying a fee.

And only unincorporated will derive the benefits.

That's not a bad outcome from using an expensive, underperforming unincorporated asset. Hardly giving away the store.

Stop shooting yourselves in the foot; stop making it into a blank checkbook story; stop making it into pandering to the villages -- their money is just as good as our money says SportTime.

What unincorporated would be getting is $200,000 a year to reduce the B budget pain.

Think of it as getting: "one singular sensation" without paying for the entire chorus line.

Anonymous said...

Move Westhelp to Edgemont! Make the Westhelp by the college, senior living and put it on the tax rolls!

Anonymous said...

I understand one police person made one and half times the salary of the chief.
Chief will you answer or maybe Feiner could give us an insight to this
I do think all police overtime should be investigated especially on those that are ready to retire.
Mike Kolesar you are the only one with B---s to look into this ,the others on the board are afraid of their own shadows.
If it turns out to be true stop this asap.
It seems that there is a good racket going on to steal money from the residents.
This situation not only is happening here in Greenburgh but it goes on throughout and in every civil service department.
Yes many will go out to get other jobs but we still have to pay their benefits plus the pension.
The best one ever is when one goes out on disability collecting a pension and has been working right along.
There should be an agency other than the town that could investigate the goings on in this police department.
If there is the same thing going on elsewhere in Greenburgh, it too should be uner fire.
The police pensions were brought to light at a town meeting not answered by the chief since he stated that he didn't have the figures but thank the Lord the new comptroller came up and gave the public the answer.
Now we should get all the answers not piece by piece.

Anonymous said...

Inflatted overtime is a common occurance in all civil service jobs which should be stopped.
There is no reason for this when the manpower is there to do the job.
But it seems everyone has been sleeping or just didn't care and the method of stealing money got out of hand.

Anonymous said...

Stop complaining about the police officers! Take the test and you too could get compensated. When these officers work the extra hours they are away from their families.Someone has to work it, might as well be the senior guys with the experience. Question, when you work extra hours at work do you get overtime? Get over it. The Town is not going to do anything about it.

ed krauss said...

Hal, the least number of residents will be "harmed" by eliminating the most costly emenity known as TAXTER RIDGE.

Since some people, eventhough they are declining in number, use the tennis courts and programs, NO ONE, NO ONE uses the "hidden city."

In fact, $200,000 annual revenue from Sportime would be chicken feed compared to the taxes that could be generated by developing even half of the "Ridge." And, it could be developed in such a way that no one would even know it was there...just like the park today.

Anonymous said...

Anon at 10:51

No one who earns the salaries the police do get paid overtime. Yes, if you make 10/hour you get overtime, but at the salaries the police get, people in the private sector dont get paid overtime.

Put the contract out to the state.

Anonymous said...

Hal is busy pandering to Feiner to get a budget job. It wasnt enough for Feiner to hire his buddy Kolesar, now he has to hire Hal.

Enough hiring of political friends.

Anonymous said...

Agreed the Town wont do a thing about bloated police department. Not under Feiner. Time to consider alternatives.

Anonymous said...

I doubt that employee cuts will be made, but here's an idea: Professionally manage the staff of the DPW (highway and sanitation) for the purpose of greater work output and efficiency. The things that Greenburgh employees get away with would never be tolerated in any other Westchester municipality. The way things work in Greenburgh santiation and highway departments reminds me of Yonkers' shady operations back in the 1970s. (Yonkers is top-notch in accountability, efficiency and professionalism now.)

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:49 needs an anger management expert to help him.

Anonymous said...

Ed: Taxter Ridge was dedicated as parkland. Only an act of the NY State Legislature will undedicate the property. Have you contacted your State Assemblyman, Richard Brodsky? Has Richard agreed to push for the de-dedication of Taxter Ridge? I doubt it. He pushed hard for the parkland, which is paid for with state tax dollars.

Anonymous said...

Guess what 3;49 the best thing that could happen is to have Samis on board in any capacity. As for Kolesar the best choice was made to save the taxpayers asses.
Too bad Kolesar was not our comptroller before the last two were chosen, They were both bad choices for the town.
We need Samis as Manager.

Anonymous said...

Samis, like Kolesar, will do anything for a Town paycheck and benefits. If you want to hire Samis, get rid of employees with equivalent salaries.

Anonymous said...

Dear 8:57,

I have a job thank you and I doubt that I, at age 63, will make much progress into acquiring Town provided benefits.

Particularly a "budget" job which exists as a volunteer committee which neither provides compensation nor has asked me to be a member; and I would lack qualifications in any case to assume such a role.

The new round of attacks upon me is the validation of my, if not hitting, at least coming close to the target. Certain unincorporated residents always feel threatened when I discuss the asses, sorry "assets" of unincorporated.

In any case, regarding pandering to Feiner, one doesn't have look much further than this topic; scroll up to April 20 at 1:17 PM for the following:
"Make no mistake, the contract with SportTime was a mistake -- in its lack of Town exculpatory relief and Feiner should not have signed it because it left only the Town at risk."

That should be good for at least a deputy department head slot.

