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[ TOWN OF GREENBURGH OFFICE OF THE TOWN BOARD 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh, NY 10607 Tel: 914-989-1500 Fax: 914-993-1541 Email: JDudek@Greenburghny.com https://ny-greenburgh.civicplus.com/485/Watch-Live-Board-Meetings]
OUR TOWN BOARD WORK SESSION.TODAY IS NOVEMBER 14TH, UH, 5:00 PM AND, UM, WE HAVE, UH, GINA ON ZOOM AND THE TOWN ATTORNEY ON ZOOM.
AND I THINK, UM, UH, KEN IS GONNA ALSO BE ON ZOOM, RIGHT? CORRECT.
I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S, WELL, HE'S EN ROUTE FROM COURT AND THEN WILL JOIN US, OR WHETHER HE'S, IT'LL BE SO LATE THAT HE HAS TO JUST GET ON ZOOM AND WE HAVE ONE PERSON IN THE AUDIENCE, THE TOWN CLERK ELECT LISA NIRO.
AND JUST, JUST THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THING IS WE HAVE THREE MEMBERS OF THE TOWN BOARD PRESENT IN TOWN HALL.
SO WE HAVE A QUORUM IN A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE SPOT SPACE.
SO THE FIRST THING WE HAVE IS, UM, THE TOWN COURT, THE CONSOLIDATE CONSOLIDATED ARRAIGNMENT PART.
UH, KEN WAS GONNA DISCUSS THAT.
WELL, WHY DON'T WE WAIT, WELL, WHY DON'T WE HOLD THAT, THAT'S POSTPONE THAT DISCUSSION.
HE AT LEAST TUNES IN, IF NOT ARRIVES.
SO WE JUST SAVED A HALF HOUR, UM,
UH, SO PROJECT PLAN FOR PARK BENCH RESTORATION, WHAT'S THAT ABOUT? IS THAT, I'M NOT SURE.
I THOUGHT JERRY, JERRY WANTED TO DO SOME WORK ON THAT OR FIND OUT WHAT BENCHES, UM, 'CAUSE HE THOUGHT SOME OF THEM WERE IN GOOD SHAPE OR NOT SHAPE HE WANTED TO WALK THROUGH.
AND THEN THERE IS SOME CONCERN ABOUT, UM, WHO HAS THE DISCRETION OF WHAT GOES ON THE BENCHES AND HOW WE HANDLE THAT.
SO WE HAVE TO, SO LET'S GATHER, IS JERRY AVAILABLE OR, I HAVE NO IDEA, BUT YOU WANT ME TO CALL? I DON'T REALLY THINK WE'RE READY FOR THIS TOPIC.
SO NOW WE'RE AN, NOW WE'RE AHEAD OF TIME.
MAY I JUST POINT OUT THAT I DID ASK, UM, JERRY TO SEND SOME INFORMATION ON THAT ISSUE, SO WHEN I HAVE SOME INFO WILL HELP ME JUST TO REVIEW THE LEGALESE OF, OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO MAKE IT PROPER.
I DON'T THINK WE'RE RIPE FOR DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW AND WE SHOULD HAVE THAT INFORMATION, UH, BEFORE DISCUSSING FURTHER.
I I THINK IT JUST AUTO-POPULATED ONTO THE AGENDA, YOU KNOW? MM-HMM.
FROM SOME PREVIOUS THAT MAKES SENSE.
BY THE WAY, YOUR VOICE IS COMING OVER REALLY WELL.
SO YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE LIKE SOME KIND OF A RADIO HOST OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
IT'S, I KNOW I, I WOULD LOVE TO KEEP THIS DEEP VOICE FOREVER, BUT IT'LL GO BACK TO NORMAL
PROPOSED ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT.
IS GARRETT AROUND, UH, GARRETT? UH, HE'S NOT ON YET.
I KNOW HE IS GOING TO BE HERE AT SOME POINT.
SO NOW, SO DO WE HAVE TO GO RIGHT INTO GENDER REVIEW? NO, JUST US.
WE'LL BE OUT OF HERE IN LIKE A HALF HOUR.
WE GOOD? I HAVE TO GET UP THE CORRECT GONE TOMORROW, SO I'M HAPPY WITH THAT.
UM, SO WE HAVE, UM, WE DID THE FLAIR GRAZING CEREMONY LAST WEEK, SO WE COULD TAKE THAT FROM PRESENTATION.
NO, BUT WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T DO THE ACTUAL FLAG GRAZING.
DID THEY REPAIR THE, DID, UH, RICH, UH, I DIDN'T NOTICE COMING IN.
DID THEY REPAIR THE MIDDLE POLE? I THINK SO, YES.
RICH HAD SENT AN EMAIL OUT SAYING ANTHONY GRAVES HADN'T PREPARED IT.
SO WE CAN MOVE THE STATE FLAG AND THE TOWN FLAG TO THE SECOND POLE, WHICH, UM, LETS US PUT UP THE PUERTO RICAN FLAG.
DO WE HAVE THE SMALLER FLAG NOW THAT, THAT I DON'T KNOW, BUT WE DEFINITELY CANNOT PUT UP A FLAG THAT'S BIGGER THAN THE US FLAG.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE SUPPOSED TO, WELL, WE SHOULD INVITE THE, UH, LEADERS BACK SO THAT THEY COULD BE PART OF THAT.
YOU DON'T NEED THE WHOLE GROUP, BUT AT LEAST INVITE THE LEADERS BACK.
AND MAYBE THE GIRL SCOUTS, RIGHT? TERRENCE, UM, UM, OH YEAH.
UM, YOU KNOW, ALSO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, PAUL, IS THAT SHOULD COME OFF THIS DAY.
YEAH, I THINK IT COULD COME OFF REALLY.
I DON'T HAVE LIKE ANY PROBLEMS WITH ANYTHING, SO EITHER DO I, AND SO WE'LL BE VOTING ON TAKING DOWN THAT, UH, HOUSE BUILDING THAT'S IN TERRIBLE DISREPAIR.
THE NEIGHBORS WILL BE VERY THANKFUL.
SO THERE'S STILL WORK BEING DONE ON THE SPORTS BUBBLE, UM, AGREEMENT, BUT IT'S, IT'S ON THE AGENDA.
WE HOPE TO HAVE IT WORKED OUT IN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO.
JERRY WILL BE REALLY THRILLED.
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THE GOAL.THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO MENTION, AND UM, I WANTED TO BRING THIS UP FOR DISCUSSION IS, UM, DURING THE PAST, YOU KNOW, COUPLE WEEKS, I'VE GOTTEN A BUNCH OF CALLS AND EMAILS FROM RESIDENTS ABOUT OUR SIGNAGE AND FLAG POLICY.
UM, SOME PEOPLE FEEL THAT WE SHOULD HAVE, UM, A POLICY RELATING TO THE SIGNAGE THAT WE HAVE RELATING TO, UM, UM, ANY, YOU KNOW, ANY ISSUES.
AND THE FLAG POLICY, WE BASICALLY HAVE HAD, UM, THE ISRAELI FLAG UP FOR A WEEKEND HALF.
WE HAD THE UKRAINIAN FLAG UP ON EAST TAR CARDALE AVENUE FOR OVER A OVER A YEAR, ALTHOUGH IT WAS DOWN IN THE WINTER.
YOU HAVE, UM, THE BLACK LIVES, UM, MATTER, UM, YOU KNOW, SIGNAGE.
AND SOME PEOPLE FEEL THAT WE SHOULD BE HIGHLIGHTING OUR, THE FACT THAT WE DON'T ALLOW WANT DISCRIMINATION OR RACISM AGAINST ANYBODY.
IT SHOULDN'T BE TARGETING ONE ETHNICITY OR, YOU KNOW, GROUP.
AND, YOU KNOW, I SORT OF THINK THAT IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE A POLICY.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I THINK GREENBERG'S ALWAYS BEEN A VERY INCLUSIVE, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK THAT IF, UM, YOU KNOW, WE MAY WANT TO SAY IF THERE'S A, A TERRORIST INCIDENT OR SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY HORRIBLE, UH, WE COULD HAVE A FLAG UP FOR A CERTAIN NUMBER OF DAYS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND WE COULD SET UP OUR OWN CRITERIA.
UM, WE MAY WANNA SAY IF THERE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, SIGNAGE, UM, HIGHLIGHTING ANYTHING, WE, IT COULD BE FOR A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME OR IT WOULD BE UP TO THE BOARD IF WE WANT TO SAY IT'S GONNA BE INDEFINITE.
THAT'S UP TO THE BOARD TO DECIDE.
I'M SORT OF WONDERING HOW WE SHOULD, HOW COULD WE PROCEED WITH COMING UP WITH A, A POLICY THAT, YOU KNOW, GETS EVERYBODY INVOLVED, THE PE THE COMMUNITY INVOLVED, AND, YOU KNOW, AND WE COULD BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER.
WE REALLY DON'T WANNA, YOU KNOW, MAKE EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU COULD DO SOMETHING THAT YOU THINK IS BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND GETS EVERYBODY ANGRY.
AND THE GOAL IS TO MAKE EVERYBODY FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE TOWN.
UH, UH, SO ANY THOUGHTS? WELL, THE WHOLE IDEA BEHIND THE ALL LIVES CAN'T MATTER UNTIL, RIGHT.
AND THEN WE STARTED OFF WITH BLACK LIVES MATTER.
WE JUST HAVE AN ADVANCED PAST THAT, RIGHT? WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE LATINX, LIVES MATTER, JEWISH LIVES MATTER, ASIAN LIVES MATTER.
UH, BUT IT NEVER ADVANCED PAST THAT.
SO IT MAKES IT SEEM LIKE WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT MOVING FORWARD.
SO, UH, WOULD IT MAKE SENSE, UH, TO SEE IF THERE'S LIKE A INTERFAITH, YOU KNOW, GROUP? YOU KNOW, I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK OF SOMETHING WHERE IT'S NOT A POL REALLY NOT A POLITICAL DECISION, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE EITHER HUMAN RIGHTS OR INTERFAITH GROUP.
I'M TRYING TO THINK OF SOMETHING THAT TAKES IT OUTTA POLITICS.
COULD BE THE COUNCIL OF CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS.
WE CAN INVOLVE THEM IN COMING UP WITH HELPING US COME UP WITH A POLICY.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THE GOAL IS REALLY, I MEAN, AN OVERALL POLICY.
AN OVERALL POLICY FOR TO YOU MEAN A TASK FORCE TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION.
MAKE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, MAKE RECOMMENDATION.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, THEY MIGHT COME BACK AND SO WHY CAN'T, OH, GO AHEAD, GINA.
NO, I'M JUST SAYING WHY CAN'T, WHY CAN'T WE DRAFT A POLICY AND THEN WE CAN PUT IT OUT FOR DISCUSSION? I MEAN, THAT'S THE WORK WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.
SO WHY CAN'T WE DRAFT A POLICY AND THEN, BECAUSE THE POLICY IS GONNA ENCOMPASS FLAGS AND SIGNAGE AND EVERYTHING.
AND I DON'T KNOW, AND I REALLY WANNA HEAR FROM JOE TO SEE HIS INPUT.
UM, BUT WOULDN'T IT BE, WOULD IT BE THE SAME SIGN? IT, WOULD IT BE THE SAME POLICY FOR SIGNAGE AND THE SAME POLICY FOR FLAGS? AND IF THERE'S FLAG RAISE, I MEAN, 'CAUSE THERE'S ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF FLAGS AND WE DO FLAG RAISINGS FOR DIFFERENT EVENTS.
SO I JUST, I THINK, I MEAN, I KNOW JOEY A LITTLE UNDER WEATHER, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR A LITTLE INPUT FROM YOU, BUT I THINK IT SHOULD START WITHIN THE TOWN AND THEN WE CAN, SO WE CAN HAVE A BASE OF THE DISCUSSION AND THEN, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH, WITH THE RESIDENTS.
I THINK THAT THE POLICY WOULD HAVE TO BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FOR SIGNAGE AS OPPOSED TO FLAGS.
