* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] OKAY, SORRY THAT WE'RE STARTING THE MEETING LATE. TODAY IS DECEMBER 10TH AND IT'S 7 53. [ PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE] AND WE'LL START WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. MY PLEDGE OF ALL PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. PLEASE REMAIN [ MOMENT OF SILENCE In memory of Karen V. Hill, 72, a Mount Vernon and sixth generation Westchester County resident, was President and CEO of the Harriet Tubman Home, a non-profit organization founded by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and instrumental in sharing the rich history and enduring values of Harriet Tubman with many people. In memory of Louis Charles Anthony (Paul) Kerlew, 71, brother of the Town of Greenburgh's Grant Coordinator Winsome Gordon, and one of the longest-tenured employees (35 years) for New Jersey Transit, passed on November 6, 2025. In memory of those around the world who have perished as victims of war, disease and natural disaster. Our hearts are with all who needlessly suffer.] STANDING. UM, WE HAVE, UM, A BOARD OF SILENCE FOR, UM, KAREN HILL, UM, 70-YEAR-OLD, UM, MOUNT VERNON, A SIXTH GENERATION WESTCHESTER COUNTY RESIDENT. SHE WAS, UH, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE HARRIET TUBMAN HOME, A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION FOUNDED BY THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH, AND INSTRUMENTAL IN SHARING THE RICH HISTORY AND DURING VALUES OF HARRIET TUBMAN WITH MANY, UM, PEOPLE, UM, IN MEMORY OF LOUIS CHARLES, BEFORE YOU GO ON, SHE WAS ALSO A RESIDENT OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUT IN HERE RIGHT IN MEMORY OF, UH, LOUIS CHARLES ANTHONY PAUL KLOW, UH, 71 BROTHER OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG GRAND COORDINATOR WINSTON GORDON, AND ONE OF THE LONGEST TENURED EMPLOYEES, 35 YEARS FOR NEW JERSEY TRANSIT PASSED ON NOVEMBER 6TH, 2025. UM, WE EXPRESS OUR SYMPATHIES, UM, AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE AROUND THE WORLD WHO HAVE PERISHED AS VICTIMS OF WAR, DISEASE AND NATURAL DISASTER, OUR HEARTS ARE WITH THOSE WHO NEEDLESSLY SUFFER. THANK YOU. NOW, UH, THE TOWN [ ROLL CALL: Town Clerk Lisa Maria Nero] CLERK WILL, UH, DO THE ROLL CALL. GOOD EVENING. UH, BEFORE I BEGIN ROLL CALL, I JUST WANNA LET, UH, EVERYONE KNOW WHO MAY BE LISTENING ONLINE OR WATCHING ONLINE. UH, WE'RE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH OUR CABLE VISION HUB, SO IF YOU SEE ANY INTERRUPTED SERVICE, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE LOG ON TO, UH, TOWN OF GREENBURG NY.GOV AND YOU CAN WATCH, UH, THE BOARD MEETING ON LIVE ON OUR WEBSITE. THANK YOU. YEAH, AND IT'S NOT OUR HUB. WE'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HUB. IT'S CABLE VISION'S HUB. UH, WE JUST PASSED THROUGH IT, SO THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. SHE, IT'S JUST THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT. CORRECT. CABLE VISION. CORRECT. SUPERVISOR FINER. HERE. COUNCILMAN SHEEN. PRESENT. COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON. PRESENT. COUNCILWOMAN. I WAS ABOUT TO SAY HENDRICKS. HABER PRESENT. COUNCILWOMAN HENDRICKS PRESIDENT. I WOULD'VE SAID PRESIDENT IF YOU BEFORE TOO. TOWN ATTORNEY AND PARLIAMENTARIAN. MR. JOE JENKO PRESENT. JUST WANT TO NOTE, WE HAVE A PHYSICAL, UH, PHYSICAL QUORUM PRESENT IN TOWN HALL FOR A MEETING THAT WAS DULY NOTICED. SO, COUNCILMAN JACKSON'S APPEARANCE ON ZOOM TONIGHT IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH TOWN CODE AND STATE LAW WHERE SHE LOCATED UNABLE TO WORK, UH, AND ABLE TO VOTE. IT SAYS REMOTE RIGHT THERE ON ZOOM. YOU'RE ALLOWED TO COME IN VIA ZOOM, SO THERE'S NO ISSUE WITH THAT. YOU COULD PROCEED. OKAY. AND I'D LIKE TO JUST THANK [ SUPERVISOR & TOWN COUNCIL REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS Liaison Reports (Supervisor Paul Feiner, Councilwoman Joy Haber, Councilwoman Ellen Hendrickx, Councilwoman Gina Jackson, Councilman Francis Sheehan) GOOD NEWS...From 2010-2025 the Town earned the highest possible rating from Moody's (Aaa), most recently on 9/9/2025. Less than 1% of communities in the nation have this record of financial stability. From 2008-2024 the Town also earned the highest possible bond rating from Standard & Poors (AAA). To reduce costs, the Town did not seek a rating from Standard & Poors in 2025. Anyone interested in serving on a board or commission should send a resume to the Town Board via Lisa Maria Nero, Town Clerk, 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh, NY 10607. TownClerk@GreenburghNY.com] HER FOR, UH, COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON FOR ORGANIZING, UH, THE PAST TWO YEARS. UH, THE LIGHTING OUTSIDE THE TOWN HALL. UM, UM, I THINK THE ENTRANCE LOOKS REALLY, YOU KNOW, GREAT. AND, AND I THINK YOU DID A REALLY GOOD JOB, UM, ADVOCATING FOR, UM, FOR HOLIDAY LIGHTS AT THE TOWN, AT THE TOWN HALL. AND WE HOPE NEXT YEAR MORE PEOPLE WILL JOIN US. CREDIT GOES TO THE STAFF. YEAH, I'M SORRY, THE CREDIT GOES TO THE STAFF. SO THANK YOU TO THE DPW STAFF WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY TO PUT THAT UP. SO I'LL HAVE TO GIVE THE CREDIT TO THEM. AND YOU WAITED IN THE COLD FOR US TO COME OUT AND, UH, LIKE THEM UP, SO THANK YOU. GREAT. SORRY ABOUT THAT. OKAY. UH, NEXT [ TOWN CLERK COMMENTS] [ To consider the 2026 Preliminary Budget (<-- Click link for document) [Note: Slip sheets will be the subject of discussion at a Special December 8, 2025, 5:15 PM, Town Board Work Session]] WE HAVE, UM, UH, A HEARING ON, UH, THE, UH, 2026 PRELIMINARY, UH, BUDGET. UM, AND, UM, THEN WE WILL ALSO HAVE A HEARING ON THE CAPITAL BUDGET ON 2027 AND 2028 CAPITAL PLAN. SO I'D LIKE TO MOVE, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, THE HEARINGS. DO WE WANT TO, UH, COMBINE THE HEARINGS OR HAVE THEM SEPARATE? I BELIEVE WE SHOULD HAVE THEM SEPARATELY. OKAY. SO MOVE THAT WE, UH, OPEN UP THE HEARING ON, UH, THE 2026 PRELIMINARY BUDGET. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. UH, KIMBERLY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO START? YEP. GOOD EVENING. I'M COMPTROLLER GUT WINE. I'M GONNA REVIEW, UM, THE CHANGES FROM THE TENTATIVE BUDGET TO, UH, THE BOARD'S BUDGET. PRELIMINARY FORECLOSURE REVENUE WAS REMOVED, $1 MILLION, AND THAT WAS ADVISED BY OUR AUDITORS, UH, THE REAL PROPERTY TAX AND THE A FUND INCREASE [00:05:01] BY 815,000. UM, APPROPRIATED FUND BALANCE CHANGES FOR A FUND, ADDITIONAL 266,000 IN THE B FUND AND ADDITIONAL 67,000. THE, UM, INSURANCE BENEFITS FOR MEDICAL AND DENTAL COMBINED DECREASED BY 22,000. THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL 53,000 CROSS FUNDS FOR LONGEVITY. AND FURTHER CHANGES INCLUDE SALARY INCREASES OF 110,000. THE JUNETEENTH FOR 10,000 AND THE SUPERVISOR'S POST POSTAGE WAS REDUCED TO 10,000 FROM 12,000 AND 10,000 WAS ADDED TO THE BOARD'S BUDGET FOR POSTAGE COUNCIL. THE COUNCIL'S BUDGET COUNCIL, SORRY. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. OKAY. WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO SPEAK? WE HAVE A LIST. I DO WANNA ADD THAT THE SLIP SHEETS ARE MORE DETAILED BECAUSE EVERYTHING'S ITEMIZED OUT THE FLOOR CUSTOM THING. DO WE HAVE A LIST? YEAH. YES, WE DO. YEAH. SO WHAT, WHAT BEFORE ? WE DUNNO IF YOU'RE FIRST ON A LIST. HANG ON ONE SECOND. . OKAY. UH, FIRST WE HAVE, UH, UH, IS THIS THE REGULAR BUDGET? UM, OH, PRELIMINARY BUDGET? NO, UH, PRELIMINARY. MR. SIMON, DID YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON THE CAPITAL BUDGET OR THE PRELIMINARY END? UH, PRELIMINARY BUDGET. OKAY. IS THAT'S THE SHEET WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US, CORRECT? YES, THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S WHY WE, JUST TO SPEAK UP. FIRST OF ALL, GOOD EVENING MEMBERS, UH, PAUL FINDER, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. I HAVE A SIMPLE AND QUICK QUESTION. IS THAT MIKE ON YEAH, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU. YEAH, I HAVE A SIMPLE AND AND AND QUICK QUESTION. THERE'S A LOT OF NUMBERS HAVE BEEN FLOATING AROUND ABOUT THE, OUR LEGAL COSTS AND, AND WHAT EXACTLY IS THAT NUMBER? AND, UH, I WAS HOPING THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO SEE SOME CLARITY ON THAT BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT NUMBER IS. I'M NOT PROPOSING ANY NUMBER. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IS THAT NUMBER THAT WE ARE SPENDING ON LEGAL FEES AND THAT'S NOT INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET. SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. SO THE LEGAL FEES ARE IN THE BUDGET. THEY'RE ALWAYS IN THE BUDGET. THEY'RE ACCOUNTED FOR EVERY YEAR, ALL THE BILLS THAT COME IN ON A MONTHLY BASIS. I REVIEW THE BILLS, I ENSURE THERE'S NO DUPLICATIVE BILLING. I ENSURE THAT THE BILLINGS ARE NOT TOO HIGH. UM, I SEE A LOT OF TALK ON SOCIAL MEDIA RECENTLY ABOUT HOW THE LEGAL BILLINGS HAVE, HAVE SKYROCKETED. THAT'S JUST NOT THE CASE. IN FACT, THEY'RE DOWN $300,000 PER YEAR COMPARED TO JUST FIVE YEARS AGO. AND I WILL TRY TO DO MY BEST TO CONTINUE DECREASING THOSE SPECIAL COUNSEL FEES. UM, I DON'T HAVE THE BUDGET NUMBERS IN FRONT OF ME. YEAH, I'M NOT, I I'M NOT SURE IF THE CONTROLLER CAN SPEAK TO THE, THE NUMBERS IN THE BUDGET YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHEN YOU SEE THE ACTUAL, THOSE ARE YEAR TO DATE THROUGH OCTOBER. UM, IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT HISTORICALLY WHAT THE LEGAL FEES ARE, YOU WOULD HAVE TO GO ONLINE AND PULL THE CER AND YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THE BUDGET TO ACTUAL IN THE CER FROM YEAR TO YEAR. UM, AS FAR AS THE CURRENT YEAR, WE HAVEN'T CLOSED THE BOOK YET. OKAY. MAYBE YOU WANTED TO DEFINE WHAT THE, WHAT THE CER IS, IF I STILL HAVE TIME. THAT'S OUR ANNUAL AUDIT, WHICH CONTAINS ALL OF OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. AND IN THE BACK IS THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ON THE BUDGETARY BASIS OUTSIDE OF THE GOVERNMENT WIDE FINANCIALS ON THE MODIFIED ACCRUAL. I'M NOT DOUBTING ANY OF THAT. I'M JUST SAYING AS A TAXPAYER, I CAN'T LOOK AT THIS SHEET AND FIND OUT WHAT THAT NUMBER IS. I'M NOT DOUBTING YOUR MANAGEMENT OF THE, OF THE, THE FINANCES. I'M NOT DOING THAT AT ALL. I'M NOT SAYING THE NUMBERS ARE WRONG, I'M JUST SAYING AS A TAXPAYER, I CAN'T PICK UP THIS SHEET AND FIND OUT WHAT THAT NUMBER IS. SO WHY DON'T WE SEND THOSE BUDGET NUMBERS TO MR. SIMON AND ANYONE ELSE WHO'S INTERESTED IN, IN THAT. THANK YOU. OH, OKAY. WE'VE GOT, AFTER MR. SIMON, WE'RE GONNA HAVE MICHELLE OLI. YES. COULD. WHEN EVERYBODY APPROACHES, CAN YOU PLEASE SPELL YOUR NAME FOR THE STENOGRAPHER? THANK YOU. OKAY, THANK YOU. HI, MICHELLE. SPIN. S-P-I-N-I-E-L-L-O. I LIVE IN DOBBS FERRY. UM, I JUST WANTED TO BRING TO EVERYONE'S ATTENTION A COUPLE OF THINGS. SO [00:10:01] IN LOOKING AT THE BUDGET, AND ADMITTEDLY I NEED TO LOOK INTO IT A LITTLE BIT DEEPER, BUT ON THE FIRST PAGE IN THE CHAIR, IN THE SUPERVISOR'S LETTER, IT SAID THAT, UM, HE'S RECOMMENDING REDUCING THE MEDICAL BUYOUT, UH, COST. SO I, I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I DID LOOK INTO IT. WHEN ANOTHER CITIZEN, AND I THINK EVERYONE NEEDS TO HEAR WHAT WE'RE PAYING, WHAT GREENBERG TAX PAYERS ARE PAYING FOR MEDICAL BUYOUTS. UM, THERE'S A DOCUMENT THAT WE WERE ABLE TO FOIL THAT WAS SIGNED BY PAUL FINER BETWEEN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AND THE CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, SAYING THAT THEY AGREE EACH YEAR THE TOWN EMPLOYEES WILL RECEIVE 40% OF THE EMPIRE PREMIUM IF THEY DON'T USE THE MEDICAL PLAN. NOW, IT NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN 40%. THAT IS ABSOLUTELY EGREGIOUS. AND I WANNA GIVE EVERYONE A COMPARISON BECAUSE NEW YORK CITY PAYS OUT A FLAT RATE OF A THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR FAMILIES AND $500 FOR INDIVIDUALS. AND NEW YORK STATE EMPLOYEES GET 3%. SO THE FACT THAT WE'RE PAYING 40% IS TOO MUCH AND NEEDS TO BE REDUCED DRAMATICALLY AND NOT DOWN TO 8,000 LIKE YOU'VE SUGGESTED, OR 5,000 LIKE OTHER TERMS, IT SHOULD BE 3% IT LINE WITH NEW YORK STATE. AND I WANNA GIVE EVERYONE SOME NUMBERS SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH GREENBERG TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING, BECAUSE YOU GUYS LOVE TO TALK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY. EVERYBODY LOVES TO TALK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, BUT THE BUDGET GOES UP EVERY YEAR BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF FAT IN THE BUDGET, AND THE FAT NEEDS TO BE CUT OUT OF THE BUDGET. SO I WANNA LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT WE WERE ABLE TO PULL ALL OF THE PAYMENTS FOR THE MEDICAL BUYOUTS FROM 2017, AND IT AMOUNTS TO, I CONFIRMED THIS MORNING THAT IT WAS THE RIGHT LIST, UH, FROM LOUIS BELTRAN. SO SINCE 2017, GREENBERG TAXPAYERS HAVE PAID $9,740,000 IN MEDICAL BUYOUT. OKAY? JUST THIS YEAR WE'VE PAID $946,000 FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T USE THE MEDICAL PLAN AND THE TOWN COUNCIL RIGHT HERE, WE'VE PAID THIS YEAR $42,000 FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T USE THE MEDICAL PLAN. I THINK IT'S UNFAIR. I THINK IT'S EGREGIOUS. I THINK IT'S GREEDY. AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT THIS BUDGET. YOU CANNOT ASK FOR SALARY RAISES, MEDICAL BUYOUTS, NOBODY ELSE GETS THIS. AND OUR TAXES GET RAISED EVERY YEAR. IT IS UNAFFORDABLE TO LIVE IN GREENBURG. AND I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN CUT THE BUDGET, AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK TOWARDS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND I, I AGREE WITH YOU ON THE MEDICAL BUYOUT, AND I FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT, UM, IT SHOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, I FEEL THAT IT'S TOTALLY EXCESSIVE AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE STARTED IT WAS LIKE $1,000 OR $2,000, AND EVERY YEAR THE INSURANCE GOES UP AND THE BUYOUT COSTS GO UP. SO I, THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT I, I, YOU KNOW, I'M COMMITTED TO, UH, WORKING WITH. I AGREE WITH YOU A HUNDRED PERCENT. SO, QUESTION, ARE WE GOING TO COMMENT AFTER EVERYONE'S COMMENT? WELL, PEOPLE COULD COMMENT IF THEY WANT OR THEY DON'T. WELL, SO LET'S HAVE A, A POLICY FOR TONIGHT. YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IF SOMEBODY MAY ASK FOR SOMETHING, DIDN'T WE DISCUSS THAT HAVING A POLICY? YOU KNOW? YEAH. YOU KNOW, IT'S FREE SPEECH. WHY DON'T WE WAIT UNTIL EVERYONE SPEAKS ON THIS PARTICULAR HEARING AND THEN WE CAN ADDRESS THINGS. OKAY. ON MY LIST, THERE ARE NO MORE FOR PRELIMINARY BUDGET. YES. I WROTE, OH, I'M SORRY. SAL HAMIS. HOW S . HOW HAMON . WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU'RE GOING TO COMMENT, GIVE US FIVE MINUTES. THERE'S SIX OF YOU ON THE DAIS OR AWAY WHO WILL TALK FOR UN UNCOUNTED MINUTES. SO IT'S REALLY UNFAIR WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT A DIALOGUE TO HAVE US SPEAK FOR FIVE MINUTES AND YOU CAN RESPOND AT LENGTH ABOUT ANYTHING. WE CAN RESTRICT OURSELVES TO FIVE MINUTES TOO, IF YOU PREFER WE'RE NOT INTERRUPTING. OKAY. UM, ACTUALLY, WHAT THIS LADY JUST SAID IS, MR. FINER ACTUALLY HAS PROVIDED SOME DIFFERENT FIGURES, WHICH HE'S ASKED FOR FROM THE BENEFITS ASSISTANT. AND IN 2026, WE'RE GONNA BE SPENDING ROUGHLY $2,100,000 ON HEALTH INSURANCE BUYOUTS. IT'S A LOT OF MONEY. UM, [00:15:01] AS A GROUP, YOU HAD CONDUCTED SEVERAL SESSIONS AT WORK SESSIONS IN WHICH YOU TALKED ABOUT THE PROBLEMS OF THE BUDGET. YOU'VE SEEN, HOWEVER, TO FOCUS ON WHAT IS MISSING FROM THE FUND BALANCES, WHAT HAS TO BE REPLACED, AND WHAT SHOULD BE REPLACED OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEAR PERIOD. WHAT YOU DID NOT GO INTO DETAIL WAS THE ACTUAL LINE ITEMS IN THE OPERATING BUDGET. AND AS IT COMES UP IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET, YOU DIDN'T FOCUS ON THE CAPITAL, ON THE LINE ITEMS IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET EITHER. SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE RELIANT ON FUND BALANCE APPROPRIATIONS, BEFORE YOU EVEN START REFILLING, THE EMPTY TANK OF THE FUND BALANCES SPREAD ACROSS THE VARIOUS FUNDS. OF COURSE. WHY DON'T YOU LOOK AT WHAT'S ON YOUR AGENDA TONIGHT, WHICH YOU'RE GOING TO VOTE FOR AS A WAY OF CUTTING DOWN EXPENSES. YOU HAVE $30,000 FOR JAZZ CONCERT. IS THAT ESSENTIAL? REALLY, YOU KNOW, 30,000 BUYS, 2000 LONG PLAYING ALBUMS OF JAZZ. IF YOU REALLY HAVE TO SUPPLY IT TO THE MARKET, YOU HAVE $6,300 FOR THE BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW MEMBERS. IS THIS A NEW TREND NOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO PAY VOLUNTEERS WHO WORK ON OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS? BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THEIR QUALIFICATIONS ON THE BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW, AND YOU LOOK AT THE QUALIFICATIONS THAT GARRETT GAVE US FOR THE PLANNING BOARD VACANCIES, THEY'RE SIMILAR. SO PEOPLE ON THE PLANNING BOARD SHOULD HAVE BENEFITS OF BEING PAID AS WELL. YOU AND THE TOWN COUNCIL, AS CONCERNED AS YOU ARE ABOUT EXPENSES, NOT ONLY IN ADDITION TO YOUR SALARY AND THE INSURANCE BUYOUTS, BUT YOU'VE OWE YOURSELVES A THOUSAND DOLLARS EXPENSE ACCOUNT. YOU KNOW THAT THAT REALLY DOESN'T LOOK GOOD TO TAXPAYERS. YOU HAVE $38,500 FOR A HISPANIC LIAISON IN THE TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE. SHE HAS PROVIDED ASSISTANCE IN SPANISH, NOT ONLY HER DEPUTY, BUT SHE'S HIRED OTHER PEOPLE WHO SPEAK SPANISH. AS YOU SEE IN THE LIBRARY FUNDS, THEY HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO HAVE VARIOUS TITLES WITHIN THE LIBRARY HIERARCHY WHO ARE SPANISH SPEAKING. IT'S LISTED SPANISH SPEAKING. I'M SURE IN THE RECEIVER OF TAXES, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SPEAK SPANISH. SO ARE WE PAYING $38,500 SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A PUERTO