By Dan Murphy
With some local governments raising property taxes by as much as 6 percent (City of Yonkers – 6.2 percent), Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner has proposed a budget for 2019 that decreases taxes by 1 percent.
Feiner has done that, and even though it is for a small portion – less than 20 percent of a homeowner in the Town of Greenburgh’s total tax bill (Ardsley, Elmsford, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Hartsdale, Tarrytown), it still proves that if you have the political will to do so, budgets – and spending – can be controlled.
“We will meet 2019 fiscal challenges by limiting increases in certain operating expenses, holding some expenditures flat year over year, and by reducing spending where practical,” wrote Feiner in a budget message to the Town Board. “Once again, our department heads responded to our challenge for new ways to do more with less. We are able to strengthen town finances and maintain Greenburgh’s high quality of life as our efficiency initiatives come to fruition and by restraining the filling of vacancies.
“We overcame significant challenges to meet the 2019 tax cap, especially regarding expenses that are outside of our direct control. Examples include utility costs, medical insurance and workers compensation. Honoring the cap has and will continue to help us stabilize costs and restrain tax increases.
“I am pleased to propose a budget that will continue our perfect record in complying with the New York State tax cap,” continued Feiner. “This demonstrates our continuing commitment to keep Greenburgh a great and affordable place to live.
“New York State rewards our taxpayers with additional tax rebates based on Greenburgh’s cost-containment success. There are other government entities within Westchester and New York State that have overruled the tax cap over the years. The Greenburgh Town Board has never overruled the tax cap since its inception, and the 2019 budget again complies with the New York State tax cap. As a result, Greenburgh taxpayers will receive property tax refund checks from the state (given to taxpayers who live in communities that comply with the cap).
“I am doubly proud that we have again achieved an Aaa bond rating this year (the highest rating possible by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s investment services),” said the supervisor. “Only 1 percent of all localities in the nation have achieved this highest level of financial confidence. Our Aaa rating equates to approximately $300,000 in interest savings for our recently sold debt. Our Aaa rating saves us money each time we renew maturing bonds.
“During my tenure as town supervisor, the town’s bond rating has increased several times. The town has attained Aaa ratings every year from Standard and Poor’s since 2008 and Moody’s since 2010. During this time many other local, county, state and national governments have seen their bond ratings decrease. We are proud that we continue to manage a fiscally prudent government and have maintained the highest rating possible.
“The 2019 budget is almost an ‘as is’ budget – very similar to last year’s budget. We are continuing to identify new potential productivity increases, cost reductions and revenue enhancements that will enable us to improve our financial strength, while maintaining our high service levels. We are implementing new management controls, which will allow better use of our existing resources and improve control over expenditures versus budget. We have kept departmental costs as flat as possible versus 2018.
“Contracts for all three unions expire at the end of this year,” said Feiner. “I am optimistic that we will be able to settle the contracts in the near future. The 2019 budget includes a 2 percent increase for management and elected officials. We will continue to utilize attrition to reduce employee costs. We are also enjoying the benefits of our initiatives, which continue to grow.
“Switching to LED has permanently reduced our electrical lighting expenditures,” he concluded. “The single-worker sanitation trucks and other recent initiatives are making the Sanitation Department increasingly efficient each year. We have six fewer employees since the start of the one-arm bandit initiative. We will be completing the transition from the old trucks to the new ones. Finding and adapting these and other new technologies is ingrained within the culture of Greenburgh government, which drives ongoing improvements in the effectiveness of our operations.”
Services that the Town of Greenburgh provides its residents in its $27.1 million budget include: Advance Life Support and paramedic services; over 65,000 xxxxx means to seniors; a recreation program for residents who have developmental disabilities; animal control services; a town civil defense unit for natural disasters and blackouts; town SWAT team; striping of roadways; dog licensing; assessment and tax collection services.
“In my proposed 2019 budget I have included funding for our food scrap recycling program,” said Feiner. “The town has worked with the Greenburgh Nature Center on this important initiative. Hopefully, within two years, the Greenburgh Public Works Department will pick up food scraps as part of our sanitation/recycling program.
“For many years we have highlighted the need for a new court house (and police headquarters) to replace both aging and inadequate buildings. We will sell our existing buildings and place the properties on the tax rolls. We have been saving funds for a number of years to reduce borrowing costs. The 2019 budget includes $7 million from our fund balance that will be used for this purchase. We are in the beginning stages and will keep residents informed.
“The stock market had a positive impact on the NYS Employee Retirement System in 2018 and the NYS Police and Fire Retirement System,” continued the supervisor. “Overall, the retirement liability for the town has decreased by approximately $300,000 for 2019.
“We are budgeting $1.2 million in building permit income due to multiple upcoming projects that are being discussed with the commissioner of planning and the building inspector. In the past we over-anticipated permit revenue and would prefer to be conservative in the revenue estimates.
“To ensure that our operations are on the cutting edge of technology, we established a Citizens Technology Advisory Committee to work collaboratively with the town to help create new technology initiatives and improve the town’s operations and efficiency,” said Feiner.
“We will continue to work with the school districts and villages within the town for opportunities to share services and save taxpayer dollars.
“Efforts to collect back taxes have been effective. Back taxes, penalties and interest collected this year is $5.8 million to date. The town will continue to hold auctions on a regular basis. The town has collected $1.9 million in auction sales during 2018.
“In summary, the financial health of our town is solid,” said Feiner. “Because the future holds many uncertainties beyond our control, we must redouble our efforts to reduce costs, increase revenue and improve our management practices to ensure our continued financial soundness and provision of exemplary services to our citizens.”
The supervisor thanked Roberta Romano, town comptroller, for her efforts in preparing the budget and helping maintain its Aaa bond rating.
