City Administration Out Of Touch With Reality; JN Reports on Six Figure City Salaries UPDATED: Capelli MOU Extended

UPDATE: New Rochelle City Council granted Louis Cappelli a 13th amendment on the LeCount Square project (see below)

ON his latest “In the City” radio show on WVOX, City Manager Chuck Strome was reviewing the current budget and discussing the tax increase. Strome stated that a few years ago a $100,000 income was the upper class benchmark for New Rochelle residents, whereas, today it is the average necessary to reside here. Strome further stated that the median income in New Rochelle is $85,000. I called in to challenge his numbers because the New Rochelle website identifies the median household income as $55,513. Strome’s response to my challenge was that he stood corrected and that the website was more accurate then his estimation.

New Rochelle city employee salaries, 2008

Herein lays the crux of the problem. The man charged with the day-to-day operations of the City of New Rochelle and the highest paid managerial executive of the City administration is not aware of the median household income of the community he manages. Furthermore, Strome overstated the figure by almost $30,000 or 65%. How many DPW workers make $55,000? How many Community Service Officers (CSO’s) make $55,000? How many Police Patrolman or non-officer Firefighters make $55,000? How many secretaries or civil service employees?

This is the reason that the New Rochelle finds itself in its current dire situation. The city administration is out of touch with reality. They make decisions based on visions of grandeur as opposed to reality. They hand out multi-decade tax abatements, to developers, who make maximum political campaign contributions, which the CSO, DPW, fire, police, secretaries and other hard working middle-class stiffs must absorb in the form of higher property and school taxes. The City Council follows the administration’s recommendations much like mice following the Pied Piper.
This is the mindset responsible for the blight which currently exists in the LeCount Square project area. This myopic outlook is poised to give a wealthy developer a 13th amendment to a project which hasn’t past the initial stage in 5-years. This administrative whimsy is willing to trust a developer which is in default of an option to purchase one major parcel and has a $10 million disagreement with the New Rochelle Post Office the other major parcel required to move the LeCount Square project forward. Cappelli and the US Post Office are at a standoff and have been for years. The standoff will continue indefinitely because this is the first project that the City administration and council cannot strong-arm a property owner, (the US Post Office), with the threat of eminent domain. Cappelli has shown no interest in and has not submitted a viable alternative plan discounting the Post Office. Louis Cappelli has re-prioritized his life and without government subsidies he is no longer interested in development as reported here on NR Talks.

Mayor Bramson has called a special meeting for Monday, December, 21 at 7:30 pm to vote on the 13th amendment. Anyone with a grade school education realizes the scholar must have his ducks in a row. Bramson, Fertel and Sussman have publicly expressed their support for this extension so Bramson must have swayed a fourth voted needed for approval. While I pray I am wrong I will watch and I can’t wait to see who the fourth and possibly fifth votes may be. The mumblings behind the scene are that Councilman Stowe is undecided and Councilman St. Paul is vacillating. I believe Stowe will support the 13th amendment to show unity among the democrats on council. If St. Paul votes to support the 13th amendment I believe this is political suicide, this could be St. Paul’s Waterloo and I will have much more to say.
In closing;

MORE TAX ABATEMENTS MEAN MORE FIRE, POLICE & DPW LAYOFFS!

Anthony Galletta

UPDATED: Tonight as predicted the New Rochelle City Council granted Louis Cappelli a 13th amendment on the LeCount Square project. The only votes in question entering tonight’s meeting were Councilmember’s Stowe and St. Paul. Stowe voted aye in support of his fellow democrats without comment while St. Paul deserted his fellow republicans and voted yes in opposition to his platform of no more tax abatements which won him a slim 17 vote election. What is most troubling about St. Paul’s irrational vote is that St. Paul proposed legislation which would require City Council approval of Industrial Development Agency (IDA) tax abatements. St. Paul proposed his legislation because he felt the IDA gave out tax abatements frivolously. That legislation was defeated 4-3 along party lines so the only way St. Paul could stop another Capelli IDA tax abatement would be to deny the 13th amendment. As previously stated, in my opinion this could be and now I believe it is St. Paul’s Waterloo. I will not be supporting him should he decide to run for re-election and I have already received four communications from friends who reside in district 4 and played major roles in St. Paul’s election who feel the same way. Talk about an up-hill battle, Good Luck!