Trustees Agree to Consider Ways to Reduce Tax Increase
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The Village Board covered much ground on Tuesday night March 13 when they approved the preliminary Village Budget as well as the funding for the first town-wide revaluation in 44 years.
At the Finance Committee before the Board meeting, trustees heard a presentation of the proposed 2012-13 Village Budget from Village Manager Al Gatta, subsequent to filing it with the Village Clerk on March 16th. Changes can be made to the budget until April 24th. The preliminary budget will be posted on the Village website for the public to review, available at the Scarsdale Library and copies can be requested from the Village Treasurer.
Gatta highlighted the following points:
The numbers:
The proposed 2012-13 Village budget is $48,899,129 which represents a 4.14% increase over the adopted 2011-12 Village Budget
The tax rate will increase by 5.49%
Though Trustees voted to override the tax cap, the proposed budget is only $419,000 or 1.3% above the allowable increase.
What’s included:
The Village budget includes $3,451,000 for the library, which is an increase of $91,000 or 2.7% over 2011-12. The line would have been even higher, but the library will use some of their reserves.
$48,000 is included for the older adult program at Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling and $242,175 for their youth programs. In addition, financing for the Teen Center is maintained at $87,500.
The proposed budget includes debt service on the $1.1 million that will need to be borrowed to do the village-wide revaluation.
There is $762,500 in the budget for road repair and repaving. Any surpluses from this year’s Village budget will also be added to this budget line. Due to the mild winter, the Village saved considerably on salt, equipment use and overtime so there should be surplus funds available for roadways.
In addition:
Fees: The annual fee for parking at the Christie Place Garage will increase from $1,250 to $1,450 and fees at Freightway Garage will go from $840 per year to $890 per year. Water rates will also go up.
Funding for the Fox Meadow storm water project was included in the 2011-12 budget and the work is expected to begin in April. Design work is currently underway for a similar project to alleviate flooding along the Sheldrake River.
Before the close of the meeting, Trustee Bob Harrison proposed two ways to decrease the 5.49% tax increase for Village residents. He suggested that the Village delay the bonds for the revaluation as this will be a multi-year process and the funds to pay the vendor will not be required immediately. He also suggested that the Village’s funds balance, now at $6.1 million or 14% of the total budget could be reduced. He suggested a contribution of $200,000 to $300,000 from the fund balance to the operating budget to reduce the tax increase. In response, Trustee Steves said he did not find “either of these proposals objectionable” and Trustee Mark said, “these are worthwhile suggestions.” The Trustees appeared to favor his proposals and will review them at a March 19th meeting.
Scarsdale Scientists, Artists and Thespians Excel
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Good news from the schools, with young scientists taking first place at a regional science bowl, artists' work on display in Katonah and Cinderella en route to the Scarsdale Middle School. See the details below:
SHS Scientists Take First Place:
The Scarsdale High School Science Bowl team won first place in the Regional Science Bowl Competition at CUNY (City College). Jessica Lam, Andrew Guo, Brian Chieu, Roger Pellegrini, Elliot Liskin are going to nationals in April to compete again!
Art Students Display Work at Katonah Art Show:
The Young Artists Exhibition at the Katonah Museum of Art opened on March 4th. The work of tweleve students from 
Scarsdale High School were included: Connor Bodine, Rachelle Gage, Rebecca Hallac, Rikako Harada, Claudia Heitner, Jonathan Hendler, Juliette Jacov, Hannah Katz, Valerie Keating, Celia Lowenthal, Alyssa Marcus, and Eric York. The show will run from March 4- 11. Visit the museum's website to get museum hours and directions.
Shown here is Rachel Gage with her work titled "Distorted Perception."
Cinderella at Scarsdale Middle School:
The SMS players comprised of 8th grade Scarsdale students will be presenting Rodgers's and Hammersteins's G2K version of"Cinderella." The performances are Saturday night, March 17th at 7:30 pm and Sunday, March 18th at 2:00 pm and will be held in the Middle School auditorium. The costumes are beautiful, the sets amazing, and the actors sing favorite songs including as "Impossible" and "In My Own Little Corner."
Over the years the show has become a fundraiser for charities that help children. Once again, we will be donating any proceeds to THE FEED ORGANIZATION which works both in the US and abroad to give children a hearty and healthy breakfast which is sometimes their only meal of the day. Besides ticket sales, chocolate bars, lollipops, and flashing wands will be sold during the time of the ticket sales and at intermission the days of the performances. Tickets are being sold from 11:00 to 1:00 in the Great Hall, the cost is $10.00 and all seats are reserved.
Edgemont School Foundation to Host Event at Ridge Hill
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The Edgemont School Foundation will host a fundraiser at the Ridge Hill Shopping Center on Sunday April 1st at noon. Residents are invited to private screenings of The Lorax and The Hunger Games and there will be discounted shopping, food and free parking. Proceeds will benefit the Edgemont School Foundation which works towards “ensuring and enhancing an Edgemont Education.” Tickets will go on sale in the next few weeks.
Note from the Edgemont Administration regarding the 2012-2013 Edgemont School Budget: New information received from the State last week indicated that the District is not required to turn in its maximum allowable levy figure by March 1, as they had previously been instructed. The new information may also change the calculation of the maximum allowable tax levy. It is still the intention of the Board and Administration to remain within the maximum allowable levy (in other words, not to seek to override the new tax cap), and to continue to provide Edgemont students with the best possible education while remaining sensitive to the very difficult economic climate faced by Edgemont taxpayers.
Art History, Fitness and Movie Afternoons at the Scarsdale Adult School
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The Scarsdale Adult School is offering a stellar line-up of courses beginning this month. You can learn more about Gertrude Stein’s Salon and visit the exhibit at the Met with an art historian, get in shape with yoga, pilates or golf, and attend movie matinees at the Scarsdale Library. Prices are reasonable and you can’t beat the location. Sign up now!
The Stein Family Legacy
The Scarsdale Adult School is offering a guided tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “The Steins Collect” Exhibition on Saturday, March 10, 2012, from 9:45 a.m. until noon at a cost of $75. Elizabeth Thompson Colleary, art historian and teacher at SHS along with Pamela Kroll, English teacher at SHS, will lead the group through this extraordinary gallery of Parisian avant-garde artwork. The collection reunites approximately 200 works that the Stein family had amassed in the first decades of the twentieth century.
To enhance the experience, bookend the tour with Pamela Kroll’s two-session Thursday evening course entitled “Gertrude Stein’s Salon: Two Perspectives.” The class examines Stein’s legendary Parisian atelier through an examination of “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas” and Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast.” The class will also discuss the relationship between Gertrude Stein and some of the painters she hosted, including Picasso. The evening class meets from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Scarsdale High School on two consecutive Thursdays, beginning March 8, 2012, at a cost of $60. To register, visit www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org. Call (914) 723-2325 with any questions.
Lecture Series on American Art in the Met’s New Wing
The Scarsdale Adult School is offering a 2-session class about the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newly renovated galleries that house one of the most comprehensive collections of American art from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. The lecture series runs for two consecutive Monday evenings, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at SHS, beginning March 5, 2012; tuition is $55. Taught by Elizabeth Thompson Colleary, consultant for the Whitney Museum of American Art and SHS art teacher for the past thirteen years, this course will provide insight into some of the most iconic paintings in American history, including Emanuel Leutz’s “Washington Crossing the Delaware” as well as works by Gilbert Stuart, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent. Sculptures by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, such as the Farragut Memorial and the equestrian monument honoring William Tecumseh Sherman will also be studied. To register, visit ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org or call 723-2325.
Conditioning Classes for Commuters
For the commuter who craves a stress-relieving activity in the evenings, the Scarsdale Adult School offers fitness and exercise classes tailored to the work week.
Vinyasa Yoga meets at Yoga Station near the Hartsdale Train Station from 8 to 9 p.m., beginning March 5, 2012. Basic Yoga meets on Wednesdays, starting March 7, 2012, from 7 to 8 p.m. at Westchester Reform Temple. Mat Pilates for the beginner or intermediate student meets on Thursday evenings, starting March 8, 2012, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Susan Marlowe Fitness Center. Tuition for any of these six-week classes is $105.
Golf for the beginner or advanced student is scheduled for Tuesday evenings starting March 6, 2012, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Westchester Golf Range. This six-week course is $175.
All of the above classes have new start dates staggered throughout the semester to allow for seasonal or continuous enrollment to suit your schedule and preferences. Visit ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org to register or for additional information.
Movie Matinees at the Scarsdale Public Library
Marilyn DeRight, adjunct professor of English at Iona College and veteran instructor of literature, film, and drama at the Scarsdale Adult School for many years, will return this March to debut a new film course at the library. Entitled “Fabulous Food Films,” this 7-session course will focus on films that use food as a narrative device. The act of cooking and the revelations that often occur during mealtime gatherings serve as metaphors in the movies to be discussed. Films under consideration for viewing and critique are: “Eat Drink Man Woman,” “Chocolat,” “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, “Ratatouille, “Felicia’s Journey,” “Babette’s Feast,” “Like Water for Chocolate,” “Tampopo” and “Big Night.”
Classes meet for screenings and discussion on Tuesday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Scarsdale Public Library, beginning on March 6, 2012. Tuition for the course is $135. To register, visit www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org. Call (914) 723-2325 with any questions.
Maya Rudolph Visits Scarsdale On Saturday Night Live
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Even though there’s no sign of Beyonce and Jay-Z in Scarsdale, the rumor of their move to Heathcote Road is just too intriguing to die. The story is fodder for speculation on celeb websites and even made it into Westchester Magazine.
This week, Maya Rudolph returned to Saturday Night Live to host the show and starred in a segment where she and Jay Pharoah play Beyonce and Jay-Z with Baby Blue Ivy Carter in Scarsdale. Watch them receive visits from Prince, Nicki Minaj, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Taylor Swift and a hear a lullaby from Bon Iver.
Hey – how did they all get through that gate to the house?
