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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 26 April 2023

Created: 26 April 2023

Last Updated: 27 April 2023

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The Village Board, headed by newly elected Mayor Justin Arest, unanimously passed the 2023-24 Village Budget at their April 25, 2023 meeting.

The budget funds some of Scarsdale’s infrastructure needs including development of a plan to renovate the Scarsdale Pool, improvements to traffic and safety in the Village and paving of roads.

The tax levy of $46,510,000 represents a year-over-year increase of 4.15%, which equates to a $250.81 annual tax increase to the average assessed home of $1,597,000. It exceeds the New York State tax cap of 3.17%.

Commenting on the Village Budget, Deputy Mayor Randy Whitestone thanked the "Treasurer, Deputy Treasurer, Village Manager, Deputy Village Manager, and village department heads and staff for continuing to cement our relatively new – this is our second year -- approach to budgeting, including starting early and tightly weaving in goals, objectives, and data to guide our priorities and decisions, with the addition of significant public transparency on the village website and via a Digital Budget Book. "

He said, "any budget is a dynamic, year-round process and living document subject to adjustments throughout the fiscal year as we pay attention to real-world conditions such as inflation, fluctuating interest rates, and continued and active assessment of what “normal” equilibrium looks like."

Trustee Brew answered critics who objected to the increase beyond the cap. She said “We have neglected long term infrastructure needs for many years and made prudent choices to fund what is truly needed and struck a balance.” She said the tax cap was a “somewhat arbitrary number.”

Trustee Gans agreed. He said, “Each of us devoted considerable time to analyzing projected interest rates and we take our responsibility seriously. I am confident in the budget process and that this budget strikes the right balance between keeping taxes low while making the necessary expenditures to keep the village as one of the most desirable places to live in the NYC area.”

Trustee Gruenberg appreciated the efforts of the Treasurer and the Village staff. She said, “I am comfortable with the work done by the previous Village Board. Balancing the wants and needs of the Village with the tax burden is not easy particularly with our aging infrastructure.”

Trustee Mazer said, “It requires a lot of balance. But I would tell my neighbors that the money we raise will ultimately benefit you. Find some solace in knowing that we are all working on the same team for the long term health of our community.”

Trustee Ahuja explained, “There was many years of underinvestment in the Village. It was less than the expectations for a place like Scarsdale. Some money needs to be spent. It is very difficult to estimate revenues and expenses in an unprecedented interest rate environment. This is a time to make conservative and prudent calls.”

Mayor Arest complimented the Village Treasurer on the technological advances to the budget process. He said, “I am comfortable with where things have come out – and want to thank Mayor Veron and Trustee Lewis.” He said, “I look forward to the coming year.”

During Public Comments, there was some feedback on the budget:

Bob Harrison continued to urge the Board to use higher interest rates in their budget proposal.

Anne Hintermeister objected to the Village Board exceeding the NYS tax cap of 3.2% for their 2023-24 budget. She said it was unnecessary to maintain services or deal with an emergency. She said, “In fact there is a surplus available from the previous year.” She called it fiscally inappropriate in a year when the Board could have easily stayed below the cap.

Carl Finger thanked the Board for upholding laws that ban the placement of signs in the Village right of way. He said he considers signs in the right of way as “visual pollution.” He said he did not agree with Bob Harrison’s math and said that was gambling with our money.

Pickleball Courts at Crossway Field

However some were not happy with what is funded in the budget. During public comments, residents who live near Crossway came out to object to a plan to build pickleball courts on Crossway Field which were included in the 2023-24 Village budget. The speakers were familiar faces as they were the same people who objected to the Scarsdale Little League proposal to add field lights at Crossway last year.

Lori Garfunkel of 61 Lincoln Road said, “We object to the location near our house. We are concerned about a noise problem. This can be a life changing event for homeowners. We did a FOIL request for the studies of the noise conducted by the Village. They (the courts) should be built 450 feet away from homes. The pickleball sound is 70 decibels. The proposed location is as close as 150 feet from the closest homes. Brite Avenue has paddleball courts that are in disrepair, perhaps these can be used.”

Kaare Weber of 51 Crossway said, “We are adjacent to the proposed located for the eight pickleball courts. We question the approach to inform the community. Pickleball creates tension for good reason. It is no secret that the sound level is unreasonable. I ask for a reassessment of our noise level law. We look forward to a fair solution that we all can enjoy even within the Crossway and Pool Complex.

