The Buck Stops Where?
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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It seems that the mismanagement of the 2016 village-wide revaluation in Scarsdale has raised questions about the overall competence of village management. Though most have focused their questions on the office of the village assessor, and John F. Ryan, the man who conducted the revaluation, some are also blaming village managers for failing to oversee the process and intervene.
At the Scarsdale Village Board meeting on September 13, Ron Schulhof, a member of the Conservation Advisory Council, the Scarsdale Forum and Chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee on LED Streetlights called for Village Manager and the Board of Trustees to be more transparent with information and decision-making and called on residents to become more active.
In blunt remarks, Schulhof questioned the accuracy of the information and recommendations the Board of Trustees receives from Village staff and asked the Board to "micromanage" until confidence is restored. He asked the Board of Trustees to allow the public access to meetings where decisions are made that lead to the resolutions that are passed at the public meetings. He also wanted all the information the trustees review before meetings to be available online.
Schulhof likened Village Manager Steve Pappalardo to the CEO of Scarsdale and asked him to take public responsibility for what happened with the revaluation. He said, "Up to this point, he's been quiet, has barely said anything meeting after meeting. This community will not have confidence restored in village government until he takes responsibility. I want to hear Steve say "I take full responsibility" and I want him to mean it. "
As for residents, Schulhof asked them to get involved, attend meetings and push for more information.
Following Schulhof's remarks, rather than offer a defense or pushback, the Mayor simply said, "Mr Schulhof I agree with you – thanks for your comments."
For his part, later in the meeting, Village Manager Steve Pappalardo responded to Schulhof's request to take responsibility. He said, "I want to respond to Ron's statement. As the Village Manager and CEO, I take my responsibilities for village oversight very seriously. I have never shied away from that responsibility-– and had that same approach during the many years I served as Deputy Village Manager, which is, I believe, one of the reasons I was promoted. The 2016 revaluation was undertaken with the best intentions to maintain the property assessment as close to 100% market value as possible. The execution of the project was not what was expected. And even though it's not my responsibility as CEO to micromanage capital projects, and I do rely on the department heads, I accept the ultimate responsibility of this administration. I have been working with the staff toward achieving fairness and equity in tax assessments. The Mayor presents his reports. I have been quiet; but we work closely with the Mayor – so when he is speaking and talking about what is happening -- even though I am quiet, I am intimately involved and he is speaking for the board and its managers."
Though the Mayor and Village Managers had originally maintained that the Assessor's office was independent, they ultimately did take the fall for the assessor's actions.
It was a humbling moment for everyone in the room. See the meeting here or read Schulhof's full remarks below.
What do you think? Please enter your thoughts in the comments section below.
From Ron Schulhof:
Addressing the issues in our Village Management
Like most in the community I have been following the Reval proceedings over the past several months. I am not going to talk about the Reval itself tonight, but rather what we learned about our Village operations, the issues that exist and what I believe we can do to fix these issues.
What troubles me most is that all of the issues about our operations only came to light because the Reval was a project with high visibility and there were a number of residents who pushed through all the barriers to get at the truth. But what about all the other aspects of our operations and all the capital projects that also impact us but aren't so visible. How do we as a community have any confidence that all these aspects of our annual $50M budget are being properly managed? Whether you were for the Reval or against, happy with the outcome or dissatisfied, I think we can all agree there has been an erosion of confidence in our Village Management. The question of what to do about the Reval will continue, but it's also time to address how we make the necessary changes to our Village operations to ensure future decisions and projects are managed properly. Here is what I think we need to do.
The Board of Trustees
Management: Most of the decisions you make are predicated, at least in part, by information, analysis and recommendations provided by our Village Staff. I think until now it was assumed this information could be taken at face value. No more. There can be no assumptions on Village-prepared materials. Everything must be critiqued now. Until our confidence is restored, you will need to micromanage.
Meetings: Often there is information presented or topics discussed outside of this room; whether it is during the 7:30pm agenda meeting or in other forums. More discussion between the seven of you needs to be happening on this dais during public board meetings. Too often you explain why you made a decision at board meetings; instead you need to allow the public to hear your thought process before a decision is made to help us be more involved in the process. There is a time and a place for meetings and discussion outside of the bi-weekly board meeting, but too much has been shifted away from the public eye.
Public Information: The packet of information you receive on Friday before board meetings needs to be made public. We need more than seven sets of eyes on this information. For those who aren't aware, the Friday before each Board meeting the agenda of the upcoming meeting is posted on the Scarsdale website. The Board, however, receives an additional packet with information related to Village decisions and projects.
What I'm asking for is more transparency and until confidence in the Village is restored, more oversight of operations.
Residents
Be Present: We need to be present. That doesn't mean we have to be at every meeting. But at key junctures such as during the budget process, we need to be there. I will use the budget process, which drives so much of what happens each year in the Village, as an example. While there have always been presentations of the preliminary budget for residents, by the time we're presented with this information, it's effectively too late for change. We need to be at the meetings where the department heads present to the Board. This is where decisions are made. By law these meetings are public. They're long, almost all day, but we can divide up the time and ensure we're involved in the decision process. And if need be, provide the Board with key questions they may not have asked.
Be Heard: We need to continue voicing our thoughts. If you have an issue, a question, a suggestion or a constructive criticism – you need to voice it. And you need to voice it to the Mayor and the Board. You may have sent something to the Village Manager or a department in the past, but if you really want to be heard it needs to go directly to the Mayor and the Board.
We've seen what being present can do. If residents hadn't come to all these meetings, pushed for more information and stuck with their convictions, none of the issues with the Reval and our Village operations would have come to light. Now we need to continue doing it with projects at the outset to position us for success.
Village Manager
Responsibility: Our structure of village management is similar to that of a typical corporation. Instead of a Board of Directors we have a Board of Trustees. The Board sets high level policy and provides high level oversight. However there is no expectation that the Board will scrutinize every detail of daily operations. This is why we have a paid Village Manager, our CEO of the Village. This is Steve Pappalardo's role. It is the Village Manager that is responsible for the day to day operations of our Village and the implementation of the Board's policy decisions. And just like with the CEO of a company, the buck stops with the Village Manager. The execution of this Reval wasn't just a failure of our Assessors Department; it was Steve's failure too. Every department is HIS responsibility. When they succeed, he succeeds. And when they fail, he fails. We've had a major failure. And now we have a crisis of confidence. We need to know that he understands this on him. We need our Village Manager to publicly take responsibility. Up to this point, he's been quiet, has barely said anything meeting after meeting. This community will not have confidence restored in Village government until he takes responsibility. I want to hear Steve say "I take full responsibility" and I want him to mean it.
Moving Forward: Then we then need to hear his plan on what he is going to do going forward to ensure something like this doesn't happen again. Not just for the Assessor office but for all departments. Maintaining the status quo is not acceptable. I remind everyone, we've only scrutinized one department. What if we had looked in this level of detail at another part of our operation; a department, a capital project, a recommendation to the Board? We need to have confidence that if we start FOILing all the other departments that we won't find similar issues. We spend $50M every year on operations and capital projects; we need to know our Village Manager has his finger on the pulse of all departments and major projects.
This all needs to happen not with just the Board, not at a 7:30pm agenda meeting that isn't televised, but in this room at a public board meeting.
The last few months have brought to light a number of significant issues in how this Village is run. I hope we can look at these issues and work together to solve them. Thank you.
Ron Schulhof
Senior Chalking Day at SHS
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On Wednesday morning September 7 students came together at the Brewster Road entrance of SHS for Senior Chalking, an annual event for the senior class and their first opportunity to show its solidarity and school spirit. The festivities of the day included not only chalking, but also a "gridlock" before homeroom, during which the grade gathered in a hallway to cheer and celebrate. Additionally, each wore his or her senior T-shirt, which, commemorates the year of graduation with a punny slogan; this year's said "OUR BIG EX17." In honor of the fact that this year's senior class will be the school's 100th graduating class, the front of the shirt incorporated a "100" graphic design.
The morning was sunny and bright despite forecasts 
of rain, and, as seniors arrived at 7am to chalk, excitement was building. Many groups gathered to draw with their friends in pavement squares, but additionally, for the first time as suggested by the student government, the senior class collaborated on a giant design in the middle of the walkway. The class decorated the central pavement square with both the numbers 2017 and the names of all the students who participated in chalking. While in past years, school administrators, teachers, and students have complained about exclusive attitudes, this year, all of the seniors seemed willing to help each other, be it for the collective design in the middle or any other drawing. By the time kids of other grades began to arrive for class, the walkways up to the doors of the high school were covered in brightly colored drawings and slogans created by friends, teams, and clubs. The whole event was fun for everyone involved, and succeeded in getting the grade excited for its last year together in the high school.