I THINK YOU SHOULD ALSO DISCUSS LOCATIONS WHERE IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT ITEMS. UM, I ALSO SUGGEST YOU GET SOMEONE FROM, UM, MAYBE THE POLICE BOARD THERE AS WELL TO DISCUSS WHAT LOCATIONS THEY FEEL APPROPRIATE AND ANY INPUT THEY COULD GIVE.
AND, YOU KNOW, I COULD TAKE A, A FIRST CRACK AT TRYING TO PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER FOR THE BOARD TO REVIEW.
SO WE, NOW WE HAVE THE, WE STILL HAVE THE CONSOLIDATED ARRA PART.
CAN KEN JONES? HE'S ON GET KEN.
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CUE.UM, SO IF YOU GUYS HAVE RECEIVED THE EMAIL THAT I SENT OUT A FEW WEEKS AGO, UH, OCA AND THE NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT HAVE DETERMINED THAT TOWN GREENBURG IS THE BEST LOCATION FOR A PROPOSED CONSOLIDATED ARRAIGNMENT PART.
UM, ALL ARRAIGNMENTS OR ALL ARRESTS THAT HAPPEN IN, UH, THE COUNTY, UH, WOULD, UH, COME THROUGH TOWN GREENBURG, UH, TO BE ARRAIGNED, UH, VARIOUS JUDGES FROM DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS WOULD CYCLE IN AND OUT HEARING THOSE CASES.
UH, THE HOURS OF THE PART WOULD BE IN THE EVENINGS FROM, UH, FOR ROUGHLY TWO AND A HALF HOURS, FOR INSTANCE, SEVEN TO NINE 30, IT WOULD BE, UH, ALL DAY, UH, ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS, UH, I THINK FROM NINE TO ONE, AND THEN FROM SEVEN TO NINE 30 ON BOTH DAYS.
UM, THE PROPOSAL INCLUDES, UH, THE TOWN'S, UH, UH, COURTS MAINTAINING, UH, PRISONER MAINTAINING DETAINEES, UM, WHO, UH, ARE ARRESTED IN JURISDICTIONS WITHOUT HOLDING CELLS.
UH, SO THE TOWN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE WOULD BE TASKED WITH COMING UP WITH MO UH, MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THOSE JURISDICTIONS.
UM, I BELIEVE I CIRCULATED AAAA CO A, UH, EXAMPLE OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.
HOWEVER, IN THE PAST, UM, SAID, MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING DID NOT INCLUDE ANY MONETARY CONTRIBUTION FROM THOSE JURISDICTIONS BECAUSE THE COST HERE IS ESTIMATED TO BE SOMEWHERE IN THE NATURE OF $700,000, MOST OF WHICH, UH, IS OVERTIME PAID TO THE GREENBERG POLICE DEPARTMENT, UM, TO STAFF THE CONTROL ROOM AND THE, UH, AND THE CELLS.
UM, THEY WOULD'VE TO BE PAID OVERTIME.
'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE APPROPRIATE STAFF, UH, TO COVER THAT, UH, AT THIS TIME, UM, WHEN WE WON'T HAVE APPROPRIATE STAFF IN THE GPD TO COVER THAT, UH, UNTIL APPROXIMATELY OCTOBER OF NEXT YEAR, UH, WHEN THE COST SHOULD COME DOWN SUBSTANTIALLY.
BUT IN VIEW OF THAT COST, UM, COUNCILMAN SHEEHAN RECOMMENDED THAT WE TRY TO GET, UH, MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THOSE JURISDICTIONS THAT DON'T HAVE HOLDING CELLS.
UM, THE, UH, WHILE THE LOCATION SEEMS TO BE IDEAL FOR OCA AND THE NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS APPARENTLY HAVE A DIFFERENT TAKE ON THINGS.
UH, THEY WOULD PREFER THAT THERE NOT BE A CONSOLIDATED ARRAIGNMENT PART.
UH, THEY BELIEVE THAT THE SYSTEM AS IT IS SET UP NOW, UH, WORKS JUST FINE.
WHY CHANGE IT? UM, THE, UH, THEY'RE CONCERNED THE GREENBERG, THE GREENBERG POLICE ARE SPECIFICALLY CONCERNED.
SO THOSE ARE SO POLICE, THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE BOARD, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, FEEL THIS WAY ABOUT THE IDEA OF CONSOLIDATED ARRAIGNMENT PART.
THE GREENBERG, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, SHARES THAT VIEW, BUT ALSO IS CONCERNED THAT WITH A CONSOLIDATED ARRAIGNMENT PART, UM, AND ALL THESE PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER WESTCHESTER COMING INTO GREENBERG, UH, HAVING BEEN CHARGED WITH CRIMES, THAT THEY WILL THEN BE RELEASED INTO GREENBERG.
AND, UM, THEY'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT COULD BE RELEASED AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THEM ONCE THEY ARE RELEASED.
UM, IN THE CASE THAT THIS, UH, CONSOLIDATED IN RAYMOND PARK IS IMPLEMENTED, UM, IF I DIDN'T SAY BEFORE, THE REASON THAT, UM, THE, THAT OCA AND THE NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT HAVE DETERMINED THAT A CONSOLIDATED ARRAIGNMENT PART IS BETTER THAN, UM, IN THE INDIVIDUAL ARRAIGNMENTS THAT NOW OCCUR IN THE DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS, UM, IS ONE, UH, ECONOMIES OF SCALE.
UH, THE, IN OTHER WORDS, THEY BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD BE LESS EXPENSIVE IN GENERAL THAN HAVING ALL OF THE COURTS OPERATING, DUPLICATING ALL OF THOSE RESOURCES.
UM, AND THE REASON THAT GREENBERG IS A, THE GREAT PLACE TO HAVE IT IS BECAUSE GREENBERG HAS ENOUGH HOLDING CELLS, UH, TO ACCOMMODATE, UH, THE INCREASE IN TRAFFIC.
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ACCESSIBLE BECAUSE OF ITS LOCATION, BUT PARKING CORRECT.ESSENTIALLY LOCATED PARKING STINKS.
COULD YOU JUST, UH, YES, YES IT IS.
COULD YOU JUST, UH, AGAIN, UH, UH, AND TALK AGAIN, UH, AND YOU MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT, UM, ABOUT THE FINANCIAL, YOU KNOW, IMPACTS TO THE, A BUDGET OR, I MEAN, THIS WOULD BE AN, A BUDGET MATTER.
IS THERE ANY TO THE TAXPAYERS? MM-HMM.
THE POLICE ARE BASICALLY COMING OUT AGAINST THIS.
OKAY? THE COUNTY, THE COUNTY HAS, THE COUNTY IS SUPPOSED TO CHIP IN FOR PART OF THE, PART OF THE COST.
UH, ALAN AND I HAVE MET WITH KEN JENKINS, AND KEN IS SUPPOSED TO GET BACK TO US ONCE HE HEARS FROM THE NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT, UM, HOW MUCH FUNDING, UH, THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO CONTRIBUTE.
THERE IS SOME FUNDING FROM STATE, BUT IT'S REALLY NOMINAL.
UM, BUT SOME OF THAT IS FOR, UM, EQUIPMENT, FOR INSTANCE, FOR $30,000 IS FOR EQUIPMENT AND THINGS LIKE THAT, NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION.
UM, THE OTHER 60, UM, I DON'T REMEMBER KEN, WAS THAT MORE, UM, THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE DISCRETIONARY, RIGHT? SOME OF IT CAN BE USED FOR MINOR CONSTRUCTION ALTERATIONS USED TO, UH, CREATE ACCOMMODATIONS, UH, IN THE CURRENT COURTHOUSE AND, AND, AND NEW COURTHOUSE THAT COULD BE BUILT, UH, TO ACCOMMODATE THE CONSOLIDATED ARRAIGNMENT PART.
RIGHT? THE ISSUE THAT, THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, THAT I HAVE IS, IF THIS IS GONNA BE AN ADDITIONAL COST, I'M NOT OPPOSED TO IT TO THE TOWN.
AND THE POLICE BASICALLY ARE SAYING, NO, WHAT'S THE ADVANTAGE FOR US? YOU KNOW, IF WE WERE GETTING RENT, IF WE WERE MAKING MONEY FROM THIS, THEN I'D SAY, OH, THIS IS REALLY GREAT.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IF THIS IS GONNA COST GREENBERG TAXPAYERS MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE, I CAN'T, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE ADVANTAGES.
I'VE ALREADY MADE MY POSITION CLEAR.
BUT, UH, GINA, I KNOW IT'S HARD WHEN YOU'RE ON ZOOM AND YOU'RE UP
SO KEN, ELLEN, I KNOW YOU MET WITH, I GUESS I'M, IS THERE A CAN BE A, A CHARGE BACK SO WE DON'T HAVE THE, THE BURDEN ON THE, ON OUR TAXPAYERS OF PICKING UP THESE COSTS, EACH OF THE DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS WHO ARE UTILIZING THE COURT.
IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN CHARGE THEM BACK? WELL, THAT, THAT'S PART OF THE DISCUSSION.
I THINK THAT WAS WHAT KEN WAS SAYING BEFORE AT THE BEGINNING.
BUT SO THE ISSUE IS GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THOSE, THE, THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS AND THOSE JURISDICTIONS AREN'T NECESSARILY FOR THE CONSOLIDATED ARRAIGNMENT PART, UM, IT'S BEEN SUGGESTED THAT IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO NEGOTIATE MOUS WITH THEM BECAUSE THEY DON'T REALLY WANT IT TO HAPPEN TO BEGIN WITH.
BUT THIS IS, THERE'S THE POINT.
AND WHILE I FEEL, BUT THAT'S, I'M SORRY.
I FEEL TREMENDOUSLY HONORED, TREMENDOUSLY HONORED THAT THE OTHER 42, 43 MUNICIPALITIES IN WESTCHESTER HAVE DECIDED THAT THE TOWN OF GREENBURG IS THE BEST PLACE TO PUT THIS, BUT THEY DON'T WANT TO PICK UP THE COST, AND THEY EXPECT US TO PICK UP THE COST.
AND AS SOON AS I HEARD THAT, NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE PROGRAM IS, IT'S NOT FAIR TO OUR TAXPAYERS TO HAVE TO PICK UP THE COST.
THAT SHOULD BE PARTIALLY, UH, BOARD, WE'RE PART OF WESTCHESTER, SO WE SHOULD PAY SOMETHING, BUT WE SHOULD NOT PAY ANYTHING MORE THAN OUR PROPORTIONAL SHARE.
AND I MEAN, ACROSS THE BOARD ON ALL COSTS, NOT JUST COURT OFFICERS OF WHATEVER THIS IS THAT IT COSTS.
AND IF OTHERS DON'T WANT TO PARTICIPATE BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO PARTICIPATE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS JUST NOT SOMETHING WE CAN RUN, BUT WE, WE CANNOT BE SO KIND AS TO ACCEPT THEIR OFFER TO PICK UP THE COST THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO PAY.
I, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE NECESSARILY IN FAVOR.
IT, I THINK THE STATE IS IN FAVOR OF, BUT, BUT THEY'RE NOT WILLING TO CONTRIBUTE.
OTHER THAN THAT, THOSE TWO GRANT SOURCES, THE TAXPAYERS ARE NOT A BOTTOMLESS WELL, RIGHT.
AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING, STRUGGLING
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ALREADY, AND, UM, PARTICULARLY SINCE THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY SEEM NOT TO WANT TO GO WITH THIS.I DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THAT TO KNOW WHAT THAT'S ABOUT, BUT JUST FROM A FINANCIAL POINT OF VIEW, UM, I DON'T SEE THAT THIS IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT IS GOOD FOR THE TOWN OF GREENBURG TAXPAYERS.
WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY WE, THAT'S WHY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT.
WE KNOW IT'S NOT YOUR KEN, WE KNOW FOR SURE IT'S NOT YOUR PROPOSAL.
WE'RE NOT TAKING IT OUT ON THE MESSENGER
WE ALL GET PUT, WE DEFINITELY HAVE TO, WE DEFINITELY HAVE TO BE CONCERNED.
WE HAVE, HAVE TO BE CONCERNED.
I KNOW THIS IS A, I KNOW WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR A WHILE, BUT WE DEFINITELY HAVE TO BE CONCERNED, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, IN LIGHT OF EVERYTHING, FINANCIALLY, WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH.
I THINK THE IDEA OF PROPORTIONAL SHARE, YOU KNOW, MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? MM-HMM,
OTHERWISE IT UNSU UNSUPPORTABLE OUR FACILITIES.
WHAT DID YOU SAY, AL? I SAID OTHERWISE IT'S UNSUPPORTABLE, BUT PAUL WAS MAKING A GOOD POINT.
I SAID IF IT'S, THEY'RE USING ARAB, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, BUILDINGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD HELP PAY FOR A NEW BUILDING, UM, THEN IT WOULD MAKE IT VERY, UH, THEN IT WOULD MAKE, BECAUSE I'M SAYING RIGHT NOW THE BUILDING IS BASICALLY INADEQUATE.
SO IF WE'RE GONNA BE USING, I MEAN, WE, WE ARE STRUGGLING JUST TO USE IT FOR OUR EXISTING, UH, NEEDS.
UM, SO I, I, I REALLY BELIEVE THAT IF WE COULD GET SOMETHING OUT OF IT AND THEY SAY, OH, WE LOVE THE LOCATION, WE LOVE THE GREENBURG COURTS, THEN IT BASICALLY WOULD BE, UM, COULD BE A POSITIVE.
AND THE BUILDING, REALLY, THE BUILDING REALLY IS INADEQUATE FOR OUR USE.
AND SO IT'S HARD TO ARGUE THAT IF WE'RE EXPANDING THE POSSIBLE USES FOR THE BUILDING.
WELL, WE RECALL THE, THE HOURS WOULD BE OFF HOURS, BUT THAT'S REALLY BESIDES THE POINT, CONSIDERING THE COST.
YOU KNOW WHAT, MAYBE THIS IS SORT OF LIKE AN OPPORT, WE ALREADY, WE WERE ALREADY, WE ALREADY OPERATE DURING THOSE HOURS.
WE WOULD JUST BE, THEY WOULD JUST BE PERMANENT HOURS RATHER THAN ON CALL HOURS.
YOU KNOW, MAYBE THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, CAN I JUST JUMP IN REALLY? YEAH.
CAN I JUST JUMP IN REALLY QUICKLY? SURE.
UM, THE OTHER CONCERN THAT I HAVE ALSO IS THE BURDEN ON OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I KNOW THERE WAS A MENTION OF UTILIZING OVERTIME, BUT WHAT IF WE DON'T HAVE THE STAFF, OR MAYBE THERE ARE OFFICERS AND EMS WORKERS WHO DO NOT WANNA TAKE THAT OVERTIME.
THEN WHAT HAPPENS? SO IS THERE SOME WAY, I MEAN, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT OUR STAFF AS WELL, YOU KNOW, IF I MAY CLARIFY.
WHAT THE STATE SAID IS THAT THE, THE, IT, ITS NOT CONSTANT.
IT'S WHAT CAN EIGHT PER, UM, EIGHT 12 PER, DO YOU REMEMBER? I CAN LOOK, I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO.
THAT THE, THE NUMBER OF ARRAIGNMENTS IS NOT OVERLY BURDENSOME.
THE MAXIMUM HOURS ARE, WOULD HAVE TO BE AVAILABLE.
THE MAXIMUM NUMBER WOULD BE, YEAH.
THE, THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF, OF DETAINEES WE CAN HOLD, I BELIEVE IS SOMETHING AROUND LIKE 14.
UM, THEY WERE ESTIMATING THAT THE MAXIMUM THAT COULD COME THROUGH COULD BE ABOUT EIGHT OR AS FEW AS NONE.
BUT THE POLICE CHIEF HAS INDICATED THAT THEY CAN'T HAVE IT BE AN ON-CALL POSITION.
IT'S GOTTA BE A STAFFED PERMANENT POSITION.
SO THEY HAVE THE STAFF AND ARE READY NO MATTER WHAT COMES THROUGH, WHETHER IT'S ZERO OR 14.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY THE COST IS A CONSTANT.
UM, UM, AND HE DID, YOU'RE RIGHT.
UM, WHOEVER SAID, I THINK IT WAS FRANCIS, OR MAYBE IT WAS PAUL OR GINA.
GINA, YOU SAID, UM, THAT IF IT'S NOT A DESIRABLE, UH, OVERTIME POSITION, UH, POLICE OFFICERS MAY NOT JUMP ALL OVER IT.
AND THE POLICE CHIEF DID MENTION THAT AS WELL.
I, I JUST, YEAH, I MEAN, 'CAUSE WE, BECAUSE REMEMBER, REMEMBER WE ALSO HAVE JUST GIMME TWO SECONDS, PAUL, BUT WE REMEMBER THE CHIEF HAS COME TO US.
I MEAN, WE WE'RE CHALLENGED, RIGHT? WE, WITH HER, WITH RETIREMENTS AND EVERYONE, YOU KNOW, AND TRANSFERS AND STUFF.
I'M JUST CONCERNED ABOUT PUTTING A, A MORE BURDEN ON OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY'RE ALREADY STRETCHED IN.
MM-HMM,
UM, IF, YOU KNOW, THE STATE COURT SYSTEM WOULD LIKE US TO, YOU KNOW, DO THIS, MAYBE THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SET UP A MEETING WITH THE STATE AND SAY, LISTEN, THESE ARE OUR NEEDS IN TERMS OF, UH, THE COURT BUILDINGS, UH, THIS IS THE INADEQUACIES WE HAVE.
ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDS THAT WE ALREADY ASKED THAT QUESTION? OKAY.
THERE'S CONSTRUCTION GOING ON, ALSO HAVING TO DEAL WITH HAVING THIS AS AN ADDITIONAL BURDEN
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AS TO WHAT DO WE DO DURING CONSTRUCTION? SO THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S AN ISSUE.SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT, WELL, THESE SORT OF, THEY SORT OF DANGLED AS A CARROT, YOU KNOW, THIS ADDITIONAL $90,000 THAT COULD BE IN PLAY ANNUALLY TO HELP US WITH OUR RENOVATIONS.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IN VIEW OF THE TOTAL COST OF THE WHOLE PROJECT, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THAT MUCH OF A CARROT.
SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED TO GARRETT.
SHOULD WE PUT THE, UH, HIS TOPIC ON NEXT WEEK? OH YEAH.
OH, JOE, JERRY AND JOE ARE FOR THAT TOPIC.
NO, SO, SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE PARK BEFORE WE MOVE ON.
UM, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, SO BEFORE WE MOVE ON, UM, ELLEN, UM, DO YOU WANNA FOLLOW UP WITH KEN AND JUST SCHEDULE ANOTHER MEETING? SURE.
SO NEXT WE HAVE, UH, JERRY BYRNE.
WHAT IS THAT ABOUT? NOT PARK BENCH RESTORATION.
OH, NO, WE DECIDED TO VOTE ON THAT.
DID WE? YEAH, I JUST SAW IT ON THE, ON THE AGENDA.
AND JOAN, REMIND US THAT, UH, YOUR MICROPHONE'S NOT ON GOOD EVENING.
YEAH, I SAW IT WAS ON THE AGENDA.
THIS, I SAW THAT THIS TOPIC WAS ON THE AGENDA AND WE WERE WORKING WITH, UH, TASHA YOUNG, UM, AND SOME OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS ABOUT RESTORING, UH, SOME OF OUR PARK BENCHES.
AND BASICALLY IT'S THE AFFINITY CREDIT UNION THAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY PROJECT.
SO WE MET, UH, RECENTLY ON SITE WITH THEM AT, UM, WASHINGTON AVENUE PARK AND YOSEMITE PARK, AND IDENTIFIED, UH, A LOT OF BENCHES AND PICNIC TABLES.
THAT WOULD BE, COULD I JUST INTERRUPT? BECAUSE AFFINITY, I THINK AS A PLACE IN HERE, AND WE ARE ABOUT TO NEGOTIATE A NEW LEASE, SO I'M NOT SURE IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR THEM TO BE PART OF THAT.
WELL, I DID, I I DID BRING UP THAT QUESTION AND I SAID, IS THERE ANY APPLICATIONS BEFORE THE BOARD RIGHT NOW? BECAUSE IF IT IS, WE COULDN'T HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.
I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION BASED ON WHAT THEY TOLD US, THAT THERE WAS NOT, THEY HAVE AN OUTSTANDING LEASE THAT'S EXPIRED.
I ASSUME THEY WANT TO CONTINUE UNLESS THEY'RE PLANNING ON, ALL I COULD TELL YOU IS THAT, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND WHEN WE WENT OUT THERE, I SAID, IS THERE ANY APPLICATIONS BEFORE THE GRE BEFORE THE TOWN? AND I WAS TOLD NO.
HOWEVER, I THEN THIS COULD BE ON HOLD UNTIL THEN.
WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN THE PAST IS, UH, THEIR COMPANY, THEY GO INTO COMMUNITIES AND THEY BASICALLY LOOK FOR THINGS TO HELP.
AND THIS IS NOT HERE, IT'S IN OTHER COMMUNITIES AROUND THE AREA.
AND BASICALLY WE WOULD COME UP WITH A PROJECT IDEA AND A COST ESTIMATE, AND THEN THEY CAN GO OUT AND FIND FUNDING SOURCES TO FUND FOR THIS, WHETHER IT'S BUYING MATERIALS AND WE INSTALL SOME OF IT, OR BUYING MATERIALS AND GETTING CONTRACTORS COME IN, IN CONCEPT.
THAT SOUNDS IN CONCEPT, IN CONCEPT.
BUT IF THERE IS A LEASE NEGOTIATION FOR GREENBERG ALONE, I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY.
THAT'S REFER TO THE ETHICS BOARD AND THEY'LL COME BACK WITH AN OPINION.
SO WHAT, WHAT, SO WHEN IT WAS, I DIDN'T PUT IT ON THE AGENDA.
THIS WAS SOMEONE WENT THROUGH PAUL OR THE COMMUNITY THAT WANT TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON IT.
YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T HEAR THE PART OF THE MEETING WHERE WE SAID WE HELD IT OVER BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION.
SO, SO, AND I WASN'T READY TO COME HERE TONIGHT UNTIL I SAW IT THIS EVENING.
WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, RIGHT, IS THAT WE ARE INTERNALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE COST FOR SUCH A PROJECTS.
OKAY? WE ARE SUPPOSED TO PUT IT TOGETHER.
WE CAN GIVE IT BACK TO THIS GROUP, AND THEN THEY CAN TAKE IT BEFORE THERE.
BUT I WANNA MAKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR, WE FOLLOWED THE PROTOCOL THAT IF THERE'S AN APPLICATION, WE WOULD NOT CONSIDER IT.
AND IF THAT IS THE CASE, AND IF THE ETHICS COMMITTEE NOT AN APPLICATION, THEY RENT IN OUR BUILDING, THEIR LEASE HAS EXPIRED, THEY CAN'T CONTINUE WITH AN EXPIRED LEASE.
SO THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO NEGOTIATE THAT LEASE AT THE SAME TIME THEY'RE WILLING TO MAKE DONATIONS.
THAT TO ME, SOUNDS LIKE THE ETHICS BOARD IS NOT GOING TO AGREE WITH IT.
I'LL, THAT, I'LL LEAVE THAT UP TO THEM.
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT CAME TO US.
UM, I WANTED TO ASK IF, UH, YOUR GRANDCHILD WOULD BE DEPUTY SUPERVISOR TO TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, THE QUALITY OF OUR PARK BENCHES FOR, FOR, UH, NO SALARY.
CONGRATULATIONS, JERRY, GRANDPA AND I APPRECIATE CONGRATULATIONS, JERRY.
AND I APPRECIATE THE KIND WORDS AT THE MOMENT OF SILENCE LAST WEEK.
I'M ON THE SAME PAGE WITH YOU.
IT'LL ALWAYS BE GOOD FOR A CALIFORNIA RESIDENT TO DO LIKE INSPECTIONS PERIODICALLY BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
GREAT JURY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, KYLE.
[00:30:01]
YOU.YOU GOT ME WORRIED THERE A LITTLE BIT.
YEAH, I WAS WATCHING THE LIVE STREAM AND UH, THEN I HEARD, I WAS LIKE, OH, I BETTER RUN DOWN NOW.
SO, UM, WE'RE NOW GONNA HEAR ABOUT THE ACCESSORY, UH, DWELLING LOCAL LAW.
UM, IF YOU RECALL BACK IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR, THE, UH, ACCESSIBLE VIABLE LIVING COMMITTEE, THE AVL HOUSING COMMITTEE APPEARED BEFORE THE TOWN BOARD AT A WORK SESSION.
THEY PRESENTED THE, UH, BACKBONE OF WHAT THEY BELIEVED WOULD BE A STRONG, UH, ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT, LOCAL LAW.
AND, UM, JUST TO RECAP, ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT IS A FORM OF HOUSING THAT IS, UH, COMPLIMENTARY TO, UH, A PRIMARY RESIDENCE ON A SITE.
AND IT'S TYPICALLY, UH, MUCH SMALLER IN SIZE.
UM, MY EXPERIENCE, AT LEAST IN MY HOMETOWN, HAS BEEN THAT THESE ARE CUSTOMARILY, UM, IMPLEMENTED IN, UM, EXTRA SPACE IF ONE HAS IN A GARAGE.
SO FOUR OR 500 SQUARE FOOT GARAGE CAN BE CONVERTED TO A SMALL, UH, ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT.
AND IT'S, IT'S DEEMED, UH, A VERY VIABLE, UM, YOU KNOW, BROADENING THE SPECTRUM OF HOUSING THAT A COMMUNITY PROVIDES.
AND IT'S, UH, OFTENTIMES, YOU KNOW, UM, FAIRLY INEXPENSIVE IN IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS.
SO, UM, THAT'S JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW ON ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS, BUT JUST TO GET BACK TO THE, THE PROCESS AND HOW WE GOT HERE, UH, SINCE THE TIME THAT THE AVL MET WITH THE TOWN BOARD, UH, THEY, THEY'VE BEEN MEETING MONTHLY AND I'VE, I'VE ASSISTED THE AVL AND LOOKED AT OTHER MODEL LEGISLATION THAT A LOT OF WESTCHESTER COMMUNITIES HAVE IMPLE IMPLEMENTED, UM, WITH RESPECT TO THIS TYPE OF LEGISLATION AND WORKED WITH THE COMMITTEE TO PREPARE THE DRAFT, WHICH IS, UM, BEFORE YOU NOW.
SO IT'S A FAIRLY COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL LAW THAT WOULD REGULATE ADUS IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG.
UM, THE AVL COMMITTEE, UH, DEFINITELY ENDORSED THIS LOCAL LAW AND THEY FEEL IT'S A GOOD DIRECTION FOR THE TOWN TO HEAD, UM, TOWARDS.
AND SOME OF THE OVERARCHING CONCEPTS OF THE WAY THIS THIS LOCAL LAW IS STRUCTURED IS THAT, UM, ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR AS A SECOND UNIT, UM, IN SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS IN THE TOWN.
THE LOCAL LAW, UH, WOULD REQUIRE A SPECIAL PERMIT TO BE APPROVED, UH, TO, UH, FACILITATE APPROVAL, UH, OF AN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT.
THE LOCAL LAW COVERS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE BASICS, UH, NUMBER OF UNITS, OBVIOUSLY ONE, ONE ADU PER SITE WOULD, WOULD BE THE MAX ALLOWED.
UM, THERE'S, UH, SIZE REQUIREMENTS, A MINIMUM OF 400 SQUARE FEET, A MAXIMUM OF 800 SQUARE FEET.
UM, THERE'S PROVISIONS ABOUT CONFORMANCE WITH UNDERLYING ZONING PROVISIONS TO ADHERE AND RESPECT EXISTING SETBACKS, UH, IMPERVIOUS COVERAGE, THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF, OF, OF NARRATIVE IN THE LOCAL LAW ABOUT AESTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS.
UM, RENTAL DURATION, OFF STREET PARKING REQUIREMENTS, THINGS YOU WOULD, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMARILY EXPECT.
UH, OWNER OCCUPANCY REQUIRED IS ANOTHER, UM, KEY COMPONENT OF THE LOCAL LAW.
UM, IN TERMS OF, OF OF DENSITY.
IN THE MEMO OF THE AVL TO THE D THE COMMITTEE ACTUALLY RECOMMENDS THAT THE TOWN BOARD CAP THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS THAT ARE, UM, POTENTIALLY APPLIED FOR IN AN, IN, IN AN ANNUAL PERIOD.
AND, UH, THEY RECOMMEND STARTING OFF WITH A CAP OF 25 APPLICATIONS.
AND WITHIN THE LOCAL LAW, IT ACTUALLY HAS A PROVISION IF YOU SUPPORT IT, UM, WHICH WOULD AUTHORIZE THE TOWN BOARD BY RESOLUTION TO MODIFY THAT EITHER UP OR DOWN AS YOU DEEM APPROPRIATE.
UM, I GUESS THE ONLY OTHER THINGS I THINK THAT I COULD, I COULD MENTION, AND THIS MIGHT BE ANECDOTAL, BUT FROM LOOKING AT OTHER LOCAL LAWS AND SPEAKING WITH PEERS IN THE PLANNING INDUSTRY, UM, THE, WHEN A COMMUNITY PASSES AN ADU LOCAL LAW IN, IN, IN WESTCHESTER, I GET THE SENSE THERE'S NOT A MAJOR RUSH OF APPLICATIONS.
UM, THE NUMBERS I'M SEEING IN SPEAKING TO SOME OF THE RIVERTOWN VILLAGES, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT, SOME OF THEM HAVE SAID, WE GET LIKE THREE PER YEAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE HAD THE ADU LAW ON THE BOOKS FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, UM, AND THAT WAS AN UNKNOWN, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW IF THE EXPERIENCE WOULD'VE BEEN THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU GET 40 APPLICATIONS PER YEAR OR WHATNOT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT MAY NOT BE THE CASE FOR ALL.
BUT IN GENERAL, I THINK THE GENERAL TAKEAWAY IS THAT THERE'S NOT THIS, UH, SORT OF MAD RUSH OR DASH, IT'S NOT GONNA SOLVE THE HOUSING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLANS.
AND IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, A LOT, A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOT CONDUCIVE TO WHAT THEY WANT.
YOU KNOW, A QUESTION, UM, UH, ONE OF THE THOUGHTS THAT I HAD, UM, WAS, UM, WHEN, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE BASICALLY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS ON THEIR HOME, UM, UH, OBVIOUSLY THE TAXES ARE GONNA GO UP, THE PROPERTY TAXES ARE GONNA GO UP.
I'M WONDERING IF, UM, WE SHOULD
[00:35:01]
ASK THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO PASS A LAW, UH, THAT WOULD AUTHORIZE, UM, LIKE, UH, FREEZING OF, UM, ANY IN ATTACKS, UH, INCREASES, UH, IF SOMEBODY CREATES THE ACCESSORY DWELLING, UH, UNIT, UM, AND BASICALLY MAKES IT AFFORDABLE, BECAUSE I'M SAYING, YOU KNOW, WHY WOULD SOMEBODY DO IMPROVEMENTS ON THEIR HOME IF BASICALLY THEIR PROPERTY TAXES? WELL, BECAUSE THEY WILL, I, THEY MAY GET SOME INCOME OUT OF IT.THEY'LL, IT'LL MAKE, MAKE IT MORE LIVABLE AND IT WON'T BE CO IT WON'T BE, UM, SO COSTLY BECAUSE THEY'RE SMALL UNITS.
NO, BUT I'M, I I JUST SORT OF FEEL THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, WHEN I'VE SPOKEN TO THE OTHER MAYORS THAT HAVE NEW ACCESSORY DWELLING LAWS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S VERY LI NONE OF THEM ARE REALLY VERY SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE JUST NOT PARTICIPATING.
SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS SOUNDS GOOD, THAT WE'RE DOING SOMETHING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT WE'RE REALLY NOT, YOU KNOW, ACCOMPLISHING AS MUCH AS WE, WE HOPE FOR.
AND I'M THINKING THAT IF THE STATE WOULD MAKE IT EASIER, IF WE WOULD BE PROVIDING MORE INCENTIVES FOR, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF WIDOWS WIDOWERS WHO MIGHT WANT TO DO THIS.
UM, IF IT REALLY, IT'S FINANCIALLY BENEFICIAL.
YOU KNOW, THEY COULD DO SOME REPAIRS ON THEIR HOME.
THEY COULD, UH, CONVERT THEIR HOMES TO ALLOW ACCESSORY UNITS.
IT'S NOT IF THERE'S GONNA BE NO TAX, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THE HOMES ARE NOT GONNA BE ASSESSED IF THEY KEEP IT AFFORDABLE FOR A CERTAIN NUMBER OF YEARS.
UM, AND MAYBE, UM, IF THE, I THINK THE STATE WAS PROVIDING SOME FINANCIAL INCENTIVES, YOU KNOW, IF, IF MM-HMM.
BUT DID YOU TALK TO THEM ABOUT THIS? THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA.
THE STATE TAX, THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TOO.
YEAH, PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA, BUT, YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T REALLY, I WAS REALLY TALKING TO THEM ABOUT MY INTEREST IN, YOU KNOW, THAT I WAS EXCITED ABOUT THE PRESENTATION WE HAD A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, UM, WITH THE PLANNING BOARD AND YOURSELF.
I'M TRYING TO THINK OF WAYS OF MAKING THE LAW, YOU KNOW, MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE.
THE OTHER THING IS, IF, IF WE ANTICIPATE VERY FEW PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE PARTICIPATING, DO WE REALLY NEED TO HAVE LIKE A LIMITATION? WE COULD, BECAUSE IF IT, IF IT TURNS OUT THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO HAVE A, A TWO YEAR SUNSET PROVISION ON THE LAW, AND THEN WE COULD ALWAYS SAY, END OF TWO YEARS, UH, WE WILL REVISIT AND SEE WHAT THE EXPERIENCES ARE RATHER THAN A CAP.
SO IN YOUR SCENARIO WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY INCREASE IN TAXES FOR A SECOND DWELLING UNIT, I'M SAYING THAT THAT ASSESSMENT WOULDN'T BE, THAT SECOND DWELLING UNIT COULD HAVE A FAMILY IN THERE.
THEY COULD BE USING OUR LOCAL SCHOOLS.
UH, WHO, WHO PICKS UP THAT COST? I'M SAYING THE GOAL, TO ME, THE GOAL IS THAT, THAT'S NOT MY QUESTION IS SOMEBODY PICKS UP THAT COST.
BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT AFFORD, WHEN WE BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING, PEOPLE ARE PICKING UP THEIR COST ALSO BECAUSE AFFORDABLE HOUSING DOESN'T GENERATE SAME, UH, REVENUE AS, UM, UH, MARKET RATE HOUSING.
SO THE GO, THE GOAL OF THIS, MY UNDERSTANDING A COUPLE MONTHS AGO WAS WE HAVE A AFFORDABLE HOUSING SHORTAGE IN, IN WESTCHESTER.
SO, UM, OBVIOUSLY, BUT GENERALLY DON'T, WE ARRANGE FOR SOME KIND OF, UH, WE ARRANGE FOR A TAX AB ABATEMENT, BUT SOMETIMES THERE ARE PILOTS OR SOME OTHER WORK INVOLVED IN, IN MAKING SURE.
I MEAN, SO I THINK AT A MINIMUM, UM, LOOK, IF THIS LOCAL LAW PROCESS GOES FORWARD, UM, IT WILL NOT BE A QUICK PROCESS.
WE'RE GONNA GET A LOT OF INPUT FROM, UH, PLANNING BOARD FROM, UH, THE COUNTY.
WE'RE GONNA, AND THERE WILL BE PUBLIC HEARINGS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT, I WOULD SAY MINIMUM, UM, FIVE TO SIX, MINIMUM FIVE TO SIX MONTH PROCESS.
I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY IMPORTANT TO JUST GET A SENSE FROM THE ASSESSOR WHAT WOULD BE THE TAX RAMIFICATIONS IF ONE WERE TO DO THIS.
UM, SO WE'LL AT LEAST AT A BASELINE, GET YOU FACTUAL INFORMATION THERE SO YOU HAVE IT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I'M JUST SAYING IT'S UNDERSTOOD THE COST WILL LIKELY BE PASSED ON TO THE RENTER, UM, IF THERE'S INCREASED TAXES AND IN THE SPIRIT OF AFFORDABILITY, DEFINITELY HEAR YOU.
BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S A BALANCING SIDE OF THINGS, LIKE YOU SAY, WITH, WITH WITH, UM, YEAH, I JUST THINK THIS IS LIKE A GREAT INITIATIVE AND YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, I FEEL THAT IF YOU'RE REALLY, I MEAN, FIRST OF ALL, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, WIDOWS, WIDOWERS PEOPLE ON FIXED INCOME, SENIOR CITIZENS.
UH, THIS COULD REALLY HELP THEM, UH, STAY IN THE COMMUNITY, WHICH IS GREAT.
[00:40:01]
ALSO WE HAVE AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING SHORTAGE.SO IF WE COULD CREATE MORE, UH, AFFORDABLE UNITS, UM, IN, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE TOWN, THAT IS LIKE A WIN-WIN.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE SUCCESS AND FAILURE, UH, RATES, THE, THE FACT IS IT REALLY THE ACCESSORY DEVELOPMENT DWELLING CONCEPT HASN'T WORKED AS SUCCESSFULLY AS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAD HOPE AROUND, AROUND THE, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE COUNTY.
SO I'M THINKING WHAT COULD WE DO TO, UH, TO MAKE THIS EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LIKE, I'D BE HAPPY TO VOTE FOR THIS AS IS BECAUSE YOU, THE THING IS, I KNOW THAT IT, IT'S BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAVE ON THE OTHER HAND, BUT IT ALSO DOESN'T APPLY WHERE YOU LIVE, PAUL.
IT DOESN'T APPLY WHERE YOU LIVE.
SO YOU, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE AFFORD AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN GENERAL.
YOU'RE ALL FOR IT PUTTING AN OVER ON MANHATTAN AVENUE, BUT DOES, IT DOESN'T APPLY WHERE YOU LIVE.
MY MAIN CONCERN HERE IS OWNER OCCUPANCY.
I THINK IT, IT'S ONLY FOR FIVE YEARS OR SO.
UM, DO THEY INCREASE THAT? YEAH, THE THE, UM, WHAT I DON'T WANT IS PEOPLE COMING IN PUTTING UP TWO DWELLINGS AT A SINGLE FAMILY ZONE AND THEN THEY LEAVE AND THEN IT'S JUST INCOME GENERATOR AND THEY COULDN'T CARE LESS WHAT HAPPENS.
SO, SO I, THIS ISN'T, UH, IN PERPETUITY FOR THE DURATION OF THE ADU, UM, FIVE YEAR WAS A CONDITION, UM, TIED TO A, A BOARD THAT HAD A DIFFERENT PROCESS.
AND WE COULD ALSO, THAT'S IN THERE.
WE COULD ALSO, UH, IF I COULD JUST PULL, SO HOW DOES IT, THE OTHER PART OF THIS IS WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT SAYS THERE'S NOT GONNA BE AN INCREASE IN DENSITY.
WE USE THAT ON THE ELMWOOD PROPERTY VERY SUCCESSFULLY TO SAY THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOESN'T ALLOW INCREASE IN DENSITY.
I DON'T CONSIDER IT TO BE AN INCREASE IN DENSITY IF IT'S USING INSIDE THE HOUSE, MODIFYING IT, SO THEY CAN HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A AN ADU THERE OR A GARAGE THAT EXISTS.
BUT THIS ALSO HAS THE CAPABILITY OF PUTTING UP A, A BUILDING IN THEIR, THE BACKYARDS OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, WHICH COULD HAVE RAMIFICATIONS FOR THE NEIGHBORS ON EACH SIDE WHO'S NOT USED TO SEEING ANOTHER BUILDING ON A LOT.
UM, TO ME THAT IS AN INCREASE IN DENSITY.
AND I DON'T KNOW HOW WE GET AROUND THAT.
I, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO THINK HOW IS IT THAT THAT'S IN CONCERT WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SEPARATE BUILD A NEW BUILDING, RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT.
AND IT CERTAINLY IS NOT GONNA MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A SINGLE FAMILY ZONE ONCE YOU DO THAT.
UH, LISTEN, VERY APPRECIATE, VERY COGNIZANT OF THE COMP PLAN.
UM, THERE IS A MINIMUM DENSITY REQUIREMENT IN THAT INSTANCE, AND MAYBE THAT NEEDS TO COME OUT AND, AND IT'S ONLY ALLOWED TO BE WITHIN THE PRIMARY HOUSE OR IN A GARAGE.
BUT I THINK, OR AS A STARTING POINT TO SEE HOW THAT WORKS, WHERE'S THE STARTING POINT THEN, RIGHT? IF, IF THAT'S, YOU KNOW, FINDS THAT OKAY, THERE'S A, THERE'S A DEMAND FOR HAVING A NEW BUILDING PUT UP, I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GONNA GET THE MOST BACKLASH.
AND IF YOU WANT TO TRY TO MAKE THIS THING ACTUALLY WORK, UM, THE, THE LESS YOU HAVE PEOPLE COMING OUT AND SAYING, I DON'T WANT TO BUILD ANOTHER BUILDING, YOU KNOW, IN THE BACK, IN THE MY NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD.
UH, AND IF IT IS, MAYBE IT HAS TO BE WITHIN THE BUILDING ENVELOPE.
'CAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH IT.
SO, BUT I AM, BUT I AM VERY, VERY HAPPY THAT THE, UH, PROVISION OF, OF OWNER OCCUPANCY, EVEN THOUGH IF THEY PUT UP A BUILDING AND THEN THEY CHANGE OWNERSHIP, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T SEE THEM TAKING DOWN THE BUILDING.
SO ANNUAL CERTIFICATION, IT'S KIND OF BUYER BEWARE, RIGHT? UM, I, YEAH, SO
I DO FEEL THAT THIS IS A PRETTY PROTECTIVE LOCAL LAW.
AND I DON'T WANT, AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE PICKING OUT PIECES HERE, BUT YOU KNOW, I I, THEY PUT THEIR HEARTS AND SOULS INTO THIS THING.
AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUAL ITEMS, UH, DOES NOT TAKE AWAY FROM THE HARD WORK THAT THEY PUT INTO THIS.
IS THIS GONNA BE, UH, ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY.
IF SOMEBODY CREATES AN ADU, UH, COULD WE, UH, INCLUDE, PUT IN A PROVISION THAT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE AFFORDABLE? UH, I MEAN, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S IN THERE? SO, WELL, IN ITS SIMPLEST FORM, YOU, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT, RIGHT? THIS IS RIGHT.
YOU'RE THE LEGISLATIVE BODY, SO YOU HAVE THAT AUTHORITY.
UM, THE GENERAL PREMISE BEHIND THE ADU IS THAT AT MARKET RATE, IT'S AFFORDABLE.
UM, IS SOMEONE REALLY GONNA COMMAND, SAY, YOU KNOW, $3,000 FOR A 500 SQUARE FOOT ONE BEDROOM? UM, NO, THAT WOULD BE WELL IN EXCESS OF MARKET RATE.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT UNIT COMES IN, YOU KNOW, 1600, WHICH,
[00:45:01]
YOU KNOW, WOULD BE DEEMED AFFORDABLE.BUT TO HAVE AN ACTUAL, UM, REQUIREMENT TIED TO, UH, AREA MEDIAN INCOME IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE CAN EXPLORE ON YOUR BEHALF.
UM, IT'S, IT'S NOT A PART OF THE LAW RIGHT NOW.
WELL, MAYBE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE AS A FOLLOW UP TO, YOU KNOW, THE SUGGESTIONS I HAD, MAYBE THERE COULD BE INCENTIVES, UM, TO FAMILIES THAT WOULD WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS IF THEY WOULD COMMIT TO MAKING IT AFFORDABLE.
BECAUSE TO ME, UH, THE REASON WHY I BASICALLY WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF ADUS WAS AS A FOLLOW UP TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS.
AND IF I, IF IT'S MARKET RATES, THAT DOESN'T TO ME, I MEAN, THEN I'M MORE IN LINE WITH YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE CHARACTER OF THE COMMUNITY AND NOT CHANGING OUR COMPREHENSIVE, YOU KNOW, PLAN.
ON THE OTHER HAND, IF WE'RE GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF IT, WHICH IS MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THEN I, I FEEL THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU WEIGH THE PLUSES AND MINUSES AND CREATING MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS, IS A, IS A PLUS THAT MAKES THIS TO ME, UM, MORE WORTHWHILE.
AND IF IT WAS FOR SENIORS, FOR PEOPLE ON LOW INCOME, THERE'S NOTHING IN HERE ABOUT THAT.
MY GUESS IS MA, MUCH OF THIS WILL BE USED TO HAVE A LOW COST WAY OF GETTING THEIR KIDS INTO A GOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND WE HAVE GOOD SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN GREENBURG.
UM, THERE'S NO WAY TO STOP THAT.
AND YET YOU WANT TO GIVE A TAX BREAK IF THAT, FOR THAT TYPE OF A PER, UM, FOR THAT PURPOSE.
UH, I THINK, I THINK THIS KIND OF STUFF STILL HAS TO BE FLUSHED OUT.
THERE MIGHT, THERE MIGHT BE OTHER, OTHER WAYS TO INCENT INCENTIVIZE, UM, MAYBE A, A BREAK ON PERMITTING FOR, YOU KNOW, NOT TOTAL, BUT A DISCOUNTED PERMIT IN ORDER TO MAKE IT MORE AFFORDABLE.
SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE SHOT DEAL.
AND THEN WE HAVE TO DEFINE WHAT AFFORDABLE MEANS.
SO I WANNA ECHO THE, UM, APPLAUSE TO THE COMMITTEE.
THEY REALLY, TRULY DID WORK HARD.
I ALSO DO WANNA GIVE A QUICK SHOUT OUT TO, UH, BUILDING DEPARTMENT AND LEGAL.
UH, LIZ AND AMANDA HAVE, UH, SUPPORTED THE BOARD AND MYSELF IN CRAFTING THIS LOCAL LAW.
SO I, I DO PERSONALLY AS PLANNING COMMISSIONER.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE A GOOD LAUNCHING POINT, IF YOU WILL.
AND, UM, WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE THE BOARD FOR THE 20TH IS A RESOLUTION THAT WOULD, UH, DECLARE LEAD AGENCY INTENT AND THEN REFER THE LAW TO THE PLANNING BOARD.
UM, SO THOSE ARE THE SORT OF THE ACTION ITEMS. UM, GARY, YOU MENTIONED A MEMO.
WE DON'T HAVE ME A MEMO HERE, IS THAT, DID YOU SEND THAT TO US ELECTRONICALLY? I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK.
I DID AND UM, I NOTICED WHEN I SENT JOAN AN EMAIL, I DIDN'T ATTACH THE MEMO.
I WILL, UH, RUN UPSTAIRS AND, AND GET YOU ALL A COPY AND I'LL, I'LL GET THAT OUT IN THE EMAILS SO YOU HAVE IT REFRESHED.
UM, I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT, UM, THIS IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO SOLVE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS IN THE TOWN.
IT'S MERELY AN OPTION GIVEN TO PEOPLE, UH, TO, UH, AID THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS.
UM, AND THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS DOES NOT ONLY AFFECT PEOPLE LOOKING FOR HOMES, UH, IN THE TOWN, IT ALSO AFFECTS PEOPLE WHO ALREADY OWN HOMES IN THE TOWN.
AND THIS IS A WAY TO MAKE PEOPLE WHO ALREADY TO, TO INCREASE THE AFFORDABILITY OF HOMES THAT ARE ALREADY OWNED BY PEOPLE WHO FIND THEMSELVES IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY CANNOT AFFORD THEM.
SO THE OLDER PERSON WHO WANTS TO AGE IN PLACE, UH, CAN HAVE AN ADU, GET SOMEONE IN THERE PAYING THEM SOME RENT THAT HELPS THEM PAY THEIR MORTGAGE AND SUDDENLY THEY CAN AFFORD THEIR HOME AGAIN.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, WE REALLY WANT TO CONSIDER ALL ASPECTS OF AFFORDABILITY, NOT JUST THE PERSON LOOKING FOR A PLACE, BUT PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO HOLD ONTO THEIR PLACES AS WELL.
AS, AS A MATTER OF FACT, AAD USE IS AN UPDATED TERM.
THEY USED TO BE CALLED MOTHER-IN-LAW APARTMENTS.
SO THAT THEY WERE RESIDENCES FOR A, A, A SENIOR WHO MIGHT ACTUALLY MOVE INTO AN APARTMENT AND HAVE THEIR FAMILY LIVE IN THE MAIN UNIT, WHICH AGAIN, GOES TO FRANCIS' POINT ABOUT SCHOOLS.
UM, AND IT, IT IS A WAY TO HELP SINCE SO MANY THERE, THERE'S A HUGE PERCENTAGE OF HOMEOWNERS WHO ARE UNDERWATER, WHO HAVE, WHO OWN THEIR OWN HOMES, BUT CAN'T AFFORD TO MAINTAIN THEM SO THAT THEY, THEY'RE FALLING APART.
AND THEY, MUCH OF THE HOUSING STOCK WAS BUILT IN THE FIFTIES, SIXTIES.
[00:50:01]
THIS IS A WAY TO UPGRADE A HOME TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO, TO, FOR SENIORS TO STAY IN PLACE.SO IT'S, IT'S A GREAT CONCEPT.
LEAVE THE MOTHER-IN-LAW, MOTHER-IN-LAW.
IT TURNS OUT TO BE THE SAME THING.
THANK YOU TO THE AVL COMMITTEE FOR WORKING SO HARD ON THIS AND COMING UP WITH, WITH A GREAT PLAN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL TWEAK A LITTLE BIT, BUT I THINK IT'S, IT'S GREAT IN CONCEPT.
HE FIGURES IT'S GONNA TAKE UNTIL ABOUT ABOUT FIVE MONTHS.
I'M LOOKING, I'M, I'M WAITING TO HEAR.
SO, GARRETT, UM, WHEN WE COME BACK, I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT.
AT WHAT POINT, OH, WILL WE GET THE DEFINITION OF AFFORDABILITY? 'CAUSE THAT'S GOING TO, TO, I THINK, I'M NOT SURE WHO MENTIONED THAT.
THAT'S GONNA BE PART OF THAT AS WELL, RIGHT? YEAH, I DID, I DID, UM, SHARE AN OUTLINE WITH THE AVL ON, UM, REDEFINING AFFORDABILITY IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG.
AND, AND JUST FOR A SNEAK PEEK, UM, ONE OF THE CONCEPTS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY FLUSHING OUT IS OVERHAULING OUR DEFINITIONS.
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED AFFORDABLE AND WORKFORCE HOUSING, OF COURSE.
AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALMOST SIM VERY SIMILAR, BOTH CAPPED AT 80% AREA MEDIAN INCOME.
UM, WHAT WE MIGHT BE BRINGING TO THE TABLE AND WHAT SORT OF PRESENTED TO THE AVL IS, UM, REDEFINING TO HAVE BROADER RANGE OF AFFORDABILITY, HITTING 80% AMI CAP, 65% AMI CAP AND A 50% AMI CAP.
BUT INSTEAD OF USING TERMS LIKE LOW INCOME, MOD INCOME, WORKFORCE AFFORDABLE, THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS IF YOU ARE A FAMILY AND YOU MAKE 50% OF THE AMI IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY, YOU ARE WORKING RIGHT.
SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS REMOVE ANY NEGATIVE CONNOTATION AND ASSIGN, UM, SORT OF THREE TIERS, WORKFORCE TIER ONE, WORKFORCE TIER TWO, WORKFORCE TIER THREE, AND HAVE THEM DEFINE WITH THOSE, THOSE CAPS.
UM, SO THEY ARE DEFINED NUMERICALLY, BUT THEY'RE REALLY JUST ALL CATEGORIES OF, UM, FAMILIES THAT WORK HERE IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
SO, UH, WE WILL BE BRINGING THAT TO THE TABLE IN A LOCAL LAW FORMAT.
I WOULD SAY EARLY FIRST QUARTER NEXT YEAR, WHAT'LL BE THE LOWEST NUMBER FOR AMI, UH, 50%.
AND AT ONE 17, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ACTUALLY TALKING, UM, FAMILY OF FOUR, UM, YOU KNOW, CLOSE TO 70,000 THAT'S LOWER THAN EVEN OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH, UH, MARK OJA.
YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE UNITS DO HIT AT THAT TIER.
I THINK GENERALLY THEY TRY AND ACHIEVE, UH, ROUGHLY A 65% KIND OF BLENDED AVERAGE.
SO THEY MAY GO UP TO 80, SOMETIMES 85, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, TO BALANCE THAT OUT AVERAGE HAVE HAS TO BE 60 TO YEAH.
YOU DO HIT UNDER 50 OFTENTIMES, AND THERE'S THAT NEED.
SO, UM, THAT'S SORT OF THE PHILOSOPHY AND THE, THE DIRECTION WE'RE LOOKING TO HEAD.
I JUST HAD A QUESTION THAT I JUST THOUGHT OF ON ANOTHER MATTER WITH THE HOLIDAY DECORATIONS, WE, UH, WE WERE GONNA, UH, PURCHASE THE WREATHS OR SOMETHING OR HOLIDAY DECORATIONS.
DO, DO YOU HAVE ANY UPDATE ON THAT? I THINK COMMISSIONER FONDS TAKING THE LEAD ON THAT, SO I WOULD HAVE TO CHECK IN WITH HIM, BUT THINK HE SOME GOOD IDEAS THERE.
WE WEREN'T GOING TO CALL ON YOU, BUT SINCE YOU CAME INTO THE ROOM,
THE INCREASE IN SPENDING AND THE TOWN WIDE IS GOING FROM 22 MILLION 2 88, 6 97 TO 25 MILLION 6 12 971, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF 3 MILLION 3 24, 2 74, THAT'S IN THE TOWN TIRE.
AND THEN IN THE TOWN OUTSIDE IN 2023 WAS 93 MILLION 5 98.
4 92, IT'S GOING UP TO 1 0 3, 8 58 9 52.
AN INCREASE OF 10 MILLION 2 64 60, IT'S THE A AND THE B BUDGET.
SO YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN EMAIL TRAFFIC BACK AND FORTH VERSUS THE TAX RATE.
SO WHAT, WHAT IS THE LEVY INCREASE IN THE TOWN AND TIRE? THE TOWN LEVY, UM, INCREASE IS 4.09%.
AND IN TOWN OUTSIDE THE TOWN LEVY INCREASE IS 6.28%.
[00:55:01]
INCREASE THE RATES IN TOWN ATTIRE, IT WAS A NEGATIVE 0.53%.AND IN TOWN OUTSIDE IT IS A 1.98% INCREASE.
DO YOU WANNA JUST GIVE A SIMPLE EXPLANATION FOR ANYONE LISTENING ABOUT AS SIMPLE AS YOU CAN MAKE IT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TAX LEVY AND TAX RATE AND THE ACTUAL BUDGET AMOUNT, YOU MIGHT AS WELL BRING THE MICRO FORTH AND, AND EQUALIZATION.
WELL, WE'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT SO THERE'S DON'T HAVE ANY.
AND ROBERTA AND ROBERTA, CAN I JUST ADD TO THAT? SO YOU COULD JUST DO IT ALL IN ONE SWOOP.
UM, THERE'S ALSO, THERE'S ALSO CONCERN THAT THERE IS A INCREASE OF TAXES OF 6%.
SO CAN YOU PLEASE IF THERE'S, IF THERE'S SOME SORT OF INCREASE THAT THE TAX PAYERS MAY ENDURE, CAN WE JUST ADDRESS THAT TOO? I KNOW THIS HASN'T BEEN PASSED YET, BUT CAN YOU PLEASE ADDRESS THAT AS WELL? IT'S, THAT'S THE LEVY, THAT'S THE LEVY THAT'S THE, THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
I, SO THE LEVY TO ELLEN'S POINT, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND LEVY VERSUS RE SO, OKAY, SO THE LEVY IS THE TAX DOLLARS THAT ARE GOING TO BE COLLECTED FROM ALL THE TAXPAYERS OF THE TOWN.
AND THAT'S THE INCREASE OF THE 4.09% AND THE INCREASE OF THE 6.28%.
THE TAX RATE IS CALCULATED, UM, THROUGH ASSESSMENTS.
SO THE ASSESSMENTS HAVE INCREASED FROM, THE ASSESSMENTS HAVE INCREASED IN TOWN ENTIRE BY 12.17%, AND THE ASSESSMENTS HAVE INCREASED IN TOWN OUTSIDE BY 11.35%.
CAN I JUST GET, SORRY, FINISH YOUR SENTENCE THEN.
SO BECAUSE OF THOSE INCREASES, THAT'S WHY THE TAX RATE IS LOWER THAN THE INCREASE IN THE LEVY.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT DOES, IT DOES, IT DOES TO ME.
BUT TO ME, THE TAX RATE INCREASE IS ALMOST IRRELEVANT TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE TAKING OUTTA THEIR POCKET, RIGHT? IT'S THE LEVY INCREASE THAT PEOPLE PAY.
WELL, I THINK WE HAVE TO START WITH THE BUDGETS HAVE GONE UP MM-HMM.
UM, COST OF LIVING UNION CONTRACTS, BENEFITS, UM, THE, THE MORE EXPENSIVE, UM, THE, THE EXPENSES THAT HAVE GONE UP IN GENERAL, WHICH WE ALL FEEL, SO THAT WE FEEL AS A TOWN AS WELL, WHETHER IT'S, UH, AN INCREASE IN CONSTRUCTION COSTS, COSTS, THE COST OF BUSINESS ELEMENT, THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS
SO OF COURSE, AND, AND THE WAY THAT THE TAXES ARE FACTORED, UM, SIMPLY, VERY SIMPLY, UM, BECAUSE I'M SIMPLE PERSON
UM, IS THAT, THAT THERE IS, WE'VE GOT THE AMOUNT OF DOLLARS IT COSTS TO RUN THE TOWN.
SOME OF IT IS OFFSET BY WHATEVER RECEIVABLES WE HAVE, CORRECT? ROBERTA, SOME REVENUES, SOME OF THE REVENUES THAT WE HAVE.
AND, UM, AND WE HAVE TO BEAR THE COST OF IT.
WHAT IS IT? WHAT ARE WE BEARING THE COST OF PAVING THE ROADS, WHAT, UM, AND SEWERS, WHATEVER INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS WE MIGHT HAVE, AS WELL AS OPERATIONAL EXPENSES, SALARIES.
SO IT'S NOT JUST EVERYONE LOOKS AT IT AS A TAX INCREASE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND EVERYONE RUNS SCREAMING.
UM, BUT ALSO THE, THE REASON THE, THE ASSESSMENTS WENT UP IS BECAUSE THE COST OF HOUSING WENT UP.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER.
SOME OF IT HAPPENED BECAUSE OF COVID AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ESCAPING FROM THE CITY AND PAYING ANY PRICE TO GET OUT OF THE CITY AND BUYING NEW HOMES.
SO IT, IT JUST RATCHETED UP THE COST, UH, OF HOUSING.
SO WE, WE ARE THE, THE ASSESSMENTS ARE BASED ON THAT.
UM, DO I HAVE IT RIGHT SO FAR? MM-HMM.
SO THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST TO, AND THEN LASTLY, UM, KEEP IN MIND THAT THE TOWN'S PORTION
[01:00:01]
OF THE TAXES OF ROUGHLY 15%, THE TOWN'S PORTION OF WHAT THE TOWN POR PORTION OF THE OVERALL TAX BURDEN, THE TA WHAT WE'RE PAYING FOR THE TOWN AND THE OVERALL TAXES.MOST 65, 70% OF THE TAXES WE PAY AS RESIDENTS ARE SCHOOL TAXES.
AND TOWN TAXES EQUATES TO ABOUT 15% OF ALL OUR TAXES IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA FOR, WELL, THAT 15% ALSO INCLUDES THE COUNTY INCLUDES FIRE PROTECTION.
I'M LOOKING FOR THE TOWN PORTION.
SO WE, IT, IT'S REALLY MORE WHEN YOU START TO INCLUDE MM-HMM.
AND WE DO ALSO HIGHLIGHT THE FACT THAT TOWN, UM, LEVY AND THE TAX RATE HASN'T GONE UP IN FOUR YEARS.
THAT IF FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS YEAH.
RELATIVE THERE WAS LIKE A SLIGHT INCREASE IN ONE YEAR, BUT RIGHT.
BUT BASICALLY OTHERWISE WE MEANT YES.
WE'VE, WE'VE HAD FLAT IN, YOU KNOW, A FLAT TAX MM-HMM.
UM, SO THE THING IS, IF WE'RE GONNA BE INCREASING SALARIES, IF WE'RE GONNA BE INCREASING, YOU KNOW, MAINTAINING PROGRAMS, UH, THERE'S A COST TO THAT.
AND, AND THE THING IS, IF ANYBODY OBJECTS TO ANY FORM OF TAX RATE, THEN IT'S SIMPLE.
WE COULD CUT BACK ON SERVICES, YOU KNOW, THE THING, OR WE COULD CUT BACK ON STAFF.
SO WE HAVE TO, AS A BOARD DECIDE, UH, THE FUTURE NOW, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN BENEFITING OVER THE YEARS BECAUSE WE HAVE REGENERON, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME MAJOR PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, IN, YOU KNOW, IN THE WORKS.
BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA REGENERON FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE GETTING THE SAME AMOUNT THAT AMOUNT OF REVENUE.
SO THE QUESTION IS, IF OUR EXPENSES ARE MORE THAN THE REVENUES, THEN WE'RE GONNA EITHER HAVE TO START CONSOLIDATING, YOU KNOW, UH, UM, REDUCING OUR COSTS, UM, OR, YOU KNOW, MAKING REDUCTIONS OR THERE WOULD BE A TAX HIKE.
WELL, IT'S, IT'S NOT SO MUCH EITHER OR THERE, THERE IT'S A BALANCE IN PREPARING THE BUDGET TO INCREASE FOR ALL THE AFOREMENTIONED THINGS, BUT ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT WE CAN'T GET THAT, THAT IT'S ON THE BACKS OF ALL OF US TAX PAYERS, US INCLUDED.
SO THAT WE HAVE TO TRY TO FIND A BALANCE THAT WILL BE WORKABLE FOR US TO GIVE TO, TO MANDATE PROPER SERVICES FOR ALL THE RESIDENTS AS WELL AS NOT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO AFFORD.
CAN I JUST ASK YOU A QUESTION ALSO? WELL, UM, WHEN THE ASSESSOR DU, YOU KNOW, SHE DOES REASSESSMENTS OR ADJUSTMENTS AND ASSESSMENTS, YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR SOME PEOPLE WILL PAY MORE AND SOME PEOPLE WILL PAY LESS.
WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TAX LEVY, DOES THAT MEAN THAT, UH, FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON, IS IT POSSIBLE IF THEIR ASSESSMENT WENT DOWN THAT THEIR TAXES COULD ALSO GO DOWN? YES.
SO HOW THE TAX RATE IS CALCULATED, HOW THE TAX RATE IS CALCULATED IS YOU TAKE THE LEVY AMOUNT AND YOU TAKE YOUR ASSESSMENT DIVIDED BY THE WHOLE TOWN'S ASSESSMENT TO GET A PERCENTAGE, AND YOU MULTIPLY IT BY THE TAXES THAT YOU WANNA COLLECT.
RIGHT? SO SOME PEOPLE IN THE TOWN WILL NOT GET THE TAX INCREASE THAT COUNCILMAN SHE IS SAYING.
SOME PEOPLE MAY BE PAYING MORE, AND SOME PEOPLE MAY BE PAYING LESS THAN THAT AMOUNT.
SO IT, IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT TO GRASP, BUT THAT WHEN PEOPLE GET THEIR, THEIR BILL, IT HAS THEIR, NOW THAT WE'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT VALUATION, WHEN THEY GET THAT ON THAT BILL, IT'LL SAY WHAT THE TOWN THINKS YOUR HOUSE AND PROPERTY IS WORTH.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S AN ADVANTAGE BE BEFORE YOU MIGHT SEE ON YOUR BILL THAT YOUR HOUSE IS WORTH $15,000.
AND THEN OF COURSE YOU STILL HAVE THIS, THIS FAIRLY SIZABLE TAX BILL.
IT'S BECAUSE WE WERE NOT AT A HUNDRED PERCENT AS ASSESS, UH, ASSESSMENT.
AND WE HAD EQUALIZATION RATES, WHICH WERE VERY DISCRIMINATORY BECAUSE SOME AREAS OF THE TOWN WENT UP DIFFERENTLY THAN OTHER AREAS OF THE TOWN.
BUT NOW WE'RE AT A HUNDRED PERCENT VALUATION DUE TO THE REVAL, THE, UH, REVAL THAT WE DID IN 2016 OR THEREABOUTS.
UH, WE KEEP KEEPING IT, UH, TO A HUNDRED PERCENT ASSESSMENT, BUT IF NOBODY
[01:05:01]
DID ANY WORK ON THEIR PROPERTY AND THEIR ASSESSMENTS DID NOT CHANGE, UH, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WAS A 5% INCREASE IN EVERYBODY'S ASSESSMENT ACROSS TOWN, THERE WOULD BE NO INCREASE IN TAXES BECAUSE THE PIE IS THE SAME.YOU'RE DIVIDING UP THE PIE EQUAL THE SAME AS YOU DID BEFORE, JUST THERE'S A LARGER PIE, RIGHT.
YOU BUY THAT, RIGHT? MM-HMM,
NOW WHERE IT BECOMES A DIFFERENCE IS YOU DO A NEW KITCHEN.
SO NOW YOUR ASSESSMENT ISN'T THE SAME AS EVERYBODY ELSE, SO YOU MIGHT, UH, BE PAYING MORE THAN SOMEBODY ELSE.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE STILL AT A HUNDRED PERCENT ASSESSMENT.
THAT'S WHAT WE, OUR GOAL IS, UH, TO KEEP IT A HUNDRED PERCENT ASSESSMENT.
UH, BUT THE, THE TAX CAP, THE NEW YORK STATE TAX CAP IS NOT BASED ON THE INCREASE PERCENT INCREASE OF THE RATE.
AND SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT THE LEVY IS GOING UP MORE THAN THIS YEAR'S TAX CAP IS THAT'S ALLOWED, WHAT IS THIS YEAR'S? NO, WE'RE WITHIN THE TAX CAP.
WHAT, WHAT IS THE TAX GAP FOR THIS YEAR? SO THERE ARE A NUM THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FACTORS THAT GO INTO IT, RIGHT? YOU TAKE ALL THE REAL ESTATE PROPERTY TAXES THAT WE'RE COLLECTING IN ADDITION TO TOWN WIDE AND TOWN OUTSIDE.
WE'VE GOT SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS.
WE'VE GOT THE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICTS, WE'VE GOT, UM, THE CONSULTATED SEWER DISTRICT AND THE TIF DISTRICT.
SO ALL OF THOSE TAXES COME TO A TOTAL.
THEN YOU'VE GOT, UM, A GROWTH RATE FACTOR AND THEN THE TAX CAP FACTOR, RIGHT? AND IT'S IN AND OUTS OF PILOTS, AND IT'S KIND OF A CONVOLUTED CALCULATION, BUT IN ESSENCE, THAT'S HOW THEY COME UP WITH YOUR ALLOWABLE TAX LEVY.
SO THE ALLOWABLE TAX LEVY FOR THE ENTIRE TOWN FOR 2024 IS 77,000,812.
AND WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT COME OUT TO AS AN INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR? IN OTHER WORDS, OUR LEVY, HOW MUCH WE'VE INCREASED OUR LEVY, I THINK YOU SAID 6.28.
THAT'S IN TOWN OUTSIDE IN TOWN, OUTSIDE.
BUT THE LEVY, IT INCLUDES OTHER, THE OTHER TAXES, RIGHT? IT'S NOT ONLY TOWN OUTSIDE, SO IT'S NOT REALLY APPLES TO APPLES.
SO WHEN WE STARTED THE TAX, WHEN THE STATE STARTED THE TAX CAP, IT WAS 2.02% TAX CAP.
IT'S CHANGED OVER THE YEARS AND YOU NOW HAVE YOUR PERFORMANCE INDEX AND ALL THAT KIND OF THING, RIGHT? NO, IT, IT, THEY ALWAYS HAD THOSE FACTORS.
THEY HAD, THEY HAD A GROWTH FACTOR AND, AND YOU'RE PUTTING IN YOUR PILOTS, RIGHT? AND YOU'RE TAKING OUT EXEMPTIONS.
RIGHT? WE, AND WE DID ALL THAT.
AND THE NUMBER WAS TWO 2.0 WHERE YOU WERE ALLOWED, RIGHT? IT WAS CALLED A 2%.
BUT WHEN YOU GO, GO TO DO THE CALCULATION, THERE WERE OTHER, UM, FACTORS THAT WERE FACTORED INTO IT.
AND SO WHEN WE DO ALL OF THOSE, LIKE WE DID THE FIRST YEAR WE DID THIS, WHAT DO WE COME UP WITH AS OUR TAX CAP? THE, THE, THE PERCENTAGE THAT WE'RE COMPARING THE TAX CAP TO WHATEVER THAT CAP TAX CAP IS? I'M NOT SURE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
IT'D BE GOOD TO KNOW THAT FOR NEXT MONDAY.
SO YOU WANT THE PERCENTAGE OF INCREASE FOR THE ALLOWABLE LEVY, IS THAT RIGHT? RIGHT.
THE BOTTOM LINE THOUGH IS PEOPLE CAN EXPECT TO PAY 6% MORE NEXT YEAR.
IF THE ASSESSMENT DOESN'T CHANGE, THAT'S EVEN, YOU KNOW, IF YOUR ASSESSMENT CHANGES, THAT'S, THAT'S EVEN WORSE.
BUT WHEN, IF THE LEVY IS GOING UP 6% ISN'T, YOU'RE COLLECTING 6% MORE, 6.28%, WE'RE COLLECTING 6.8% MORE DOLLARS.
HOW WOULD IS SPREAD OUT BECAUSE OF THE INCREASING IN THE ASSESSMENTS? LET'S ASSUME EVERYBODY'S ASSESSMENT STAYED THE SAME.
IF EVERYBODY'S ASSESSMENT STAYED THE SAME, YOU'RE GOING UP, YOU'RE GOING UP 0.28%.
YES, BUT WE DON'T PUT THAT NUMBER OUT THERE.
WE PUT OUT THE, WE PUT OUT THE INCREASE IN THE RATE, THE PERCENT INCREASE IN THE RATE.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT, I DON'T THINK THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY A, A GOOD REPRESENTATION BECAUSE
[01:10:01]
THEY'LL LOOK AND SAY, OH, YOU KNOW, THE RATE IS GOING UP TWO POINT, WHATEVER, BUT THE, THE NEXT TIME THEY SEE THEIR POCKETS MORE, MORE EMPTY THAN IT.I MEAN, WE CAN PUT OUT BOTH, BUT, UH, I THINK THAT MIGHT BE WORTH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE MORE INFORMATIVE AND FAIR.
I THINK WE ALSO TRANSPARENT, I THINK WE ALSO HIGHLIGHT THAT NOT EVERYBODY, AND I ALSO THINK YOU SHOULD ALSO BREAK DOWN THE DIFFERENCE.
ROBERTA, I DON'T KNOW, SOMEWHERE ON THE WEBSITE OR SOMETHING.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TAX RATE, THE TAX LEVY, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT, IT DOES GET CONFUSING.
SO, AND, AND, AND THEN WE TALK ABOUT AN INCREASE.
SO JUST IF WE CAN PUT THAT OUT THERE AS A PART OF THAT.
THE OTHER THING THAT I, UM, YOU KNOW, I HAD ASKED ROBERTA TO DO, AND I GUESS WE WILL HAVE IT HOPEFULLY NEXT WEEK, IS, UH, TO PROVIDE THE BOARD WITH, UM, UM, UH, THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION.
HOW MUCH HAS EXPENDITURES GONE UP EACH, UM, YEAR, UH, TOWN WIDE AND PER DEPARTMENT? AND, UM, THIS WAY, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THE BOARD DECIDE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONLY A PROPOSED BUDGET, SO IT'S NOT THE, ULTIMATELY THE BOARD HAS TO DECIDE WHAT BUDGET IS.
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THIS FINAL SAY AS TO WHAT THE BUDGET'S GONNA BE.
SO IF THE BOARD FEELS THAT THE TAX LEVY INCREASES ARE TOO HIGH, UH, WE COULD IN THE NEXT MONTH LOOK FOR, UM, WAYS TO, UM, CUT SPENDING, UH, INSTEAD OF INCREASING IT.
UM, AND, UM, AND THEN WE COULD MAKE IT, YOU KNOW, LESS, UH, THAT'S A DECISION THAT THE BOARD HAS TO, UH, DECIDE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE LOOKING A COUPLE, UM, ABOUT A MONTH AGO OR SO, YOU KNOW, WE WERE GONNA ASK EACH DEPARTMENT HEAD TO CUT THEIR, UH, UM, BUDGETS BY A PERCENTAGE OR TWO PERCENTAGES.
SO THE BOARD ALWAYS HAS THE OPTION OF, UM, OF DECIDING, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY THINK, UH, THE COMMUNITY WOULD WANT AND WHAT'S IN THE BEST INTEREST.
SO IF YOU FAIL, WELL, YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT WHAT'S IN THE BEST INTEREST OF DOLLARS.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT'S IN THE BEST ENTRANCE OF GETTING, OF RUNNING THE TOWN PROPERLY.
BUT THAT, THAT'S THE BALANCE THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE, THE PERSONNEL WE NEED IN ORDER TO GET THE WORK DONE.
WE MAY, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY IN THE BUDGET FOR WHATEVER WORK THAT HAS TO BE DONE, DONE INCIDENTALS AND, AND FOR EMERGENCIES, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, WE HAD HUGE SET THAT WE'VE HAD.
WE'VE HAD WATER MAIN BREAKS AND YOU KNOW, SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE COVERED.
AND WHILE BALANCING NOT INCREASING TAXES SO THAT IT'S, UM, I MEAN, I DON'T WANNA MAKE ANY, GIVE ANY FALSE HOPE BECAUSE WE WE'RE TRYING TO DO THE RESPONSIBLE FISCAL MANAGEMENT OF THE TOWN, UH, THAT MAKES IT LIVABLE IN MORE WAYS THAN AFFORDABLE.
UM, WE WANT IT TO BE AFFORDABLE, AND WE WANNA BE ABLE TO ALSO MAKE SURE THE SERVICES THAT PEOPLE HAVE COME TO EXPECT FROM GREENBERG ARE STILL IN PLACE.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO MENTION, AND WE HAVE THE STAFFING TO DO SO BECAUSE AS, AS WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST, WE'VE BEEN CHALLENGED WITH OUR STAFFING.
AND I, I KEEP STRESSING THAT BECAUSE IN ORDER TO KEEP UP OUR SERVICE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE STAFFING.
AND IF WE, AND IF WE ALWAYS, WE ALSO HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED TOO.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STAFF MEMBERS HAVE THE, HAVE THE NECESSARY TRAINING.
WHAT IS NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT, TO ENSURE THAT, THAT WE ARE MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE TOWN.
LIKE THERE, THERE'S A LOT, THERE'S A LOT TO BE SAID IN THIS, AND I DON'T WANT TO GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT THE COUNCIL WANTS TO, TO INCREASE TAXES BECAUSE OF, BUT WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE WE RECOGNIZE THE CHANGES THAT HAS HAPPENED WITH ALL OF THE STORMS THAT WE HAVE HAD, YOU KNOW, THE LOSS OF PERSONNEL.
UH, IT'S JUST A LOT HAS JUST CHANGED.
AND THERE'S A LOT THAT HAS TO GO INTO THAT.
SO I GET CONCERNED THAT, YOU KNOW, IT, WE, WE COME ACROSS THAT WHERE WE WANNA PUT, YOU KNOW, INCREASED TAXES.
IT'S NOT THAT, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS WHAT IS MADE UP OF THOSE NUMBERS.
BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN I CAME UP WITH THIS BUDGET, I TRIED BALANCING.
SO I BASICALLY LOOKED AT WHERE WE WERE THE PAST FOUR YEARS WHERE WE HAD ZERO TAX INCREASES AND FOR FOUR CONSECUTIVE YEARS IN INCLUDING, UH, TAX, UH, RATE REDUCTIONS LAST YEAR, I THINK IT WAS LIKE 6% LAST YEAR OF A REDUCTION.
SO THEN, UM, SO THAT WAS ONE FACTOR THAT I LOOKED AT.
THEN I BASICALLY SAID, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO I THINK, UM, UH, WE COULD DO AND MAINTAIN THE BASIC SERVICES THAT WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING? WHICH I THINK BASICALLY PEOPLE WANT, THEY LIKE THE SERVICES IN THE TOWN.
SO I CAME UP WITH A BUDGET THAT, UM, THAT I THOUGHT HAD, UM, A MODEST OR A MINOR, A MODEST, YOU KNOW, INCREASE IN, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE TAXES.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I FEEL, YOU KNOW, IT DIDN'T GIVE
[01:15:01]
DEPART EVERY DEPARTMENT, EVERYTHING THEY WANTED.A LOT OF DEPARTMENT HEADS ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, ARE ANNOYED BECAUSE WE SAID NO TO A LOT OF THINGS.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, I FEEL THAT THIS IS A BUDGET THAT THE TOWN COULD LIVE WITH AND WILL MAINTAIN SERVICES.
THAT SAID, IF THE BOARD AGAIN DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, FEELS THAT THE LEVY IS UNAFFORDABLE, WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO, UH, TIGHTEN UP AND UM, AND COME UP WITH A BUDGET THAT IS, UM, IS UM, MORE AFFORDABLE TO PEOPLE WHO CAN'T AFFORD LIVING HERE.
BUT KEEP IN, KEEP IN MIND, YOU KNOW, THAT, AND, AND EVERYONE SHOULD BE AWARE THAT BECAUSE OF COVID, WE HAD ARPA MONEY THAT'S RUN OUT.
UM, WE ALSO HAD, UM, WE ALSO HAVE, THE STATE HAS A BUDGET.
IT FALLS, UM, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR BECAUSE THEIR TIMING, THEIR FISCAL YEAR ENDS AT A DIFFERENT TIME THAN OURS.
AND THERE'S SOME STRESS THERE.
SO WE DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF EXPENSES WE MAY HAVE TO ABSORB BECAUSE OF THE STATE BUDGET.
SO THESE ARE ALL FACTORS THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.
UM, WE WERE, WE'VE BEEN FORTUNATE AND WE'VE BEEN VERY, UH, WISELY AND THANK YOU TO THE CONTROLLER THAT WE'VE WISELY SPENT MONEY, UM, THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM REGENERON AND FROM BUILDING FEES.
BUT WE HAVE, WE HAVE TO CONSIDER THAT'S, THAT'S, THEY'RE NOT ONE SHOT DEALS, BUT THEY'RE SHORT TERM DEALS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT, UM, THE, THE ENTIRE BALANCE OF THE FUTURE AS WELL AS, UM, HOW WE CAN KEEP LIVING IN GREENBURG LIVABLE FINANCIALLY AS WELL.
I THINK THE ARPA FUNDS WERE USED FOR THE WATER DEPARTMENT RATHER THAN FOR THE, THEY WEREN'T TAX, WE DIDN'T USE IT TO REDUCE THE TAXES.
NO, BUT BY, BY USING IT FOR THE WATER DEPARTMENT THAT FOR NECESSARY REPAIRS THAT HAD TO BE MADE, WE WOULD'VE HAD TO HAVE HAD THAT TAKE THAT MONEY OUT OF THE CAPITAL BUDGET.
THAT'S ONLY THE, UH, THAT'S ONLY THE WATER DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET, NOT THE, NOT THE, UH, THE, THE BUDGET PAID FOR BY THE TAXPAYER.
IT'S THE RATE PAYERS ARE RESIDENTS WHO LIVE IN THE TOWN, BUT NOT EVERYBODY LIKE YOU.
DON'T, DON'T, DON'T LIVE IN THE RIGHT, UH, DIDN'T BENEFIT BECAUSE BOTH OF US ARE IN, UH, THE, WAS IT VIOLA OR VIOLA, RIGHT? YEAH.
WE'RE IN THE, AND WE GET WATER FROM FROM THEM RATHER THAN FROM GREENBURG WATER.
BUT ELLEN'S POINT IS THAT WE HAD EXTERNAL MONEY THAT WAS COMING IN BECAUSE OF COVID THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANYMORE.
BUT YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I, I THINK, UH, WE HAVE $997 TO PLAY WITH FROM EXHIBIT F.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE REALLY, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE MAY WANNA LOOK AT IS, UM, IS STARTING TO TIGHTEN UP.
UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO DO IT SOONER OR LATER ANYWAY.
SO WHEN WE ARE LOOKING AT THE BUDGET, WE MIGHT WANNA SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S SAY A DEPARTMENT HEAD SAY THERE'S SOME VACANCIES.
MAYBE INSTEAD OF FILLING ALL THE VACANCIES, UM, THEY COULD, UM, LEAVE ONE VACAN.
YOU KNOW, WE COULD REDUCE WELL, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TO, WE'LL HAVE TO ADDRESS THAT.
WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT EVERYTHING CAREFULLY.
AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK ERIC ZINGER FOR
I'M SURE YOU'RE TIRED OF EMAILS
UH, BUT HE GOT THE BUDGET ACTUALLY BEFORE WE WERE PRESENTED WITH THE BUDGET AND, UH, WENT THROUGH IT.
AND, UH, I, NO, ACTUALLY I GAVE YOU THE, I GAVE THE TOWN BOARD, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, BUDGETS, UM, AT THE SAME TIME.
YEAH, NO, I I I, WE YOU EMAILED THEM TOO, BUT I SENT YOU, THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT I GENERALLY WORK FROM AND I SENT YOU YOU EMAILS AND THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK IS THE CLERK IS SUPPOSED TO PRESENT THIS TO US AT OUR NEXT MEETING.
AND OF COURSE THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
I MEAN, THIS IS THE FIRST WE'RE GETTING, WE'RE GETTING THIS.
THIS, THIS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NICE TO HAVE IT ONLINE 'CAUSE YOU COULD DO SOME SEARCHES, BUT I ALSO LIKE TO GO BACK AND FORTH WITH THE, UH, THE PAPER COPY.
YOU KNOW, I DID SOME PRINT OUT, BUT I DIDN'T PRINT OUT THE WHOLE THING.
ARE WE READY? SESSION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSIONS? I THINK WE, I THINK WE COVERED EVERYTHING.
I'D JUST LIKE TO POINT OUT FOR THAT.
COUNCILMAN JONES HAD TO LEAVE THE MEETING, BUT WE KEPT QUORUM THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRETY OF THE WORK SESSION.
[01:20:01]
MOTION? I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSING PERSONNEL MATTERS MATTERS INVOLVING SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS AND TO SEEK LEGAL ADVICE YES.ON VARIOUS MATTERS AND TO INTERVIEW A CANDIDATE FOR A, A COMMITTEE.
UH, AND WE WON'T BE COMING BACK AND WE WON'T BE COMING BACK TONIGHT.
AND THANK YOU FOR STAYING AROUND.