Josh Greenwald of 51 Harvest Drive also spoke up about the pickleball courts. He said, “There appears to have been little discussion about courts that back up to people’s homes. I would like to understand the process for these proposals moving forward.”

Michelle Castiello of Mamaroneck Road objected to the courts. She said, “Spending $400,000 for these courts is not appropriate. She raised concerns about drainage, and noise. She asked, “What would Crossway look like with sound barriers and nets? She said, there is “congestion and traffic is a problem in this area. We don’t know what the demand is for these courts
Use our existing paddle and tennis courts to meet the demand. That’s what’s done at FMTC and Lake Isle. Before we start spending money we should look at the demand and at repurposing existing courts.”

Andrew Casden said, “I won’t hear the noise and I won’t see the lights. This was brought on without any real discussion or planning. I don’t think that’s right. Where is the due diligence?”

What else:

Chris O’Brien

Mayor Arest observed a moment of silence for former Scarsdale Village IT Director Chris O’Brien who recently passed away. He said, “Anyone who knew Chris will remember him as a kind-hearted and generous sole. Chris was a product of Scarsdale and gave over 35 years of his life in service to our community here at Village Hall. Chris was always there when needed and was always willing to go above and beyond. Whether it was fixing a keyboard or helping Scarsdale become one of the earliest Westchester municipalities to have a dedicated website, he was happy to do what was needed.”

Scarsdale Bowl

The Mayor congratulated Janice Starr and the Scarsdale Village Ambulance Corps for receiving the Scarsdale Bowl, which will be celebrated at a dinner at Mamaroneck Beach Club on Thursday evening April 27.

Denim Day

The Board dressed in blue jeans to recognize Denim Day, a day to raise awareness of the prevalence of sexual violence. Natalie Ramos of the Safe Coalition thanked the Board and urged the community to make a social statement with their fashion statement.

Letters to the Board of Trustees

Though Mayor Arest spoke of making transparency a priority, the Village Attorney has recommended that letters to the Board of Trustees no longer appear in the agendas of Village Board meetings. He said that publishing these letters as part of the agenda could create legal issues for the Village. Arest assured the public that though the letters will not be published, they will be read and considered by the Board.

Manhunt

Village Manager Rob Cole discussed a manhunt for a suspect on the loose on Monday afternoon April 24, 2023. Cole explained that police stopped a stolen vehicle in Mt. Vernon where one suspect left the car and was apprehended. The other suspect drove the stolen car and crashed on the Hutchinson River Parkway. He got out of the car and escaped on foot and was observed on Mamaroneck Road and Griffen Avenue. Police and other emergency personnel conducted a thorough search for the suspect. Cole said, “Thanks to an alert from a resident and the police the unarmed suspect was arrested on Continental Road.”

Cole reported that the Village used press releases, twitter and robo calls to ask for support in finding the suspect. They utilized geographic fencing to focus on residents within the target area.

He said, that the Village will do a review of communications and improvements for the future. They will address why some in the targeted area were not reached. He encouraged all residents to sign up for Blackboard Connect to receive press releases and announcements from the Village and to follow the government on twitter at scarsdale.gov.

Compost Giveback Day

Compost Giveback Day is Saturday April 29 from 8 am to 3 pm at the recycling center on Secor Road. The compost, which was made from Scarsdale’s food scraps, will be given out on a first come, first served basis. The event will be held rain or shine.

Hydrant Flushing will begin on May 1 and last for three weeks. The schedule will be posted on the water department page of the Village website. Cole urged residents to refrain from washing clothes during the flushing as the water will be discolored.

Fire Pit Safety

Cole read some regulations pertaining to fire pits from the Fire Department:

-They must be attended by responsible adult.
- They should be placed beyond a ten foot radius from combustible materials.
- A water supply or hydrant should be nearby.
- There should be a phone within reach to access in case of an emergency.
- They must not be more than 3 feet in diameter.
- You should completely extinguish the fire when you are done.
- They may not be used to burn lawn debris or other types of materials.
- You should watch weather for dry windy periods when they should not be used

During liaison reports, Trustee Ahuja congratulated the new President of the Scarsdale Library Board – Laura Liu - as well as the new co-presidents of the Friends of Scarsdale Library, Nancy Kaplan and Stacey Mayer. He noted that in March 2023, 71 library programs served over 3,000 people and said that the library will be open late for study hours this week.

Resolutions:

The board approved two resolutions: The first is for a subdivision fee of $60,000 for 28 Aspen Road where the lot will be divided into two parcels.