Construction Accident on Wynmor Road
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The arm of a cement crane, working at a building site a 30 Wynmor Road fell on the roof of the neighboring home at 32 Wynmor Road at 4:40 pm on Monday August 29. J&J Concrete was pumping concrete for the foundation of a new home at 30 Wynmor. According to the police report, the operator said that "while the arm was still fully extended, he inadvertently lifted the stabilizers that support the truck. As a result of the weight, the truck tipped to the right and it's arm came to a rest on the roof of 32 Wynmor. Another worker on the scene used an excavator to counterbalance the weight of the truck to prevent it from tipping over. Mr. Carducci chained the front bucket of the excavator to the side of the pumper, helping to secure it in place."
The neighbors at 32 Wynmor were home at the time of the accident. A 2 year-old was asleep in a bedroom that was closest to the impact, but neither the child nor his grandmother were injured. They were taken out of the house. Since there was a language barrier, a neighbor helped translate the discussion between the residents and the police.
When the Fire Department arrived, they found that the pumper was near a power line and Con Edison was called to shut it down. Captain Gleason from the Fire Department and Danny Diaz from the Building Department checked the house for structural damage and other hazards but found no major problems.
Two heavy-duty two trucks were called to lift the pumper arm off the roof of the house and level the pumper truck.
The new house is being built by Andrew Silverstein of Castle Walk Development. He was not on the scene at the time of the accident.
Photos courtesy of Jon Thaler. See more here:
A Virtual Groundbreaking at White Plains Library
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The White Plains Public Library held a groundbreaking ceremony for a major renovation of their building on Martine Avenue on Wednesday morning September 7th.
Friends of the library, 
donors, library leaders and local politicians gathered to celebrate a successful fundraising campaign that will underwrite construction of "The Hub," a new environment to meet the needs of adult patrons from 20-somethings to seniors. The project will be financed by $1 million from an anonymous gift to the library matched by the city of White Plains as well $500,000 from the White Plains Library Association.
Plans for the Hub include updated lighting and furniture, workspaces for reading and study and increased capacity for computers and new technology such as a 3-D printer and circulating i-Pads. A community room will be available to host programs and events and a new café with seating on Martine Avenue will serve as a gathering place for patrons.
Library Director Brian Kenney thanked everyone involved and said the Hub would be a space to "meet-up, explore and unwind." He noted that plans were realized through a public/private partnership and acknowledging White Plains Mayor Tom Roach, Kenney said, "We are lucky to work in a city with a Mayor who reads." He explained that "Construction will begin in September and is expected to last a year.
Diane Tabakman, President of the White Plains Library Foundation thanked donors and the city of White Plains for their "transformational gifts," and noted that the library will hold its gala on Saturday night October 22 with guest speaker Frank Bruni. She also thanked Foundation Executive Director and Scarsdale resident Nancy Rubini for the creativity and enthusiasm she has brought to the job.
Mayor Tom Roach said going to the library was "Like shopping without a credit card," and said that the community is committed to the library. He explained that it was one of the first places to re-open after Hurricane Sandy, giving residents the opportunity to re-connect. He also noted that the television show "Billions" has used the White Plains Library as a filming location, generating additional funds for the budget.
Also on hand were State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins.
Mayor Issues Guidelines for Wednesday meeting with J.F. Ryan
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The much-anticipated meeting with J.F. Ryan, the man who conducted the 2016 revaluation in Scarsdale, will be held in Scarsdale Village Hall on Wednesday night August 17 at 6:55 pm.
And you don't have to come to Village Hall to follow the conversation. In addition to being broadcast on the Scarsdale cable TV channels, the meeting will be streamed live online. The Village will include a "Live Broadcast" icon on its home page, which will direct interested online viewers to http://www.scarsdale.com/live.
In response to residents' requests to question Mr. Ryan, the Mayor forwarded the following guidelines for those who pose questions during the session:
From Mayor Jon Mark:
In addition to the written question format previously reported, we recognize the desire of residents to ask questions of Mr. Ryan and Ms. Albanese directly at the meeting scheduled for August 17, 2016. Therefore, there will be a portion of the meeting following his presentation in which residents will be invited to ask their questions. Those who do so are requested to keep in mind the following:
1. Submitting questions in writing is the primary method to be utilized at the meeting.
2. The purpose of the meeting is to hear what Mr. Ryan and Ms. Albanese have to say about the implementation of the 2016 revaluation.
3. Questions should therefore be focused on what Mr. Ryan did in executing the revaluation and on the methodology and analysis he used to develop his model and derive the tentative property assessments.
4. The goal is to have an orderly meeting in which information about the revaluation process is elicited and conveyed.
