March 14, 2013 - WestchesterGuardian.com

THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013Page 17courtNY Supreme Court Nixes New Rochelle’s Motion to Dismiss “Refuse Fee”Continued from page 16Proponents of efficacious andefficient government will likelycite as the chief problem and startingpoint of analysis; the gifting bysuccessive Democratic city administrationsof excessive tax breaks todevelopers of rental apartments inour beleaguered downtown core -past recipients including the Avalongroup and Cappelli Enterprises- possible future recipients includingForest City Ratner, which atthe present moment is seeking anew 20-year deal. As advocates offiscal restraint see it, Westchesterseems to be the home of desperatemunicipal taxing/revenue generationmeasures, and New Rochelleis its ground zero. Reports of newoutbreaks of “service fee fever” havelately been overheard in nearbyPort Chester.Conservatives have been outspokenon such issues for a while.Maybe it is time that we heardfrom those across the ideologicalspectrum: left-leaning and liberaladvocates of strong schools and propitiousliving standards for all, regardlessof income level. They can’tbe content with the constrainedschool funding and slapdash infrastructuremaintenance, which thedepletion of New Rochelle’s assessabletax base by some $32 million inonly nine years has caused.On the strictly political plane,Mayor Noam Bramson is seekingthe Democratic nomination to runfor the County Executive seat heldby Republican Rob Astorino. TheArticle 78 proceeding may shedlight on Bramson’s claim that hisdevelopment planning and practiceshave halted the city’s slide frompreeminence as a leading suburb.The hearings could also take stockof his administration’s devotion toan open and democratic exercise ofrepublican local government; essentially,assaying the relative transparencyor opacity of city hall in itssupport of the extension of generous,extra-market concessions andtax abatements to favored developers,some of whom have contributedto campaign funds of numerousNew Rochelle politicians, includinghimself.Stephen I. Mayo is an attorney andmanufacturer based in New Rochelle.MAYOR Marvin’s COLUMNBy Mayor MARY C.MARVINOn February 14, theNew York Conferenceof Mayors andMunicipal Officialssent municipalities a doomsdaymissive entitled, “Another Valentine’sDay Massacre for PropertyTaxpayers,” “Local GovernmentsGOVERNMENTAnother Valentine’s Day Massacre for Property TaxpayersMandated to Pay a $385 MillionIncrease in Pension Bills.”To translate, the property taxpayerspension contribution inevery New York municipality willnowbe 25.8 percent of payroll forpolice and firefighters, an increaseof 19 percent compared to the 2012rates and a71 percent increase injust three years.For non-uniformed employees,18.9 percent of payroll mustbe dedicated to pensions reflectinga 16 percentincrease over the 2012rates and a whopping 155 percentincrease from 2010 rates. The aboveincreasesequate to budget increasesfor every community well above the2 percent tax cap.As these numbers increase, localrevenues in the form of salesand mortgage tax and interest incomeareflat or declining.That poses the question, whereis any/every community going tofind the funds to cover yet anotherunsustainableincrease?Facing this new mandate inan atmosphere of already heavilyburdened property taxpayers,manycommunities are looking tobring tax-exempt organizationsinto the mix. The question as towhoshould pay for services renderedand how much has become the issuedu jour at governmentconferencesand symposiums.In his State of the City address,the Mayor of Providence announcedthat, “Every city worker,everybusiness, every taxpayer andevery organization – including taxexemptinstitutions – must sharepartof the burden of saving ourcity.”Private colleges, hospitals,Continued on page 18Diana O’NeillHolistic Health Services