Lower bond rating will make it more expensive for the City to raise funds.
The affect of Wall Street has undoubtedly had an affect on Main Street. However, the fiscal woes of New Rochelle are unique to the City itself and are due mainly to negligent decisions made by the previous and current Democratic majority ruling City Councils. The recent downgrading of our Bond rating by Moody’s Investor Services will increase the cost to taxpayer for bonding initiatives, which have become an important part of trying to minimize the city’s tax increases.
The basis for the downgrade has essentially resulted from failed development policies that gave wealthy developers tax abatements, that ultimately led to a policy of raiding the City’s rainy day fund. To date the City’s rainy day funds are less than 1.5% of the City’s total budget or about 1.1 million dollars. In fiscal year 2009 the City’s rainy day fund was 7% of the City’s budget or about 7 million dollars.
The decision by Mayor Bramson and his Democratic majority council members not to cut spending in 2008 when Republican council members proposed salary and hiring freezes. Furthermore, followed by the weakened revenue streams from the Democratic majority council members rejecting small business initiative legislation and further compounded by Democratic majority council members generous give-a- ways to wealthy developers has placed this great City in a position that may limit the City’s ability to progress after the worst of national economic times have passed.
We will not see an economic recovery in New Rochelle if we do not cut our spending, stop generous tax abatements to developers, increase revenues and implement reserve policies that will recapture our credit rating.
Therefore, the Republican Members of the City Council will propose the following initiatives at the next public meeting on December 7, 2010.
- Everyone should pay his or her fair share. The generous tax abatements to developers including Avalon and Cappelli Enterprises Inc. (Trump and New Roc) should be reexamined and if possible recalculated to increase their tax payment to the City of New Rochelle.
- Recognizing that the IDA (which was recently criticized by the Comptrollers office for not performing cost benefit analysis among other things) supported by the Democratic majority council members was the catalysis for approving the generous tax abatements; Any IDA decision involving tax abatements or payments in lieu of tax should have super-majority approval by the council.
- Convene a charter revision commission to review our reserve balance policies and make recommendation on it as well as other suggested charter changes.
- Aggressively pursue thousands of open building permits which will result in increased revenue.
How Will the Democratic Majority Evaluate The Proposal?
Much of the financial problems are caused by overdevelopment and tax abatements. Will there be a consensus on how to solve our fiscal problems?
They’ll disregard it like all other Republican ideas!
Do you think Bramson will listen? He’s tone deaf so probably not. The Dems. created this mess and unfortunately we all have to live with it.
Does the Mayor listen to the people of New Rochelle? To anyone?
NO. I do watch his council meetings and I look carefully at his face, eyes, and gestures and although he ” feigns” listening to the council and the people, he does not HEAR them, SEE them, nor “Get them” at all. I wonder sometimes if he is either : 1) Heavily medicated or 2) “Functionally autistic”? Or perhaps it is some other anxiety disorder that limits true interaction and exchange of ideas with others? Then, to listen to his Pollyanna-ish views of the city really gets my goat and I change the channel.No, he does not listen to anyone nor does he see what is around him. The city is a MESS !! Overcrowded, illegal apartments and abandoned homes. Homeless people everywhere. Unlicensed peddlers on the streets. Beggars who harrass the public and follow them into stores, cafes, and even banks. And a restive, surly illegal population that breaks every single law under the sun. How can anyone be blind to these problems and the countless others? Yet, he is and proudly proclaims the city of New Rochelle as ” the best place to raise a family” Or ” the safest city in the county” That is laughable ! New Rochelle is not the once elegant suburban town of NYC it was, it is a third world slum. And yet, the Mayor does not see it.
Back to me
The city is like this because they CAN NOT fund the vital resources to stamp out the ills in the city. To properly enforce and protect they have to raise money and streamline or purge the unnecessary entities in city hall.
Now why would he listen? The voters have endorsed him, not just once mind you. Once elected officials can take one of two routes. Govern with the mandate of the vote, or govern by who expresses concern or interest at citizens to be heard. And I hate to break it to you, but the majority is not at council meetings complaining. This is just pure fact.
show us how you came up with
show us how you came up with that?,over development and tax abatement’s. I have asked to see the numbers on how much the city is is hurt by this and yet to see any numbers that this is true.
you say….”Will there be a consensus on how to solve our fiscal problems?”
yes higher taxes and closer look at where we are spending to much money way for now
there are no numbers
read the OSC Audit of the IDA. They have NEVER done a cost-benefit analysis of any of the projects they abated.
THAT is the problem. We are just supposed to take the word of Sussman, Fertel and Bramson. I am not prepared to just accept their assurances. I want to see numbers too.
The figures
Here is the short version of how tax abated development hurts New Rochelle. Avalon pays $0 dollars in school taxes so New Rochelle loses millions of school tax dollars. Adding insult to injury, New Rochelle taxpayers must foot the bill for the 80 students who reside at Avalon to the tune of $20,000 per student. In my book that comes to $1.6 million which the taxpayers of New Rochelle must absorb.
Okay that a start
Okay! that’s a start, is there more?
Plenty more
You have to look back at when the city entered very blindly into the development game. They were not interested in marketing the city, or listening to proposals. They were sweet talked and probably pocket lined by Capelli.
Look at the prospectus from the New Roc deal. In it major retailers were promised from the get go. What did we end up with?
The problem here is that when the city held the ball they were essentially sold a Lionel Hutz Monorail (remember the Simpsons episode?) of retail. And then the high rises at Avalon promised the people that would spark further urban renewal along Main Street. And all of these came as sweetheart deals to who? THE DEVELOPERS!!!!!
But I guess if you look at the percentages, you have success in Stamford, Norwalk, Hoboken..one was bound to be an abysmal failure…here’s to dear old New Rochelle!
Just look at your tax bills
If you want to know what developement has or hasn’t done for you, take a look at your property taxes. Has anything gone down? Have assessments increased? Are the schools bursting at the seems w/new kids? Answers are no, no & yes so I’m not seeing any benefit at all to the high rise developments.
The only cuts that are going to be meaningful have to come from personel. We need to reduce the size and scoop of our city govenment before we become Jersey City or Camden w/massive cop/firefighter layoffs.
Unfortunately
Here is how the consensus will occur.
Richard St. Paul will broach the sensitive subject in a fairly insensitive manner, Chuck Strome will instantly begin to crook his neck and have a very angry look and his face. Then Bramson will tighten his Jaw, Barry Fertel will rudely interupt everyone spewing the party line and Grandma Sussman will explain every reason under the sun why IDA money went the way it went. At this point hundreds of residents will be screaming at their TV oh no Richard don’t go down the 4-3 road can you not count yet after all these years. Then Bramson will trap St. Paul into a motion and it will go down 4-3 as the new boy will vote the party line. And as a regularity the TAX payer and the residents will get screwed royal. Trangucci and Tarantino will look like 2 deer in the headlights.
And then the games will continue.
please tell me who’s going to
please tell me who’s going to the Superbowl and the point spread, thank!