2020 Budget Analysis- Public Hearing 11/13 at 7:30pm
Hello Everyone,
On Wednesday 11/13 at 7:30pm, the Town will be holding Public Hearings for the 2020 Operating Budget and 2020 Capital Budget. These are arguably the two most important Public Hearings of the year and are two of the seven hearings scheduled for that evening. Unfortunately, prior to the meeting agenda, despite numerous requests from citizens, there will be two public presentations prior to the agenda. We have no idea how long these presentations will last, or when the actual meeting will begin. We will simply have to show up and wait. This is government in Greenburgh.
Onto the actual budgets. The 2020 Operating Budget (Here) and the 2020 Capital Budget(Here) are now available. I encourage everyone to review the budget and come speak on items that are important to them at the 11/13 hearing. I have gone through both budgets and highlighted some summary analysis below. If you have questions about things that you see, please email me at Eric@ericzinger.com
2020 Operating Budget Summary: The 2020 Proposed Operating budget calls for an increase in operating spending of 13% and a 2.3% tax increase. 2020 Operating Expenses are set at $122.5mm, a 13% increase year over year from $108mm. If you look at the actual details, spending is even up more on a % basis because the planned allocation of $7mm for the Police Courthouse was not done in 2019 and is included in 2020. 2020 Property Taxes collected by the Town will increase from $68.5mm, to $70mm, a 2.3% increase.
That is right, this year there is a 2.3% increase the property taxes collected by the town. Supervisor Feiner stated that there would be no tax increase this year. Why did he say that? Well he is correct when he says he did not raise the tax rate, however the assessed value of most properties in the town were increased by at least 2%, thus if the rate stays the same, taxes go up. More explanation of this point here. If you collect $1.5mm more in tax revenues than you did the year before, that is a tax increase. Anyone who disagrees on this, I don’t know what to tell you.
Things to like:
· Strong stock market performance has helped with the employee liability figures for Pension and NYS ERS figures. Employee Benefit costs are also trending down year over year although still are higher than 2018 figures.
· Several departments in the town are getting more efficient and embracing the taxpayer message of fiscal responsibility and came in with operating budgets for 2020 less than that of 2019. These include the office of the Comptroller, Town Clerk, Town Engineer, and the SWAT division of police.
Things not to Like
· The biggest thing not to like is that even with an unprecedented windfall from the increase in the County Sales Tax Levy, a $3.2mm increase in revenues, we could not go even one year without raising taxes. My signature campaign pledge was that I would not vote for any budget that raised the property tax levy and despite conditions that have never been more optimal, this budget does not meet that standard.
· In the current climate, with the loss of the SALT deduction and increasing taxes at every turn, it is disappointing to see the Town Board and the Town Supervisor include a raise for themselves for the 4th year in a row.
· We would be remiss if we did not note another $550k this year will go towards paying off the bond from the disastrous Fortress Bible Settlement. The largest Religious land use discrimination case in United States History with a judgement of $6mm. Final payment for this settlement will be in 2023, 4 more years of payments after this year until this disgraceful part of Greenburgh history is paid off.
2020 Capital Budget Summary: The 2020 budget calls for funding $15.7mm of capital projects throughout the town. The biggest single item is $4.5mm for improvements to the Water District including $3.5mm for water main cleaning and lining. Public Works Department has the largest overall spending at $7.1mm.
Things to like
· As we typically see, there is very strong funding for our Police and Public Works operations. We continue to see strong investments in equipment, radios, and trucks. We have capital allocations of $710k for Police and $7.1mm for Public Works. Highlights include 3 new Police Tahoe’s and a number of sanitation and heavy-duty trucks for the Public Works department.
· We are happy to see significant investment for the TDYCC building. There was no Air Conditioning at the Lois Bronz Children’s center for several weeks over the summer which was unacceptable for the kids there. There is $100k allocated to address that issue and additional funding to replace the boiler.
· Recommended total spending of $15.7mm is down from prior years capital budgets. We hope the message of cost control has resonated with the current Town Board and we are prioritizing our capital spending needs with a focus on the most critical investments first.
Things not to like:
· There is $40k for a Route 9a Land Use study. I have no objections to the study itself, but this should be funded out of the Route 9a TIF district. I campaigned on removing this special financing district, which takes taxpayer money away from the general fund. There is currently $6mm sitting in this fund and no immediate plans to spend it with over $300k dollars coming in each year. This study should be funded out of those funds.
· Capital budgeting is still done on a yearly basis with no publicly available long term planning document to summarize the Town’s capital spending needs for the next 3,5 or 10 years. All we have is a 1-year capital budget which for a Town this size poses innumerable risks and problems.
Eric Zinger