Mayor Announces Almost $1.3mm in Funding for Road Repairs in Scarsdale

At his first official Village Board meeting on Tuesday night April 14th, Scaarsdale's newly elected Mayor Jon Mark was pleased to announce a big appropriation to repair and repave Scarsdale's distressed roadways.

Mark said, "We all drive on the same roads –and this Mayor is very aware of the poor condition of many of the roads in Scarsdale. We will have $1,298,000 in the budget for the year ending in May --which will cover 3.5 miles of roads and should allow the most egregious situations to be addressed. In the meantime three trucks have been out for the past month making repairs and responding to residents. We are addressing this issue in the short term. Winter happens every year – some more severe than others. We will face a similar situation in the years to come. We will address the roads with the resources that we have."

Later at the meeting, the board passed a resolution to accept reimbursements for funds from the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) of $526,000 and $206,000. These funds will be added to already appropriated funds to total $1,298,800 for road resurfacing which should go a long way toward repairing potholes and installing new roads and curbing.

The Board also held a Public Hearing on the proposed 2015-16 Village Budget which comes in under the tax cap and will mean a 3.33% tax increase for residents. This increase will be approximately $144 more next year for the owner of a home with an average assessed vale of $1,398,818.

Bob Harrison commended the trustees and the Village manager's office on the budget and said he was disappointed that others were not at the meeting to comment.

Susie Rush, President of the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale read portions of the league's lengthy statement which can be read in its entirety here. The League also commended the Village for a "well-managed, thoughtful process" and for developing a budget that takes "into consideration the current and anticipated needs of the Village."

Speaking about the tax revaluation she said, "The League commends the Village for completing the municipal-wide property value reassessment in 2014 and was encouraged to hear the Village Manager opine that the project greatly reduced inequities among property owners." The League "strongly encourages the Board to continue to keep its residents apprised of the progress of the 2016 Revaluation Update."

She expressed concern about the deferral of capitol projects such as road repair, new equipment purchases, renovation of Village Hall, repairs and security at the Freightway and Christie Place Garages and the removal of an underground oil tank at Village Hall.

In response to pressure from the state to merge and consolidate Village services, the League asked the Village to seek public opinion on village-provided services and ascertain which ones residents would be willing to eliminate or scale-back or pay for on a fee-for service basis.

Though the Scarsdale Forum usually studies and comments on the Village Budget, this year they declined to comment.

The preliminary budget has been filed and will be voted on at the April 28th meeting of the Scarsdale Village Board of Trustees.

Click here to read the full statement from the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale on the Village budget.