The second was for a contract to Hudson Valley Charter Service for $71,000 to supply two buses for the Teen Travel Camp.

Mayor’s Comments

Here are opening comments from Mayor Justin Arest

Earlier this evening we met in the 3rd Floor Meeting Room to begin discussing Community Priorities that the Board hopes to advance in the coming weeks, months and potentially years. I encourage residents to watch the brief work session which should be posted online in the next day or two. The agenda from that meeting is already on our website and there will be more to come on this topic next week when we reconvene as a Board to continue the prioritization conversation.

One topic I want to highlight is the Board’s commitment to communication and transparency. Everything we do is with the community’s best interests in mind and we encourage all of you to participate early and often. This hope for even greater collaboration is a large part of the impetus for a desire to reframe our budget conversations and in turn, we hope to also continue improving our budget process. A tremendous amount of hard work is put forward by staff each year and board members have always been diligent in reviewing what is proposed. Of course, this will not change. There has also been a lot of focus by the Board and some in the community on a few line items in the budget as well as available funding sources. These can be important conversations to have. But when done in a vacuum, I do not think they are the best way to move us forward. For example, if there is concern our tax rate is too high, the discussion should not be focused on how much fund balance we can use or whether we can borrow more. Let’s start discussing the level of services we are providing and whether there are places to save money and always try to do them more efficiently. Periodically, the Village has added services or amenities that residents desire without conversation about what we might do without. Of course, while adding these new options might only require a capital expenditure up front, they also add operating expenses into the future.

I am proud of what previous boards have accomplished working with DPW when examining our road paving needs and evaluating a fleet replacement plan. Instead of making improvements based on surpluses we might hope for, planning is now done to budget for a minimum expenditure in these areas thereby ensuring a baseline condition level. Additional funds can be added when available and needed. This is also similar to the water study planning that was done a few years ago. Water rate increases should no longer be a surprise. There is a well reasoned long term plan to address our water infrastructure needs that includes rate increases when necessary. There may be tweaks needed should assumptions in that model prove to be incorrect but the hope is that such changes will not materially impact the path forward.

Without effective long term planning, it is almost unrealistic to think that annual deferrals will not be necessary and some service or part of our infrastructure that many residents rely on will perennially fall victim. We do not have unlimited funds. And, that is exactly what happened to our roads a decade ago. There was nothing nefarious. There was nothing but good intentions. But without disciplined long term planning, and expectation setting, it is hard to choose to raise taxes when provided with options that at the time might seem reasonable.

What is my point? My point is that our residents deserve to have things done well and for our resources to be in good condition. Despite the misconception of Scarsdale, we have never believed in having everything new and shiny and perfect. We just want what is best for our families and our children and we would like the things we use and rely on to be in good functional shape. Our fields do not need to look like Citi Field but they should be safe and they should drain and be playable. Our roads will always have to face the wear of the environment, but we should not have to regularly fear a blow out. We take the infrastructure that brings us our drinking water for granted and that should not change assuming we continue necessary improvements and repairs. And our tax rate and potential increases should not be a complete surprise each year and certainly should not be a number predetermined and then worked backward to accomplish. Our tax rate is an output based on our community’s needs.

Again, to be clear, this is not an indictment on anyone and certainly not a criticism of our hard working and dedicated staff. This is a belief that we need to start discussing our priorities now and determining what we are doing well, what we can be doing better, what more we can do, and, what can we possibly forgo. This all needs to be discussed in the context of our taxes and how they might be impacted understanding potential increases. If we want to lower our taxes, we may have to do less as a government. If the community wants more or even just wants much of what we already do but done better, then we have to be able to explain and justify the costs involved. And, we can’t do one program or area each year. Each area studied might exhibit a genuine need for additional investments but without a holistic view, there is not an opportunity to weigh incremental costs for potentially competing priorities against one another.

Your village taxes are currently about 50 basis points of your home’s assessed value. The budget which is on our agenda and will be voted on this evening can show you where every dollar goes. But we need your help to plan for Scarsdale 2030 and beyond. It will not be easy, and it will likely not be a one year project. And, I can promise there will be difficult conversations but I hope we can always remember we are neighbors and understand that we are just trying to achieve the same thing, what is best for Scarsdale.

Finally, I received public correspondence regarding our rules of procedure that we passed at our last board meeting. It was specific to the treatment of written correspondence to the mayor and board from the public. I would like to ask the Village Attorney to share with the community why he and his firm believes that this is a best practice for municipalities.

Watch the meeting here: