Our country is still suffering the effects of the worst economic slow-down since the Great Depression, with serious impacts on major municipal revenue sources and simultaneous upward pressure on major municipal costs. In this difficult economic climate, there are no easy or pleasing choices, but there are better and worse choices, and we have a responsibility together to distinguish one from the other.
It has been the City’s goal to balance several important interests: (1) respect the financial pressures confronting taxpayers; (2) preserve investment in essential services; and (3) safeguard the longer-term health and stability of our community. These are seemingly straightforward objectives, yet they are often in tension with each other – and now, more than ever, impacted by factors that local government cannot control.
On the whole, I believe that New Rochelle’s 2011 budget achieves this balance about as well as circumstances permit It features a municipal tax rate that is the lowest among the urban centers of Westchester, it averts layoffs and preserves core services, but, nonetheless, reduces our workforce to just about the smallest size in New Rochelle’s modern history, it features a fund balance that, while smaller than optimum, is still sufficient to provide some measure of cushion against the unexpected. And while it achieves a handful of goals through borrOWing or deferring expenses, it does so in the context of an overall bonded debt level that is the lowest in more than a decade.
That is not to say this budget lacks meaningful sacrifice. Our smaller workforce will impact the speed and scope of service-delivery. Many desirable, but non-essential, programs have been defunded. Our capital investments are only a fraction of what they ought to be – a situation that cannot persist indefinitely without serious consequences. And I suspect that taxpayers are not particularly interested in hearing that New Rochelle’s municipal tax rate is lower than White Plains’ or Peekskill’s – they just know that their taxes are too high and they want relief.
As I said, there are no easy or pleasing choices. Only better and worse ones. In a sense, our action tonight is anti-climactic. Many of the tough decisions have already been made and acted upon over the past two years through an ongoing process of austerity and efficiency. And many of the other tough decisions were already incorporated into the City Manager’s budget proposal. With this in mind, I compliment our entire management team on their seriousness of purpose. Theirs are among the many salaries throughout our organization that have been frozen – all the more reason to be appreciative of their dedication and work product.
The amendments adopted by the Council tonight, although small in context, represent an improvement to the proposed budget. I would like to thank every member of Council for the cooperative spirit through which our agreement was achieved. It is notable that both the amendment package and the budget as a whole are being approved on a unanimous bipartisan basis, the first time in several years that this has occurred. In these difficult times, the people ofNew Rochelle expect their elected officials to roll up their sleeves and get to work, regardless of party. That is precisely what the Council has done in this case.
Lastly, our fiscal responsibilities do not end with the adoption of a single budget, but require instead a constant attention to the shifting needs, conditions and opportunities within our community. The year ahead may defy expectations, for good or for bad, and we must be ready.
For now, I conclude by once again expressing my thanks to those who applied themselves to this process, including the many citizens who offered constructive suggestions and feedback.
Not withstanding the difficulties of the moment, New Rochelle retains the strength and vibrancy of a great and growing community, with every reason for confidence in its future.
I vote yes.
Whoa!!
Although the budget does merit a modicum of an improvement, what it fails to do is provide its citizens with adequate protection and services.
For starters, although layoffs have been averted, it is worth mentioning that the emergency services in our city are operating at skeletal rates. While this may be fine on the average day, God forbid a crisis situation that presses our police or fire department into service where the man power is just insufficient.
If the mayor and council were actually concerned about the safety and well being of the citizens and infrastructure they would surely look to expand these ranks back to adequate sizes.
Again this is a question of cutting the rank and file and salvaging the high end commissioners and their perks, as well as ancillary positions in city hall that are simply not needed.
It is political posturing at its finest, concerned with preserving the power of incumbency. Sadly they even have YOU fooled.
Who is YOU?
To whom are you directing your last remark about being fooled? Do you mean the Mayor has been fooled by someone? Or that I have been fooled because I posted this?
These are the Mayor’s words last night to an almost entirely empty room (and whoever watches over TV/Web). If you have comments or concerns you can direct them to him. While he will not admit it, rest assured he reads this site closely so this is your chance to be heard if you want to take it.
OOps
I saw that you posted this, and even though the language seemed to be “Harvardesque” I thought these words were yours. So I retract the YOU as being you, and would like to point out that THIS is clearly an example of Bramson Chicanery
Is he kidding?
Why would he admit or put up a guise that he would not read this site/blog? That would be an irresponsible official, not keeping his fingers on the pulse of the people. I think we should start a petition calling for his impeachment. Shame on you Mr. Bramson…once again!
Reality v. Bramsonality
From all I that hear about him, if Noam cannot control something or someone or bully someone or charm someone then he attempts to ignore it or them and hopes it or they will go away.
As best I can tell that has pretty much worked for him — with no local media and not much in the way of effective political opposition in a City where his party has a huge voter registration advantage he had largely gotten a free pass. The idea that there would be a media outlet that he cannot control or manipulate is threatening to him. When this site was getting 3,000 readers a month that might have worked. Now that we are getting more than 10 times that amount — and our articles are going into Google News, Topix and other major news aggregators, and the site has a show on WVOX and we have podcasts and twitter and all of that stuff — it does not work so well.
What makes it worse is that Talk of the Sound stories keep panning out — the DA really is investigating the NR DPW, the City really did approve a condo development that is in clear violation of the building code, the police really did run a gambling and porn web site, the head of the CSEA union really did get arrested for DWI, the head of the civil service commission really did take tax exemptions reserved for combat veterans, the Comptroller did really rip the NRIDA…and then there is the school district with the sexting security guard, the whole Rolf Koehler issue, the book censorship, Vito Costa being arrested, a recent employee shooting and killing a drug dealer in Ohio, and so on.
The real problem for Noam as well as other officials in New Rochelle is that when we come and say that arrests of City employees will soon be made residents have come to realize that means its going to happen.
Pretty words and fancy speeches are not authentic and not the path to building a trust relationship with the public.
Can you guess what is?
Control Freak
Yes even in the Council Meetings you can see his smug nature, and a propensity for forced formality. City government DOES NOT and SHOULD NOT function in that manner.
Look at council, they are an almost accurate cross section of the community at large. At least before they were elected (or appointed sic).
Well it appears that Brammy is growing his power in city hall, because he could not attain higher office as he had hoped. And again, the theme of my recent diatribe, it is self serving and not communal.