As for Kolesar, anyone have any basis to be unhappy with his work?
Whatever input I had into getting him the job, if my support for him was at all considered, such advocacy should be regarded as my greatest contribution to the Town, even surpassing the Library watchdog role. I am extremely happy that he was given the post and that he will clearly be a thorn in Feiner's side is one of the better things that can be said about the Supervisor -- that he can tolerate dissent, not only from the public but also onboard.
This new Feiner team is not marching in lockstep, Mr. Sheehan notwithstanding.

Anonymous said...

The clause in the contract you refer to was NOT in the resolution that the Town Council approved for the contract.

What is Feiner's solution?

What is SAmis's proposal?

Anonymous said...

ATTA BOy Samis hit them where it hurts.
Some people cannot understand what is good and what is bad. Kolesar will be the town residents salvation.
Your input, if the residents listen will be a great service to all of us. Being a watchdog in this town for all the good reasons is not a bad title.
Thank you for being honest and up front with all that you say.
You have taught us how a town should be managed .

Anonymous said...

Dear 2:40:

A Resolution is not a Contract.
If you were expecting to see all the language, word for word, appearing in both, you are wrong.

Essentially the Resolution gave the Town Supervisor the right to execute a Contract.

What should be done at this point in time is seek to void the existing contract and rewrite it allowing for the possibility that the Town may not be able to guarantee opening (although willing to assure best efforts to obtain same) of the Tennis Courts to those living outside unincorporated and that SportTime has the option of proceeding or not proceeding on this basis. In other words, the equivalent of what you see if what you get.

Meanwhile, the rapidly changing economy and more rigid policies of lenders may also be viewed as examples of a growing reluctance by SportTime to proceed.

Finally, the latest installment of the legal filings of famous attorney may be another impediment which, if ultimately successful, would cause the contract to be revoked sometime around 2020 when the last action of appeal is resolved.

So, for now, residents of unincorporated can look to rising taxes absent the relief provided by the SportTime contract revenue.

But isn't this a great victory for those preserving unincorporated assets. Now we can exclusively use the decaying tennis courts and Chevy Chase cannot.

Anonymous said...

Hal,

There is another answer than amending Finnerman and that is just repealing it.

Anonymous said...

The GPD is so bloated it is beyond belief. Crime is down; OT and employees aren't. Some guy got pulled over for having too much hanging from his rear view mirror. 5-6 police pull him over. FEATHERBEDDING. This is absurd.

Anonymous said...

Dear 11:40 on 4/24,

There is even another answer that doesn't require any effort.
Just keep paying higher taxes and enjoy your pool and tennis courts.

Anonymous said...

Hal,

Once again, in the true Feiner follower style, don't consider any alternatives or compromise.

Can you think of any alternative where TOVers don't subsidize the Village residents?

Anonymous said...

To Dopey 10:26 PM

I looked at the budget and the TOV doesn't subsidize the villages. It looks to me to be the other way around.

It is griping like yours that prevents any solutions to our tax problems.

Anonymous said...

To 10:20,

Where do feel Villagers subsidize TOV??

And if you dont think it is right, complain to State Comptroller, AG, or go to court.

Anonymous said...

10:20,

When the typical village response is that TOV should pay for most everything, but they still use.

When the typical village response is even though we have most votes, we dont care about the B budget run amok, and dont care about excessive police department budgets, highways etc.

I dont see villagers stepping up to the plate.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymouses 11:17 and 12:05

It has been shown many times in prior postings that the A budget pays for the Town Attorney, the Town Comptroller, the Town's data processing system, the Town Clerk's operations, the Town Hall and all its infrastructure and personnel,the Purchasing depertment, none of which do anything for the villages who do all these things for themselves. I'm not complaining because it is the law. I just wish you would stop complaining because a few villagers occasionally step on unincorporated property.

The villages have nothing to say about how the town board runs the police department and other departments, some of which are paid for by the A budget.

Also it has just been revealed that contrary to the BS that some in Edgemont have been spreading, the unincorporated area has more registered voters than the villages.

Will the BS stop? Of course not. You and your complaining friends don't want the truth. You just want to complain.

Anonymous said...

Anon --

The villages also get to double dip on the mortgage recording tax -- they get the amount paid on homes in the villages, and the amount paid to the Town goes to the A budget. And all fines, etc. go to A budget. These are state mandated inequities which no one in TOV is complaining about. TOVers are only complaining about the allocations not supported by state law.

And the villages do have more registered voters.

Anonymous said...

Mr. 6:41 says 'TOVers are only complaining about the allocations not supported by state law."

Pray tell, which ones are those? Are you talking about the park expenses that Bernstein trumpeted, but which the court said were correctly allocated to the B budget? Or are you making up new ones that are equally false?

Anonymous said...

We need to cut the police budget. Crime is down. They have nothing to do but harass citizens with lifestlye violations. Paul, this is the place to cut. Why is it that Kopica is the only one you listen to? Of course he wants to feed his own people. Excess payroll and overtime.

Anonymous said...

6:36


One court said the expenses should be paid by Villagers

The other said villagers dont have to pay, but cant use.

I am OK with either position -- its the Paul Feiner -- let the villages use but not pay position that I dont agree with.