RICAN FLAG RAISING CEREMONY? WHAT DOES IT SERVE? WE'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO CUT EXPENSES. THE FOOD SCRAP PROGRAM. WHERE'S THAT GOING? YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOTS OF THINGS IN THERE, BUT YOU REALLY DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THEM IN YOUR WORK SESSIONS. ARE YOU EVER GONNA MENTION WAYS TO SAVE MONEY IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET SINCE YOU ARE SO CONCERNED ABOUT REPLACING THE BALANCES THAT HAVE BEEN LOST? THAT'S IT. NO OTHER SPEAKERS FOR PRELIMINARY BUDGET. I ALSO, OH, DYLAN PINE, UH, GOOD EVENING. MEMBERS OF THE TOWN BOARD. CAN YOU SPELL YOUR NAME PLEASE? UH, DYLAN. D-Y-L-A-N, PINE, PYNE. UH, AND I'M SPEAKING TONIGHT AS CHAIRPERSON OF THE PLANNING BOARD. UH, I WANNA VOICE MY STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE PROPOSED INCREASE IN CONFERENCES AND SEMINAR BUDGET LINE WITHIN THE ZONING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT FROM PRE FROM 3000 AND FY 25 TO 6,000 IN FY 26. UH, AS YOU KNOW, THE PLANNING BOARD IS IN THE MIDST OF REBUILDING. AFTER A PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANT TURNOVER. WE ARE ONBOARDING NEW MEMBERS, REESTABLISHING CONTINUITY, AND WORKING TO ENSURE THAT THE BOARD REMAINS A STEADY, KNOWLEDGEABLE, AND EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKING BODY FOR THE TOWN. IN MY VIEW, INVESTING IN TRAINING IS ESSENTIAL TO ACHIEVING THAT STABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS. THE WORK OF THE PLANNING BOARD REQUIRES FLUENCY IN LAND USE, LAW, CCRA ENGINEERING, AND STORM WARNING STANDARDS. UH, BEST PRACTICES IN PLANNING AND ZONING, HIGH QUALITY TRAINING, ESPECIALLY THOSE THROUGH THE WESTCHESTER MUNICIPAL PLANNING FEDERATION. AND THE NEW YORK PLANNING FEDERATION PROVIDES THE STRUCTURE AND EXPERTISE NEEDED TO STRENGTHEN A MUNICIPAL LAND USE BOARD. AND BECAUSE THE PLANNING BOARD IS AN ALL VOLUNTEER BOARD, I BELIEVE IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT THAT THE TOWN INVESTS IN ITS VOLUNTEERS, SUPPORTING THEIR DEVELOPMENT, NOT ONLY EQUIPS THEM WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO SERVE EFFECTIVELY, BUT ALSO REINFORCES THE VALUE OF THEIR SERVICE. THE PROPOSED INCREASE WILL ALLOW US TO TAKE FULLER ADVANTAGE OF THESE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, AND IN TURN WILL HELP ENSURE THAT THE, THE LONG-TERM STABILITY, COMPETENCE, [00:20:01] AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PLANNING BOARD FOR THESE REASONS, I RESPECTFULLY URGE YOU TO SUPPORT THIS INCREASE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO SPEAK ON THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET? WELL, THAT WAS THE FIRST ROUND BECAUSE WE WILL BE CLOSING THE HEARING TONIGHT. UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE NO CHOICE, WE HAVE STATE LAW THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH. UH, THERE WILL BE A SECOND ROUND IF ANYONE WANTS TO HAVE ANOTHER FIVE MINUTES IN ORDER THAT THEY SIGNED IN. UM, UH, HOLD, UM, TRANSCRIPTION PLEASE. UM, MR. SIMON, DO YOU WISH TO RE SPEAK ON THE SECOND ROUND? YES. OKAY. YOU'RE BACK UP. WALTER SIMON, I JUST WANT TO, UH, UH, UH, CONGRATULATE THE CURRENT CHAIR OF THE PLANNING BOARD. I THINK THAT'S A EXCELLENT THING THAT IS NEEDED FOR THE PLANNING BOARD TRAINING. AND AS A FORMER PLANNING BOARD CHAIR, I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO KEEP ABREAST OF, UH, OF ALL THE STATE CODES AND TOWN CODES. SO I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU FOLLOW, UH, CHAIRMAN DYLAN, UH, A RECOMMENDATION AND SUPPORT THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR TRAINING. THANK YOU. UM, MS. SPANI, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON THE SECOND ROUND? SO ACTUALLY I'M LEARNING. UM, AND I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE BUDGET PROCESS, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THE TOWN GETS A VOTE OR IF THE MAYORS OF THE VILLAGES GET A VOTE. UM, BUT I THINK THAT YOU NEED TO RECONSIDER THE TAX HIKES. YOU NEED TO TAKE OUT THE MONEY THAT YOU'VE BUDGETED FOR, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT AREN'T NEEDED. UM, I'M HOPING THERE'S ANOTHER WORK SESSION WHERE THE PUBLIC CAN GIVE INPUT, UM, BECAUSE AGAIN, THIS IS UNAFFORDABLE. I I HAVE ELDERLY PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN MY TOWN THAT THEY JUST CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE. AND FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME WHOSE KIDS ARE OUT OF THE SCHOOLS, I, I CAN'T WAIT TO LEAVE. I MEAN, I LIKE IT HERE, BUT IT'S JUST NOT WORTH IT. AND YOU GUYS KEEP GIVING YOURSELVES RAISES. AND ALSO, ONE THING WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THAT I DO WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS SEVERAL OF YOU WORK FOR OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES. SO YOU ARE DOUBLE DIPPING IN A WAY, RIGHT? YOU'RE EITHER WORK, YOU'RE WORKING FOR WESTCHESTER COUNTY, GEORGE LATIMER, PRESUMABLY YOU'RE TAKING MEDICAL INSURANCE FROM ANOTHER TAX PAYING ENTITY. SO, I MEAN, WHAT ARE WE DOING? ARE THERE OTHER, THERE ARE NO OTHER YOUNGER PEOPLE THAT NEED A JOB. . LIKE YOU'RE, YOU'RE TAKING TWO JOBS. YOU'RE GIVING YOURSELF RAISES. YOU'RE TAKING $20,000 IN MEDICAL BUYOUTS. THIS BUDGET NEEDS TO BE RETHOUGHT. YOU'RE NOT THINKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN GREENBURG. YOU'RE NOT MM-HMM . SO I DON'T KNOW HOW IT WORKS, BUT I'M HOPING THERE'S A RECONSIDERATION. I'M HOPING THERE IS MORE INFORMATION ON EVERY LINE ITEMS SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT WHERE UNNECESSARY ACTIVITY CAN BE CUT SO THAT WE CAN KEEP THE TAX BASE STABLE OR LOWER. IT NEEDS TO BE LOWER BECAUSE NEW YORK STATE IS PROBABLY GONNA RAISE TAXES. KEN JENKINS RAISE TAXES, AND OUR ASSESSMENTS ARE PROBABLY GONNA GO UP. SO THANK YOU. I I JUST WOULD WANT TO MENTION ONE THING, JUST SO PEOPLE HAVE THINGS IN THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND OVER THE PA, ONE OF THE REASONS, ARE YOU DONE? OKAY, THEN YOU SHOULD SIT DOWN BECAUSE THEN YOU'RE, I JUST WANT TO, QUESTIONS DONE. I JUST MENTION, UM, DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS, WE HAVE TWO BUDGETS, AN A BUDGET AND A B BUDGET. UM, AND, UM, UH, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY, UM, THE TAX RATE MAY BE GOING UP NOW IS BECAUSE, UH, FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, WE'VE EITHER REDUCED THE TAXES OR THEY'VE BEEN KEPT FLAT. SO IN 2025, UH, THE TAX INCREASE WAS 0.025% UNDER 1% IN 2024. AND THE A BUDGET, WHICH IS VILLAGES AND UNINCORPORATED GREENBURG, UH, 0.53%. SO IT WAS ALMOST THE SAME IN 2023, THE A BUDGET, WHICH IS AGAIN THE VILLAGE AND UNINCORPORATED, UH, MINUS TAX REDUCTION OF 6.698%. [00:25:03] IN 2022, UM, THERE WAS ANOTHER TAX REDUCTION OF 0.474%. AND IN 2021, UM, IN THE A BUDGET, THERE WAS ANOTHER TAX REDUCTION OF MINUS 1.411%. THEN THE B BUDGET, WHICH IS UNINCORPORATED GREENBERG, UM, IN 2025, THERE WAS A MINUS, UH, A TAX REDUCTION, UM, UH, OF 4.3%. UH, IN 2024, UM, THE TAXES INCREASED AT THAT TIME, TWO ONE POINT, UM, NINE 8%. IN 2023, THERE WAS A TAX REDUCTION OF 6.64%. IN 2022, THERE WAS A TAX REDUCTION OF 4.45%. AND IN 2021, THERE WAS A TAX REDUCTION OF 1.16%. SO WHAT THE TOWN DID, AND AGAIN, THERE'S REALLY LIKE NO RIGHT ANSWER OR, OR WRONG ANSWER, BUT, UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE COST OF GOVERNMENT, THE COST OF GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO PAY FOR SALARIES. WE HAVE TO PAY FOR EVERY ASPECT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, OF GOVERNMENT. SO WE HAD GOTTEN A LOT OF REVENUE FROM BUILDING PERMIT FEES FROM REGENERON. UM, SO WE WERE USE, YOU KNOW, DURING COVID THERE WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT OF WORK. THERE WAS A LOT OF STRESSES, THERE WERE A LOT OF DIFFICULTIES THAT PEOPLE HAD. SO WE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE TOWN BOARD, BECAUSE WE ALL VOTED ON THE BUDGET, WE THOUGHT THAT WE WOULD KEEP THE TAXES AS LOW AS, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, AS POSSIBLE. YOU KNOW, DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME, WE ARE NOT GONNA HAVE, UM, THE REGENERON, UM, REVENUES, THE ONE SHOT, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITIES, REVENUES, YOU KNOW, CONSISTENTLY IN THE FUTURE THAT'S GONNA DRY UP. SO NOW WE HAVE TO BUILD UP THE FUND BALANCE THAT WE'VE, UH, REDUCED TO BASICALLY ENABLE US TO, UH, TO PAY FOR COSTS. NOW, I AGREE THAT WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IN THE NEXT, UM, YEAR AND IN THE FUTURE IS LOOK FOR WAYS OF, UM, OF FINDING ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, CUTS AND MAKING GOVERNMENT MORE EFFICIENT. AND YOU, I I'D LIKE TO FORM A CITIZENS ADVISORY BUDGET COMMITTEE AND INCLUDE PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE INTERESTED IN, UM, COMING UP WITH, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS. UH, WE DID THIS IN THE PAST AND WE'VE, WE HAD AN INSURANCE COMMITTEE, WE HAD AWARDED DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEE. UM, WE'VE HAD BUDGET COMMITTEES IN THE PAST, AND I THOUGHT THEY WERE, THEY CAME UP WITH REALLY GOOD IDEAS. SO I DEFINITELY WOULD WELCOME YOUR INPUT AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO AGREE, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO AGREE AND DISAGREE. UM, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SECOND THING THAT I SORT OF FEEL IS THAT IN MY OPINION, UH, WE HAVE TO LIKE REALLY MONITOR OUTSIDE CONTRACTS, CONTRACTORS, CONSULTANTS, UM, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE, UH, LEGAL FEES JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT OVERPAYING AND DOING, YOU KNOW, NOT CRITICIZING THE PEOPLE WHO ARE OVERSEEING IT, BUT HAVING MORE EYES, YOU KNOW, COULD, YOU KNOW, COULD BE HELPFUL TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T HAVE COST OVERRUNS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE OUTSIDE COSTS ARE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE BEING REALLY, YOU KNOW, REALLY FRUGAL. I LIKE YOUR IDEA, YOU KNOW, YOUR SUGGESTION IN TERMS OF THE HEALTHCARE BIAS IS A, IS REALLY AN EXCELLENT I, YOU KNOW, IDEA. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, THERE'S REALLY A LOT THAT COULD BE DONE JUST BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A BUDGET DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE HAVE TO SPEND EVERYTHING WHEN THERE'S, UH, UH, POSITIONS THAT ARE VACANT. WE SHOULD BE REALLY CAREFUL, UM, WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE GONNA, UH, FILL THE POSITIONS IMMEDIATELY. WE COULD LEAVE, UH, SPOTS OPEN. YOU KNOW, I KNOW FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THE FOOD SCRAPS, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSIONER, UH, RICH FUND, YOU MENTIONED THAT IF WE DON'T DO IT, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO NOT FILL FIVE POSITIONS. UM, SO THAT COULD BE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN, YOU KNOW, IN SAVINGS. SO I FEEL AS THERE'S VACANCIES WITHOUT LAYING OFF PEOPLE, WE JUST DON'T HAVE TO REPLACE THEM. AND WE COULD DO THAT ACROSS THE BOARD. SO I SENT A, A MEMO TO ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS TODAY. I SAID BEFORE, BECAUSE UNDER THE TOWN LAW, THE TOWN SUPERVISOR DOES NOT HAVE THE POWER TO HIRE FIRE OR VETO. SO THERE'S NO, IT'S DIFFERENT THAN SAY A MAYOR. BUT I SAID THAT WHAT I WANNA MAKE SURE IS THAT NO HIRING TAKES PLACE UNTIL THE TOWN BOARD, YOU KNOW, APPROVES THE EACH, YOU KNOW, EACH HIRING. AND I ALSO FEEL THAT INSTEAD OF JUST MAKING A RECOMMENDATION AT [00:30:01] A BOARD MEETING AND IMMEDIATELY ACTING ON IT, UH, WE SHOULD HAVE LIKE A COUPLE A WEEK OR SO. I'M SORRY, I'M GONNA INTERRUPT YOU. I'M SUPERVISOR. NO, I HAVE A RIGHT TO TALK. YOU DO. BUT WE NEED TO ESTABLISH RULES FOR, FOR THIS HEARING, AND IF THERE'S GONNA BE A RESPONSE, I THINK WE SHOULD LIMIT OURSELVES TO A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME AND DECIDE WHEN THAT'S GOING TO BE. OTHERWISE, THIS IS A FREE FOR ALL. WELL, IT'S NOT A FOR ALL BECAUSE HAVE A RIGHT. WE'RE ALL VOTING ON IT, AND I HAVE A RIGHT. I THINK WE TO EXPRESS TO THE PUBLIC MM-HMM . WHAT WE'RE DOING. SO YOU'RE JUST GONNA, SHE'S VERY UPSET BECAUSE SHE FEELS HER TAXES ARE HIGH. OKAY. AND I HAVE A RIGHT TO EXPLAIN IT. AND BY BEING TRANSPARENT AND OPEN, THEN AT LEAST I'M ASKING YOU, I'M ASKING YOU TO ESTABLISH A POLICY FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING TONIGHT. SO, AS A PARLIAMENTARIAN, CAN YOU, UH, PERHAPS GUIDE US IN HOW WE SHOULD DO THIS? IT'S UP TO THE BOARD IF YOU'D LIKE TO WAIT. I MEAN, THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING, SO I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD LISTEN TO THE PUBLIC AND, AND ALLOW THEM TO FINISH, RIGHT? UM, BUT IT'S UP TO BOARD HOW YOU WANT TO PROCEED. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY SUPERVISOR, ON BEHALF OF ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS, WE ALREADY ENACT ALL THOSE MEASURES AND WE ALREADY DON'T FILL VACANT POSITIONS IMMEDIATELY. WE ALREADY LOOK AT ALL THE BILLS THAT ARE COMING IN THAT ARE HYPER CRITICAL OF THOSE BILLS AND DO OUR BEST TO KEEP COSTS DOWN. BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO SO. OKAY? SO ARE WE EACH GONNA HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND IF WE WANT, OR I WOULD LIKE TO SET A TIME LIMIT. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A PROCEED ACCORDING TO ROBERT RULES. WHAT? WE'RE STILL ON RECORD COURT. WE'RE STILL A SECOND ROUND OF LISTENING TO THE PUBLIC. OKAY. SO WHY DON'T WE WAIT TO, CAN WE HOLD COMMENTS UNTIL AFTER THE SECOND ROUND? ACCORDING TO ROBERT'S RULES, EXCUSE ME, FROM THE, SHOULD HAVE, DID YOU HAVE A TO HOLD IT AFTER WE HAD BOTH ROUNDS AFTER THE FIRST ROUND. OKAY, BUT WAIT, OKAY. YOU ALREADY HAD, YOU ALREADY HAD YOUR TIME. ACCORDING TO ROBERT'S RULES, ACCORDING TO OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, WE DON'T HAVE SOMETHING IN PLACE. THE BOARD MEMBERS DO HAVE THE RIGHT TO RESPOND AT ANY POINT. BUT AGAIN, I DO FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT TO LISTEN TO THE PUBLIC AND ALLOW THEM TO SPEAK. BUT THAT'S NOT A, ALRIGHT, BUT THAT'S NOT A PROCEDURE. DO WE'RE CALL THE TALKING THEN THE PUBLIC ISN'T SPEAKING. SO I THINK THAT IS, THAT IS AN IMPORTANT POINT. SO WHAT ARE WE DOING? NO, NO ONE'S ANSWERING. SO PLEASE ANSWER. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS RIGHT NOW? WHY CAN'T WE JUST HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC? THAT'S WHAT I SAID. OKAY, THEN THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. SO WE'RE NOT GONNA SPEAK UNTIL THE PUBLIC HAS SPOKEN. OKAY? SURE. UM, HOW DO YOU WISH TO, UH, SPEAK? OKAY? I FIND IT VERY UNFAIR THAT YOU HAVE ONE ROUND OF SPEAK, PUBLIC SPEAKING, YOU DON'T RESPOND. SO WHEN WE GET OUR SECOND ROUND, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE MIGHT WANNA RESPOND TO. YOU SHUT US OUT EFFECTIVELY. THIS IS YOUR OWN POLICY THAT YOU'RE CREATING ON THE SPOT. YES, FRANCIS. THE REASON YOU HAVE TO VOTE ON THE TONIGHT OR CLOSE THE HEARING TONIGHT IS THAT YOU RECEIVE THIS BUDGET OCTOBER 30TH. YOU, YOU COLLECTIVELY AS A BOARD HAVE DILLY DOLLIED ALL ALONG THE WAY. WE SHOULD BE HAVING THESE HEARINGS EARLIER, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE IN SUCH A RUSH. UM, I DON'T UNDERSTAND MR. FINER WHY WE CAN'T START SAVING IN 2026. WHY? WE JUST HAVE TO ASSUME THAT ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE IN THE BUDGET NOW, WHICH YOU MIGHT ELIMINATE IN 2027, IF THEY REAPPEARED, WHY WE CAN'T ELIMINATE THEM. NOW YOU HAVE TIME, YOU'RE GONNA CLOSE THE HEARING, BUT YOU HAVEN'T VOTED YET ON THE BUDGET. I HAVE A PROBLEM I WOULD HOPE TO BE EXPLAINED FOR ONCE BY THE COMPTROLLER. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. WHEN YOU'VE MENTIONED AUTHORIZING AN AMOUNT AND YOU TALK ABOUT IT CAN BE FUNDED IN SEVERAL INCREMENTS. I INTERPRETED IT TO THINK THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT OPENING A LINE OF CREDIT INSTEAD OF GOING TO BOND. BUT IF YOU'RE GONNA DO IT YOUR WAY, THEN WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING IS WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO GO TO BOND AT LEAST TWICE DURING THE YEAR. IN 2025, YOU ADOPTED A CAPITAL BUDGET IN DECEMBER OF 2024, WHICH YOU FIRST FUNDED IN OCTOBER OF 2025. HOW ARE YOU GONNA SQUEEZE TWO ROUNDS IN AS WELL AS THE ADDITIONAL EXPENSE OF GOING TO BOND BOTH TIMES. AND IN FACT, THE BOND RATING MAY SUFFER ON THE SECOND ROUND AS WELL AS THE EXPENSES. WE ARE TOLD THAT YOU DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE INVITE INTO THE GAME STANDARD AND POOR THIS YEAR BECAUSE YOU'RE USING MOODY'S. BUT THE COST OF HIRING AN OUTSIDE WAGE GAME SEE IS ONLY AROUND 25, 20 $6,000. SO LOOK HOW MUCH MORE YOU'RE GONNA BE SPENDING IN 2026 DOING IT YOUR WAY. I DON'T UNDERSTAND IF YOU'RE GONNA AUTHORIZE A BOND BUDGET, AUTHORIZE IT AND FUND IT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. I DON'T UNDERSTAND [00:35:01] WHAT WAS MENTIONED SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE WORK SESSIONS. IF WE DON'T SPEND IT, WE HAVE TO TURN IT BACK, TURN IT IN. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WE GIVE IT BACK TO THE INVESTORS. IT GOES SOMEPLACE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? AND FINALLY, ELLEN, YOU DEFENDED THE LIBRARY BUDGET. IT'S TRUE. THE LIBRARY IS AN INDEPENDENT DISTRICT UNDER THE EDUCATION LAWS OF NEW YORK STATE. YOU CAN'T CHANGE BUDGET LINES, BUT THE TOWN OF GREENBERG'S TAXPAYERS FUND THE LIBRARY BUDGET. AND HERE WE HAVE A LIBRARY BUDGET, WHICH WE'RE VERY PROUD OF IT, APPARENTLY, WHERE THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR IS EARNING IN 2025, 140,000 AND CHANGE AND 2026 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES HAS SET A, OKAY, $164,800. THAT'S A 17% INCREASE. THE ASSISTANT LIBRARY DIRECTOR IN 2025, 114,000 IN 2026, $128,700 SECRETARY TO THE DIRECTOR, 90,000 TO 97,954. AND IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF NIGHTS OPEN AT THE LIBRARY. WE'RE GETTING DIMINISHED HOURS AT THE SAME TIME. SO THE QUESTION THEN REMAINS WHY WE DON'T HAVE TO SAY WE'RE GONNA REDUCE YOUR BUDGET. IF YOU REDUCE, IF YOU LOWER THE SALARY, ALL WE HAVE TO SAY IS WE'RE GONNA REDUCE THE BUDGET THAT WE'RE PAYING BY X DOLLARS. HOWEVER YOU WANT TO COMPUTE THOSE X DOLLARS IS YOUR BUSINESS, BUT THAT'S AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY, WHICH YOU ARE OVERFUNDING BASED UPON WHAT THEY'RE DOING INTERNALLY. IS ANYONE IN THE TOWN GETTING A 17% BUDGETING INCREASE FOR THEIR OWN SALARIES? WHY ARE WE GIVING IT TO THE LIBRARY? UM, DYLAN, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK? I KNOW DYLAN, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON SECOND ROUND? OKAY. UM, MS. TANYA DRAG. UM, TANYA. TANYA DRAGIC. D-R-A-G-I-C. UM, SO I CAME TONIGHT WITH A LITTLE WRITTEN SPEECH, WHICH ACTUALLY, UH, IS MOOT IN SOME WAY, UH, GIVEN, UH, HAL'S, UH, UM, REALLY AMAZING KNOWLEDGE OF OF THE BUDGET. UM, I DO WANNA MAKE THREE POINTS. HOW, HOWEVER, FIRST, UH, MR. FINER, UM, UH, I THOUGHT THAT YOUR, UH, UM, UH, LIST OF, UH, TAX DECREASES WAS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING GIVEN THAT I HAVE NEVER ONCE SEEN MY TAX BILL DECREASE IN THE 15 YEARS THAT I HAVE BEEN IN GREENBURG. AND SO I THINK THAT THIS IS PARTLY PROBABLY DUE TO A VERY SICK GAME THAT THE TOWN PLAYS WITH ASSESSMENTS, RIGHT? WHERE BASICALLY OUR HOMES ARE SORT OF ASSESSED AT WISHFUL VALUES, WISHFUL THINKING VALUES, RATHER THAN REAL MARKET VALUES. SO THAT'S THE FIRST POINT I WANTED TO MAKE. UH, THE SECOND POINT I WANTED TO MAKE WAS, UH, ONE ABOUT THE AFFORDABILITY OF LIFE. UM, IN GREENBERG, UM, RECENTLY I SAW A VERY INTERESTING REPORT THAT STATED THAT A HOUSEHOLD, UH, IN WESTCHESTER NEEDS ABOUT $280,000 A YEAR TO LIVE WHAT WE CONSIDER TO BE A MIDDLE CLASS LIFE THESE DAYS. SO I JUST WANNA REMIND THIS BOARD THAT THE MEDIA, MEDIA HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN HARSDALE IS 150,000 AND IT'S 86,000 IN FAIRVIEW. AND THAT BY SOME ACCOUNTS, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS ACTUALLY TRUE, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN FAIRVIEW IS CURRENTLY AROUND 10%. SO YOU SHOULD REALLY THINK ABOUT THAT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT RAISING TAXES. AND THE LAST POINT I WANT TO MAKE IS THAT I REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS BOARD CAN SIT HERE AND GET PAID AND GET HEALTHCARE. IF ANYTHING ELSE, IF YOU ACTUALLY DID THIS AS A SERVICE TO YOUR COMMUNITY, MAYBE WE WOULD HAVE SOME TURNOVER. THANK YOU. THAT COMPLETE SECOND ROUND MAKE A MOTION. OKAY. NEXT, UH, YOU HAVE TO MAKE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE HEARING AND LEAVE THE RECORD OPEN UNTIL TILL SEVEN DAYS. UH, NO, LET'S KEEP IT FOR SEVEN DAYS IS TOO LATE. KEEP IT UNTIL THE, UH, MONDAY 15TH MONDAY CLOSE OF BUSINESS. UH, AND MONDAY THE, UH, 15TH. OKAY, I MAKE THE MOTION SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. OKAY, SECOND [00:40:01] HEARING [ To consider the Town Supervisor's 2026 recommended Capital Budget and 2027 and 2028 Capital Plan (<-- Click link for document) [Note: Slip sheets will be the subject of discussion at a Special December 8, 2025, 5:15 PM, Town Board Work Session]] IS, UM, TO CONSIDER, UH, TOWN, WAIT, UH, TO CONSIDER LO TO CONSIDER THE WAIT TO CONSIDER CAPITAL BUDGET. CONSIDER THE, UH, TOWN SUPERVISOR'S 2026 RECOMMENDED A CAPITAL BUDGET AND 2027 2028 CAPITAL PLAN. UM, I'D LIKE TO, UH, MOVE THAT WE OPEN THE HEARING. SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. THE CHANGE, UM, COMPTROLLER GUT WINE, THE CHANGES ON THE CAPITAL, WE ARE ADDING BACK IN, UH, THE 11.2 MILLION FROM THE ORIGINAL REQUEST. UH, WHICH, AND THEN WE WERE MOVING 600,000 IN THE FOOD SCRAP. CAUSE FOR A TOTAL ADDITION OF 10.6 MILLION. YOU, YOU INDICATED THAT'S THE ONLY CHANGE YOU INDICATED THAT WE'RE REMOVING THE FOOD SCRAP, RIGHT? YES. OKAY. SO THEN, UH, UH, IN THE OPERATING BUDGET, SINCE WE'RE, IF WE'RE GONNA BE ELIMINATING IT, UM, WE WILL, UM, THE FIVE POSITIONS, UH, BE ELIMINATED FROM, FROM THE BUDGET BECAUSE, UH, RICH ORIGINALLY SAID THAT IF WE, UM, ELIMINATE THE FOOD SCRAP, UM, POSITIONS, WE COULD ELIMINATE, IF WE ELIMINATE THE FOOD SCRAP, WE COULD ELIMINATE FIVE POSITIONS IN THE BUDGET. SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD THINK THAT IF WE'RE GONNA DO THAT, THEN WE SHOULD BASICALLY REDUCE THE OPERATING COSTS OF THE BUDGET BY THOSE FIVE POSITIONS. BECAUSE THERE'S VACANT POSITIONS THAT I, THAT I ARE NOT GONNA BE NEEDED. WE JUST SHOULDN'T LEAVE IT IN THE BUDGET IF WE'RE NOT GONNA BE SENDING IT. I THINK THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PART OF THE SLIP SHEETS THAT WERE ALREADY PRESENTED. NO, I OPERATING BUDGET. I THINK I EMAILED YOU IN THE MORNING. AND YOU KNOW, I, I SORT OF THINK THAT AGAIN, IF THE BOARD MADE YOU EMAILED IN THE MORNING, I, I I I EARLY IN THE MORNING, I THINK I, I SUGGESTED THAT, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, WE BASICALLY MAKE SURE THAT THAT PO THOSE POSITIONS ARE NOT FUNDED IN THE BUDGET BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, PEOPLE BEING OVERTAXED. THAT'S WHAT SOME OF THE PEOPLE HERE HAVE SAID. SO, YOU KNOW, THE EASIEST THING TO DO IS TO, IF THERE'S A POSITION THAT'S FUNDED IN THE BUDGET, AND WE DON'T HAVE TO KEEP IT FUNDED BECAUSE WE DON'T NEED THE JOBS ELIMINATED FROM, YOU KNOW, FROM THE BUDGET AND LET'S SHOW THE VOTERS AND THE RESIDENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING A, AN EFFORT, I, HE WAS MOVING POSITION TO CUT OUR SPENDING. OKAY. CAN YOU EXPLAIN, I THOUGHT HE SAID HE WAS MOVING THE POSITIONS? NO, HE, HE, YES. TO SANITATION? NO, HE SAID NO. THE COMMISSIONER HAD SAID, BECAUSE HE SAID, WELL, HE CAN'T REMOVE THEM. YOU NEED THE UNION'S APPROVAL. NO, HE, HE HAD SPECIFICALLY SAID THAT, UM, UH, IF WE, UM, KEPT THE FOOD SCRAP PROGRAM GOING, YOU KNOW, WHERE WOULD WE HAVE CURB CURBSIDE PICKUP? HE WOULD, UH, DIVERT FIVE POSITIONS. HE WOULD U HAVE TO HIRE FIVE, YOU KNOW, FIVE PEOPLE TO FILL THOSE SPOTS. IF WE DON'T DO THAT, WE DON'T NEED THOSE FIVE POSITIONS. SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS OF SAVING MONEY AND THE BEST WAY OF SAVING MONEY IS, UH, NOT TO FIRE PEOPLE, PEOPLE, BUT TO NOT FILL POSITIONS THAT ARE VACANT. SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A BUDGET. UH, IF WE ELIMINATE THOSE FIVE POSITIONS, THAT'S A WAY OF SHOWING THE PUBLIC WE NEED TO SPEAK TO THE UNION ABOUT THAT. SPEAK TO THE UNION. UNION SHOULD BASICALLY THE TOWN BOARD RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ASKING THE PUBLIC FOR, I HAVE A RIGHT TO SPEAK. I JUST, THIS IS NOT A CENSORSHIP, THIS IS NOT NOT CENSORSHIP. IT IS A CENSORSHIP WHO HAS A RIGHT TO SPEAK, BUT EVERYBODY, I HAVE NEVER STOPPED PEOPLE FROM SPEAKING AND ALL, ALL I'M ASKING IS FOR THAT, THOSE FIVE TO BE TAKEN, DO A BUDGET AMENDMENT AFTER IF WE NEED TO REMOVE THE POSITIONS. BUT I'D LIKE SOME CLARITY FROM COMMISSIONER FA, IT'S COMMISSIONER FA AVAILABLE TO, UM, CALL IN. THEY WERE GOING, I'M ON COMMUNICATION WITH COMMISSIONER FAWN RIGHT NOW. UM, THEY WERE GOING TO MOVE THOSE POSITIONS AND SO RIGHT NOW THEY DO NOT NEED THOSE POSITIONS. SO I'M, UM, I'LL JUST GIVE MORE CLARITY AS I'M SPEAKING TO HIM FOR THE FUNDING PIECE. BUT WE STILL NEED TO TALK TO THE UNION, SO WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL. THAT'S CORRECT. AS WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT THESE POSITIONS AND NOT HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE UNIONS. RIGHT, EXACTLY. WHICH IS THE POINT I WAS TRYING TO MAKE WHEN YOU SHUT ME DOWN, PAUL. I I LEMME JUST ASK A QUESTION BECAUSE I'M REALLY CONFUSED. WE'RE HAVING A BUDGET HEARING ON, UM, ON WHETHER OR NOT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WE, THE BUDGET IS, YOU KNOW, APPROPRIATE RIGHT NOW. UM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS OF SAVING, YOU KNOW, MONEY. WE HAVE FIVE POSITIONS IN THE BUDGET THAT EVERYBODY AGREES IS NOT NEEDED. SO IF IT'S NOT NEEDED AND INSTEAD OF RAISING TAXES BY THE AMOUNT THAT WE SAY WE'RE GONNA RAISE IT, IF WE BASICALLY ELIMINATE THOSE POSITIONS, WE WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE RESIDENTS WITH A REDUCED TAX INCREASE, WHICH I THINK EVERYBODY HERE BASICALLY WOULD, YOU KNOW, WOULD SUPPORT. [00:45:01] IF WE DON'T START REDUCING POSITIONS THAT ARE NOT NECESSARY, WE ARE GONNA KEEP OVERTAXING PEOPLE UNNECESSARILY. NO, NOBODY'S SAYING WE WOULDN'T. YOU KNOW WHAT, AND AND TO ME, YOU KNOW, MY GOAL, AND I THINK EVERYBODY'S GOAL OVER HERE IS TO HAVE GOOD SERVICES, UH, TO BASICALLY, UH, BE RESPONSIVE TO THE COMMUNITY AND NOT OVERTAX PEOPLE. AND TO RECOGNIZE THAT PEOPLE ARE, A LOT OF PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD THE TAXES. SO I WANNA BE ABLE TO LOOK AT, LIKE, YOU SPOKE AND YOU SAID YOU ARE OVERTAXED. IT'S BASICALLY VERY DIFFICULT TO LIVE HERE. I WANNA BE ABLE TO LOOK YOU IN THE EYE AND SAY EVERY PENNY OF THE TAXES THAT WE'RE BUDGETING IS BEING WELL SPENT. AND WHY, WHY DON'T WE LET THE COMP CONTROLLER RESPOND? I'M JUST MY OWN FEELING FEELINGS ARE NOT ACTUALLY RELEVANT. WHAT IS FACTS? WE DIDN'T SAY THAT. SO LET, LET, I'M NOT SAYING WE REMOVE THEM, THERE'S JUST FORMALITIES AND WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE ABIDE BY THE UNION CONTRACT. THEY'RE JUST NOT GONNA LET US DROP POSITIONS. SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO HAVE A FURTHER DISCUSSION. RIGHT? BUT PEOPLE DROP, GOVERNMENTS DROP POSITIONS ALL THE TIME. YOU KNOW, THERE'S LAYOFFS IN THE STATE, NOT UNION POSITIONS. THERE'S, THERE'S ELIMINATIONS IN THE BUDGET IN THE STATE AND THE COUNTY, UH, POSITIONS ARE NOT ALWAYS FULL. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE CAN'T ELIMINATE FIVE POSITIONS THAT ARE NOT NEEDED. WE WOULD BE IN VIOLATION OF UNION CONTRACTS IF WE WERE TO DO THAT AT THIS TIME. THAT'S RIGHT. AT THIS TIME, THIS TIME. OKAY. THERE'S A PROCESS TO DO THAT. AND IF YOU SEND SOMETHING TO THE CONTROLLER THIS MORNING AND NOW YOU'RE DECIDING, OKAY, IT SOUNDS GOOD, SOUNDS TO THE PUBLIC, RIGHT? LET'S GET RID OF FIVE POSITIONS. BUT IF WE CAN'T ACTUALLY DO THAT, THAT'S NOT REALLY VERY HELPFUL. SO LET'S FIND OUT WHAT WE CAN DO AND IF WE CAN, WE CAN. AND IF WE HAVE HAVE TO DO IT BY ATTRITION OR WE HAVE TO DO IT SOME OTHER WAY, WE'LL DO THAT. BUT I I I'M NOT PREPARED TONIGHT TO SAY CUT FIVE POSITIONS IF WE CAN'T CUT THEM. HE SAID THEY'RE VACANT POSITIONS, NOT FULL POSITIONS. THE VACANT JOBS, WE, NOBODY HAS POSITIONS. WE STILL CAN'T ELIMINATE THEM WITHOUT THE UNION, BUT THEY'RE NOT FULL. NOBODY, YOU'RE, YOU'RE FORGETTING THE UNION. WHY ARE YOU NOT HEARING THAT? WHY ARE YOU, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE TALKING BUT YOU'RE NOT LISTENING BECAUSE OVER THE YEARS NOT LISTENING, OVER THE YEARS SINCE I'VE BEEN SUPERVISOR, WE'VE REDUCED THE WORKFORCE AND WE'VE TAKEN POSITIONS OUT OF THE BUDGET IN THE PAST. SO WE COULD DO IT AGAIN. SOME OF THEM MAY, MAYBE, BUT ARE THEY, WERE THEY UNION POSITIONS? WERE THEY UNION POSITIONS? YEAH, THEY WERE UNION POSITION. I'M POSITIVE POSITIONS POSITION. THEY, THEY WERE, THEY WERE, THEY WERE UNION, THEY WERE EMPLOYEES, EMPLOYEE POSITIONS THAT HAVE WERE ELIMINATED FROM THE BUDGET. SO WE DO THAT. WE REDUCED A LOT OF, SO WE'RE NOT DEALING WITH FACTS. I'M PRETTY SURE THE PURPOSE OF TONIGHT IS TO HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC. WE WILL THEN TAKE THE COMMENTS, INCLUDING YOURS, AND WE HAVE UNTIL THE 17TH WHEN WE HAVE OUR MEETING, WHEN WE'RE GONNA VOTE ON THE BUDGET TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER OR NOT IT'S POSSIBLE OR NOT. RATHER THAN BE HERE AND TALK ABOUT HYPOTHETICALS. LET'S SEE IF WE COULD DO IT. OKAY. READY? ANYBODY ELSE? WHOLE TRANSCRIPTION. UM, MS. TRAGIC, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON THIS BUDGET? NO. OKAY. UM, UH, BUDGET. OH, UM, HONORABLE KEN JONES. OH, GOOD EVENING TOWN BOARD. MY NAME IS KEN JONES. J-O-N-E-S. UH, I'M HERE THIS EVENING TO SPEAK ABOUT THE 2026 RECOMMENDED CAPITAL BUDGET IN REFERENCE TO, UH, ODELL HOUSE CEBO HEADQUARTERS. AS A MEMBER OF THE FRIENDS OF ODELL HOUSE, ROCE BO HEADQUARTERS, UH, IN THE SIX YEARS SINCE, UH, THE FRIEND'S INCEPTION, UM, WHEN WE VOTED TO BE PARTNERS, WHEN WE, MEANING I AS A MEMBER OF THE TOWN BOARD, VOTED TO BE PARTNERS, UH, WITH ODELL HOUSE. UH, WE UNDERSTOOD THAT IT WAS GONNA BE A LENGTHY PROCESS AND THAT IT WOULD BE, UH, AN EXPENSIVE PROCESS. AND TO DATE, UH, IT HAS BEEN A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROCESS SINCE WE, UH, BEGAN. UH, THE FRIENDS HAVE RAISED ALMOST HALF A MILLION DOLLARS. UH, IT'S BEEN SPENT ON IMPORTANT PROJECTS LIKE THE ARCHEOLOGICAL STUDY, THE LANDSCAPE PLAN, AS WELL AS THE DESIGN SCHEME FOR THE MUSEUM. UM, WE HAVE A VERY GOOD RESERVE TO BUILD THE EXHIBITS, AND THEN THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE, UH, THE PRO BONO HOURS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPENDED. UH, FOR INSTANCE, UH, THE HUNDREDS OF HOURS THAT BOB HERMAN SPENT TO GET ALL THE ARTIFACTS AWAY FROM BOB STACKPOLE, UH, ALL OF SUSAN SEAL'S ADVOCACY, THE HOURS CANNOT BE COUNTED. [00:50:01] UH, SHE'S CURRENTLY IN TALKS WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WHO WANT, UH, TO ESTABLISH A TRAIL, UH, THROUGH, UH, THE PROPERTY. UM, WE ARE ALSO WORKING, UH, UH, TO, WELL, WE'VE ALSO WORKED, UH, TO GET THE COUNTY, UH, TO PUT $2 MILLION, UH, IN THE BUDGET, UH, FOR PARKING. SO, UH, WE'VE BEEN VERY GOOD PARTNERS AND WE APPRECIATE THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TOWN. UM, AND I JUST WANNA SAY THAT, UH, WE ARE THANKFUL FOR THE TOWN'S CONTINUED SUPPORT, UM, AND, UM, WE HOPE THAT, UH, THE TOWN CONTINUES TO BE GOOD PARTNERS THROUGH 2026, UH, AND WILL ALLOW US TO CONTINUE THE BUILDING RESTORATION, UM, AND ALLOW FOR THE GRAND OPENING IN 2026. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. AND THERE WILL BE A SECOND ROUND ON THIS BUDGET AS WELL. I HAVEN'T EVEN, I KNOW, I'M JUST SAYING THAT IF YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES OF COMMENT, DON'T TRY TO DRIVE OUR STENOGRAPHER CRAZY BY TRYING TO GET IT ALL IN FIVE MINUTES. MR. SIMON, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON THE CAPITAL BUDGET? OKAY. UM, HOW DO YOU WISH YOU OH, OKAY. UH, AGAIN, JUST TO SUPPORT WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY SAID ABOUT THE ODELL HOUSE AND, UH, AND, UH, SUPPORT THAT THE, THAT THE GROUP HAS RECEIVED FROM THE TOWN. AND I HOPE YOU'LL FOLLOW, UH, A MR. JONES SUGGESTION THAT THAT RELATIONSHIP CONTINUE AND FUNDING AND PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE TOWN AND THE FRIENDS OF ODELL HOUSE CONTINUES. MS. ELLO, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON THIS BUDGET? I DO NOT. NO MORE SPEAKERS, NO HOUSE AM SORRY. LET'S CLARIFY SOMETHING. THIS IS, THE CAPITAL BUDGET WAS ALSO RECEIVED OCTOBER 30TH, BUT THERE IS NO DEADLINE ON THIS CAPITAL BUDGET. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE CLOSED THIS YEAR. SO ANY DECISION YOU MAKE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE RUSHED. AND IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO CUT EXPENSES, CUTTING DEBT SERVICE IS AN EXPENSE. SO GIVEN THAT YOU HAVEN'T YOURSELVES ASKED A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CAPITAL BUDGET, I THINK YOU NEED TO HAVE ANOTHER WORK SESSION AND LOOK AT IT FOR REASONS TO CUT EXPENSES. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO VOTE ON THE CAPITAL BUDGET IN 2025 IN PAST YEARS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LAST YEAR. YOU'VE DONE IT MUCH LATER IN THE COMING YEAR. SO WHY ARE YOU TELLING THE PUBLIC THAT WE HAVE TO RUSH AND CLOSE IT AND VOTE FOR IT AT THE NEXT TOWN BOARD MEETING? UM, LET ME EXPLAIN SOMETHING ABOUT KIMBERLY. SHE AND I DISAGREE ON THE BONDING PORTION, BUT OTHER THAN THAT I HAVE THE UTMOST RESPECT FOR HER. SHE'S THE ONLY CONTROLLER WHO HAS NOT GONE ALONG WITH JUST WHAT IS SAID AND INSTRUCTED HER TO DO. SHE HAS REMAINED FAITHFUL TO THE PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING. SHE'S ALL FOR SEEING THAT WE DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY, AND I THINK WE OUGHT TO RESPECT WHAT SHE SAYS AND PAY ATTENTION TO IT. I AGREE. ANYBODY ELSE? I THINK WE ALL AGREE. WE ALL AGREE. GREEN ? ANYONE FOR A SECOND ROUND? DIFFERENT HAT? SAME HAT. OH, SAME HAT. OKAY. SAME HAT. I JUST, I JUST MEANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GRAND OPENING OF THE ODELL HOUSE ROSHAMBO HEADQUARTERS IN 2026 AS THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION FOR WHICH WE SHOULD ALL BE CELEBRATORY. BECAUSE WITHOUT THAT, WE'D BE A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE. AND YOU MIGHT WANT TO SAY THAT THE ROSHAMBO HOUSE FACTORED VERY SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE REVOLUTIONARY [00:55:01] WAR, WHICH IS WHY ABSOLUTELY. IT'S WHERE, WHERE GENERAL WASHINGTON MET WITH GENERAL ROSHAMBO WHO COMMANDED THE FRENCH TROOPS. THE, THAT ENTERED THE REVOLUTION TO SUPPORT, UH, THE AMERICANS IN THEIR EFFORT, UH, TO WIN THEIR FREEDOM, UH, FROM GREAT BRITAIN. AND I THINK YOU MEANT TO SAY THAT WE CAN'T DELAY GIVING THE MONEY BECAUSE WE CAN'T PUSH BACK THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY. IS THAT THAT'S CORRECT. SOMETHING LIKE THAT. ? THAT'S, THAT'S CORRECT. THANK YOU. . NO FURTHER SPEAKERS. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE CLOSE THE HEARING AND LEAVE THE RECORD OPEN FOR TOTAL UNTIL, UNTIL MONDAY AT FIVE O'CLOCK. CLOSE THE BUSINESS MONDAY AT FIVE SECOND 15TH. THAT WOULD BE THE 15 FIVE. YES. SECOND. SOMEBODY SECOND. AYE, I DO, AYE. ALL FAVOR? AYE. OKAY. AYE. OKAY. [ To consider the Matter of Overriding the Property Tax Levy Cap for Fiscal Year 2026] NOW TO CONSIDER THE MATTER OF OVERRIDING THE PROPERTY TAX LEVY CAP FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE OPEN THE HEARING. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. THIS LOCAL LAW THAT'S BEING PROPOSED, UM, STATES ESSENTIALLY WHAT IT SAYS IN THE TITLE, IT ALLOWS THE TOWN BOARD TO, UH, TO ADOPT THE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR COMMENCING JANUARY 1ST, 2026. UH, THAT REQUIRES A REAL PROPERTY TAX LEVY INCREASE IN NECESSITY AMOUNT, OTHERWISE PRESCRIBED IN GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW SECTION THREE DASH C. UM, AND THAT DESCRIBES A TAX LEVY INCREASE OF 5% GOING IN EXCESS OF THAT. SO A LOCAL LAW IS NECESSARY TO DO SO AND IT REQUIRES A 60% VOTE FROM THE BOARD, MEANING THREE OUTTA THE FIVE MEMBERS. AND I'M NOT SURE IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON, ON THIS ITEM AS WELL. DR. CAROL ALLEN. COULD HE EVENING? MY NAME IS CAROL ALLEN FROM HARTSDALE. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. IN THESE FISCAL TIMES WHEN EVERYBODY IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG IS FACING INCREASED COSTS FOR FOODS, INSURANCE, MEDICATION, TRANSPORTATION, EVERYTHING, IT IS UNCONSCIONABLE THAT YOU WOULD TALK ABOUT EXCEEDING THE TAX CAP LEVY THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE TO PROTECT CITIZENS FROM LARGE INCREASES. AND YOU SHOULD RESPECT THAT AND YOU SHOULD ADJUST THE BUDGET SO THAT YOU CAN STAY WITHIN THE TAX CAP. OUR PROPERTY VALUES, OUR MARKET VALUES ON WHICH WE ARE TAXED CONTINUE TO RISE EVERY YEAR. SO EVEN IF THE TAX RATE HAS NOT CHANGED, THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE PAYING IN TAXES HAS GONE UP. SO PLEASE STOP TRYING TO TELL EVERYBODY THE TAX RATE HAS STAYED THE SAME BECAUSE WHAT WE SEE IS THE INCREASE IN TAXES DUE TO THE INCREASE IN THE MARKET VALUE OF OUR HOMES. SO I ASK YOU, PLEASE GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE BUDGET, SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO SO THAT THE TAX LEVY WILL REMAIN SO THAT THE CAP WILL NOT NEED TO BE EXCEEDED. I WANT TO POINT OUT ALSO THAT OUR SCHOOL TAXES WENT UP SIGNIFICANTLY THIS PAST YEAR BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN MARKET VALUE. SO PLEASE DO YOUR JOB, LOOK OUT FOR THE CITIZENS OF THE TOWN AND STAY WITHIN THE LEVY CAP THAT HAS BEEN PUT IN PLACE. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER SPEAKERS ON THE TAX CAP? MR. SIMON? WHAT CAROL ALLEN JUST SPOKE ABOUT AND WHAT THE PREVIOUS, UH, UH, LADY TALKED ABOUT THE INCREASE IN THE INTERRELATED, THE INTER, THE, YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE TAX CAP AND NOT TALK ABOUT WAYS OF REDUCING THE COST. THEY'RE INTERRELATED AND SO THAT IS ANOTHER REASON WHY THE, WHY THE TOWN BOARD HAVE TO RELOOK AT AT, AT ITS BUDGET RATHER THAN SAYING, LET'S INCREASE THE CAP BECAUSE THEY, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WAYS OF RESPONSIBLY REDUCING THE COST IN THE BUDGET. AND IF IT MEANS THAT I, I UNDERSTAND THAT IT MIGHT BE, UH, UH, UH, UNION CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS, BUT IF THERE'S NONE OR THERE'S A WAY TO GET AROUND IT, YOU'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT LAYING OFF PEOPLE. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NOT FILLING A POSITION [01:00:01] THAT COULD ADD UP TO A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY AND, AND OTHER WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE BUDGET TO REDUCE COSTS, LOOKING AT THE, UH, WE USE FOR THAT OFFSET IN MEDICAL COSTS TO SEE IF THAT COULD BE RE UH, ADDRESS. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL THESE THINGS BEFORE WE JUST GO AND INCREASE THE TAX CAP BECAUSE IT, IT'S ALL INTERRELATED. SO I JUST HOPE THAT, UH, THIS BOARD WOULD TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT AND LOOK AT ALL THESE OTHER WAYS OF, OF, OF, UH, MODERATING COSTS OR REDUCING COSTS AS OPPOSED TO JUST EXCEEDING, UH, THE TAX CAP, THE TAX, UH, CAP. THANK YOU. I THINK I LOST THIS SOMEHOW AMOUNT. ACTUALLY, HOW'S THIS, I REALLY HAVE A QUESTION HERE. YOU'RE CLOSING BOTH HEARINGS. WERE YOU TO TAKE ACTION ON ANYTHING YOU'VE HEARD TONIGHT? IT WOULD SUBSTANTIALLY AFFECT THE BUDGETS AS WE KNOW THEM AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME. WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU WERE INSPIRED BY ANYTHING YOU'VE HEARD TONIGHT TO CHANGE THESE BUDGETS? WOULD YOU NEED TO HOLD ANOTHER PUBLIC HEARING QUESTION FOUR MINUTES AND 25 SECONDS FOR YOU TO ANSWER? WE'D LIKELY HAVE TO REOPEN AND HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING, SO WE WOULD HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO DO SO WHEN YOU NOTICE IT. CORRECT. OKAY. SO YOU HAVE AN OPTION THEN TO, TO ACT ACCORDINGLY. WE CAN'T HAVE A HEARING AFTER THE 15TH, WHICH IS MONDAY. UM, THE HEARING CAN'T OPEN BEFORE THE 15TH. I HAVE TO LOOK, BUT WE'RE ON THE TAX CAP ONE VERSUS THE, THE OTHER PUBLIC HEARINGS. RIGHT? RIGHT. WE'LL CONSIDER IT. ANYBODY ELSE? MS. VAN? UM, THANK YOU FOR EDUCATING US, UM, AND HELPING US UNDERSTAND. I'D LIKE TO REQUEST THAT WE DO HAVE THAT SPECIAL HEARING. I'D ALSO LIKE TO REQUEST, I'M, I'M GONNA BE SPEAKING TO THE MAYOR OF MY TOWN. I, I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS WORKS. I'M HOPING THAT THE MAYORS ARE AWARE OF EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON AND THE TAX HIKE THAT'S BEING PROPOSED. UM, SO BECAUSE THAT ALSO AFFECTS THE VILLAGES, SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN HAVE ANOTHER SPECIAL MEETING. WE CAN ENGAGE THE TOWN MAYORS AND MORE PEOPLE. IT'S A SHAME, UH, THAT NOT THAT MANY PEOPLE I GUESS COME TO THESE MEETINGS OR KNOW ABOUT IT, BUT I THINK THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO BE MORE INVOLVED AND THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THAT. I KIND, I'M STARTING TO FEEL LIKE YOU RUSH IT THROUGH BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT PUBLIC COMMENT BECAUSE YOU ARE DOING THINGS AND YOU'RE ADDING ON COSTS AND YOU'RE REFUSING TO CUT THE BUDGET WHEN YOU'RE HEARING FROM EVERYONE IN THE ROOM THAT WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD THESE BUDGETS. SO I'M ASKING YOU KINDLY TO PLEASE SCHEDULE THAT SPECIAL HEARING. LET'S GET SOME MORE PEOPLE. LET'S HEAR SOME MORE PEOPLE AND LET'S CUT THE FAT OUT OF THE BUDGET. WE DON'T NEED SPECIAL PARTIES, WE DON'T NEED FLAG RAISING CEREMONIES. WE DON'T NEED ANY OF THAT. OKAY. WE NEED TO RESPECT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE TRYING TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES, LIKE PEOPLE ON A FIXED INCOME. THANK YOU. RIGHT? YOU, YOU LIVE IN DOPPS FERRY, RIGHT? I DO. OKAY. BECAUSE I I, I'M, I THOUGHT WE ESTABLISHED THAT THAT'S NOT HOW WE'RE DOING THIS. WE'RE GONNA SPEAK WHEN IT'S DONE. I THINK HE HAS, HE CAN TAKE MY THREE MONTHS. OKAY. I'M NO, NO, HE CAN'T. I'M A CITIZEN ALSO, SO IT'S A, I I JUST, YOU DON'T KNOW THAT I'M GONNA TALK BECAUSE I, I'M A RESIDENT OF DOS FERRY. YOU HAVE A RIGHT, I'M GONNA SPEAK. I I THINK YOU SHOULD SIT, SPEAK I'LL. I THINK EVERYBODY ON THE BOARD SHOULD SPEAK AND EXPRESS THEMSELVES. I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ARE NO, I'M TAKING MY TURN. I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ARE COMING FORWARD AS A RESIDENT OF DOBBS FERRY. ARE YOU AWARE THAT YOU ONLY PAY 1% OF, OF TAXES TO THE TOWN? IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER. WELL, BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY MATTERS QUITE A BIT. IT DOESN'T BECAUSE MY BUDGET GO, MY TAX GOES UP EVERY YEAR AND WHEN I SEE THINGS LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS IN MEDICAL BUYOUT PAY, THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT. I HAVE A CONSCIENCE. I HAVE INTEGRITY. I LOOK AT THE BUDGET. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU TELL ME, OH, IT'S ONLY GONNA GO UP 20 BUCKS, IT'S GONNA GO UP $50. THAT DOESN'T MATTER. MM-HMM . I'VE BEEN HERE FOR 15 YEARS, MY TAXES HAVE GONE UP 60%. THAT'S NOT NOW I UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE SCHOOL BUDGET. EXACTLY. OKAY. BUT IT'S ALSO [01:05:01] BECAUSE OF THE REASSESSMENT. AND YOU GUYS CHOSE TO REASSESS US EVERY SINGLE YEAR. AND IT'S NOT OUR FAULT. THAT'S YOUR PROPERTY TAXES. THAT'S NOT YOUR TOWN TAX. WE'VE BEEN UP FROM THE CITY. OKAY. THERE, OUR TAXES ARE GOING UP. MM-HMM . YOU, YOU WANNA PUT IN THIS A DU PROGRAM, PEOPLE PUT IN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT THAT WILL PROBABLY RAISE THE TAXES OF THEIR HOME. YOU'VE GOTTA DO SOMETHING TO HELP THE TAXPAYER AND STOP PAYING YOURSELF OKAY. A MEDICAL BUYOUT BECAUSE THAT'S NOT HELPFUL. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO SAY, UH, SECOND ONE, ONE THING. UH, WE FINISH THE QUESTION. FOLLOW UP TO WHAT COUNCILWOMAN THAT, UM, PAUL AVER SAID SUPERVISOR, UM, FOR SOMEBODY WHO LIVES IN A VILLAGE, UM, DO, SORRY, WHO HAS A HOUSE THAT'S ASSESSED AT $750,000, WHICH IS PROBABLY LIKE THE AVERAGE OF PEOPLE IN SOME OF THE VILLAGES. IN 2025, THAT PERSON WAS PAYING, UM, TO THE TOWN FOR THE TOWN PORTION OF THE TAXES, $315 AND 12 CENTS. AND 2026, UM, WITH THE INCREASE THE TAXES FOR THAT RESIDENT OF DOPPS FERRY WHOSE HOME IS ASSISTED, UH, $750,000. IT IS GOING FROM $315 AND 12 CENTS TO $346 AND 63 CENTS. UM, SO THE, AGAIN, THE TOWN, EVERYBODY'S CONFU PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN DOPPS FERRY, THEY'RE CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT THE TOWN DOES BECAUSE, UM, ALTHOUGH MAYBE 1% OF THE TAXES GO TO, UH, THE TOWN, WE COLLECT THE TAXES FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE COUNTY. SO THE CHECK WHEN SOMEBODY MAKES A CHECK, UH, PAYABLE TO THE, TO THE TOWN EVERY YEAR, UH, IT'S ALWAYS A LAW. IT SAYS RECEIVER OF TAX AND IS GONNA BE A MUCH BIGGER, UM, CHECK BECAUSE IT'S TOO, IT'S FOR THE COUNTY AND IT'S FOR THE SCHOOL TAX, AND IT'S ALSO FOR THE TOWN PORTION OF THE TAX, WHICH IS VERY, VERY LITTLE. SO, UM, SO EVEN IF WE HAD A TAX REDUCTION, UM, OR TAX INCREASES, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, HERE FOR, AGAIN, THIS YEAR IT'S GONNA BE $315 AND 12 CENTS TO 346, UH, DOLLARS AND 63 CENTS FOR SOMEBODY'S HOUSE IS WORTH AT 750,000, YOU KNOW, DOLLARS NOW, EVEN $5 IS TOO MUCH FOR, FOR SOME PEOPLE. BUT, SO I'M NOT JUSTIFYING IT, BUT I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO REALIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DOLLAR AMOUNT IS, YOU KNOW, MUCH MORE THAN PEOPLE REALLY WOULD, WOULD THINK. BUT AGAIN, I WOULD LOVE TO SIT DOWN WITH YOU AND I, I WOULD THINK WOULD BE REALLY GREAT IF YOU'D BE WILLING TO SERVE ON A BUDGET COMMITTEE BECAUSE SEEM, UH, KNOWLEDGEABLE AND YOU SEEM INTERESTED IN, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE THAT YOU COULD COME UP WITH GREAT IDEAS AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE FORMED THE COMMITTEE, I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO INVOLVE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO COULD PROVIDE US WITH GOOD INPUT, BECAUSE WE ALL WANT THE SAME THING. WE WANT TO HAVE GOOD SERVICES, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UM, NOT OVERTAX PEOPLE. ANY OTHER SPEAKERS, UH, WE HAVE ON THE SECOND ROUND. YES. UM, DR. CAROL ALLEN, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON THE SECOND ROUND? UM, WALTER SIMON, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON THE SECOND ROUND? HOW SAM, WHAT THIS IS LEADING INTO IS SOMETHING I HAVE BROUGHT BEFORE YOU FOR YEARS NOW, WHEN YOU REASSESS ON SALE, YOU DON'T HAVE THESE DIFFICULTIES. WHEN YOU REASSESS YEARLY, WHAT YOU HAVE IS FLUCTUATING VALUES. ONE YEAR GONNA BE UP, ONE YEAR CAN BE DOWN, BUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU HAVE IS A PUBLIC, BASICALLY WHO ARE REAL ESTATE RICH, BUT CASH POOR. IT'S THE SAME SITUATION, WHICH YOU SEE, IF YOU READ THE NEWSPAPERS ABOUT THE STOCK MARKET, PRICES GO UP AND PRICES GO DOWN HERE. THERE'S A RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY TAXES BASED UPON THE ASSESSMENT. IN ANY ONE YEAR. NEW YORK CITY REASSESS ON SALE ONLY IF YOU DON'T SELL YOUR PROPERTY, YOUR TAXES DON'T, YOUR ASSESSMENT DOESN'T GO UP. THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR MAY SELL FOR THREE TIMES WHAT YOUR ASSESSMENT IS. BUT IF YOU'RE STILL IN THAT HOUSE, BUT BUILDING WHATEVER YOU'RE GONNA HAVE, YOUR ASSESSMENT REMAINS THE SAME. WHY ASSESSORS DON'T LIKE THIS IS BECAUSE THE WHOLE ASSESSOR'S DEPARTMENT NO LONGER HAS TO LOOK AT A NEW TOILET, A MARBLE COUNTER IN THE KITCHEN, [01:10:01] ANOTHER BATHROOM, WHATEVER, SOME INTERN WITH A CALCULATOR CONFIGURE A PERCENTAGE OF THE SALES PRICE AND COMPUTE THE ASSESSMENT. NOW, TO DO THIS, YOU HAVE TO SEEK A HOME RULE EXCEPTION, BUT YOU NEVER WANT TO PURSUE THIS. IF YOU DID, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE MOST OF THE GRIEF THAT YOU CAUSE BY THE ASSESSMENTS IN ANY ONE YEAR. IF YOUR HOUSE, HOME, WHATEVER RISES 200% IN ONE YEAR, DOES THAT MEAN YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY THE TAXES FOR THAT PRICE? CAN I JUST ASK, UH, JOE A QUESTION? THE TOWN ATTORNEY, BECAUSE I REMEMBER THAT'S NOT LEGAL. UH, I REMEMBER A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO BEFORE WE DID THE REASSESSMENT, UM, I HAD SUGGESTED, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO JUST ASSESS ON SALES. AND I WAS, UM, UM, I WAS TOLD IT'S ILLEGAL IN NEW YORK STATE. IT IS ILLEGAL BECAUSE I, I DID, I DEFINITELY, YES SIR, NO EXCEPTION. I, I I I, I SPOKE TO STATE LEGISLATORS, WE SPOKE TO THE STATE BOARD OF, UH, REAL, YOU KNOW, REAL ESTATE. I'M, I'M A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE, BECAUSE WE WERE LIKE, AT THAT POINT STRUGGLING WHETHER OR NOT TO DO THE REASSESSMENT. SO THAT WAS LIKE THE, I THOUGHT THAT WAS LIKE THE EASIEST WAY OF DOING REASSESSMENT. YEAH, WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT. UM, BUT I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT IN 2016 WHEN THE REASSESSMENT WAS DONE, YOU HAD NOT HAD A REASSESSMENT FOR 60 PLUS YEARS. AND THE POINT OF REASSESSMENTS SUPPOSED TO BE FAIR AND EQUITABLE. THEY WERE SO UNFAIR AND SO UNEQUITABLE AT THE TIME, SINCE 2016, I, I GET THE FRUSTRATIONS. I DON'T LIVE IN GREENBURG, BUT TAXES ARE RISING EVERYWHERE. UM, WE ARE BOUND TO STAY WITH THAT 100% EQUALIZATION RATE BY STATE STANDARDS, AND WE'RE, WE'RE DOING WHAT IS NECESSARY TO STAY WITHIN THAT 100% VALUATION. SO I KNOW A COMMENT WAS MADE EARLIER THAT WE'RE, UM, RAISING THEM EXCESSIVELY AND SEEING WHAT WE CAN GET AWAY WITH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. THAT'S NOT THE CASE. THE STATE LOOKS OVER WHAT WE'RE DOING ON A YEARLY BASIS, AND THEY ARE FAIR AND EQUITABLE. AND IF YOU DISAGREE, THE ASSESSOR WON'T BE HAPPY. PLEASE MEET WITH HER, HAVE DISCUSSIONS, BRING COMPARABLE SALES, UM, AND, AND DO WHAT YOU CAN TO HAVE IT REDUCED. IF YOU REALLY DO BELIEVE YOU CAN'T SELL IT FOR THAT HIGH PRICE, ARE YOU RULING OUT? ONLY RULE EXCEPTION OF A POSSIBILITY. WE WOULD HAVE TO MAKE THAT HOME RULE REQUEST AND SEE WHAT THE RESPONSE IS. BUT THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT, THAT THE, THE TOWN, THE TOWN, THIS IS, THIS IS AN CAN PARLIAMENTARIAN, YOU'RE ENGAGED IN THE DIALOGUE, , SORRY, UH, THE TOWN, ACTUALLY, IT'S BEFORE MY TIME ON THE BOARD, BUT IN THE NINETIES, THE TOWN ACTUALLY DID TRY TO IMPLEMENT, I THINK IT WAS THE WELCOME NEIGHBOR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WELCOME STRANGER. WELL, WELCOME STRANGER. AS SOON AS YOU CAME INTO THE MUNICIPALITY, YOU BOUGHT YOUR HOUSE THINKING IT WAS GOING TO BE ASSESSED A CERTAIN AMOUNT, AND THEN AS SOON AS YOU BOUGHT YOUR HOUSE, ALL OF A SUDDEN IT GOT REASSESSED AND YOU'RE PAYING A LOT MORE GENERALLY, UH, THAN YOU, THAN YOU THOUGHT. UH, SO THAT STOPPED VERY QUICKLY. UH, THE TOWN WASN'T ALLOWED TO DO THAT. UH, THE, WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS CHANGING FROM A SYSTEM WHERE IT WAS BASED ON EQUALIZATION RATE, WHICH CAUSED TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF UNFAIRNESS IN THE ASSESSMENTS. AND WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE WHEN WE DID THE 2016 ASSESSMENT, WE SAW THAT IN SOME NEIGHBORHOODS, NEIGHBORHOODS LEASED ABLE TO AFFORD THE TAXES, UM, THEY DROPPED DRAMATICALLY WHEN THEY DID THE REASSESSMENT AND OTHER AREAS, THEY WERE INCREASED, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY WERE, THEY WERE GETTING SOMEWHAT OF A FREE RIDE BASED ON THOSE IN THE AREAS THAT WERE, UH, OVER ASSESSED. NOW, YOU GET A BILL THAT DOESN'T HAVE AN EQUALIZATION RATE, WHICH, YOU KNOW, MINE, I THINK IT WAS AT THE TIME, $15,000 MY HOUSE WAS ASSESSED FOR, RIGHT? WHICH IS ABSURD. , YOU KNOW, NO ONE'S HOUSE IS 15,000. AND THEN YOU HAD TO APPLY A EQUALIZATION NUMBER TO IT THAT, UH, GOT YOU TO WHAT THE TOWN THOUGHT YOUR ASSESSMENT WAS. BUT IT WAS SO, SO IT WAS FRAUGHT WITH ERROR. NOW WHAT WE DO IS WE PUT ON THE TAX BILLS THAT ARE GOING OUT TO YOU, UH, AT, ON EACH TAX BILL OF WHAT WE THINK YOUR HOUSE IS WORTH, AND YOU COULD SEE IT. AND IF YOU DON'T THINK YOUR HOUSE IS WORTH 500,000 AND IT SAYS IT'S 500,000, THEN YOU KNOW, YOU SHOULD COME IN AND GRIEVE YOUR TAXES. BUT YOU HAVE TO COME IN AND SHOW COMPARABLES, WELL, WHAT ARE WE NOW DOING? WE'RE GETTING SOFTWARE. WE'LL HAVE IT HOPEFULLY FOR THE APRIL BILL THAT WILL ACTUALLY, YOU'LL GO ON OUR WEBSITE AND IT'LL SHOW YOU THE COMPARABLES. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SEARCH IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. NOW, YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE THE COMPARABLES OR YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE [01:15:01] YOUR NEIGHBOR WHO, YOU KNOW, GOT A LOT OF MONEY FOR THEIR HOUSE, BECAUSE WHEN THEY GET A LOT OF MONEY FOR THAT HOUSE AND IT'S SIMILAR TO YOURS, THAT MEANS YOUR ASSESSMENT COULD GO UP. SO WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT NUMBER THAT APPEARS ON YOUR BILL IS WHAT YOU COULD ACTUALLY SELL IT FOR. AND QUITE FRANKLY, WE ALL DO THIS, RIGHT, IS WHEN YOU ARE SELLING YOUR HOUSE, THE THING IS AS PRISTINE AS CAN BE, IT'S LIKE GOLD, RIGHT? BUT WHEN YOU GO IN FOR YOUR TAX ASSESSMENT, IT'S LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, THE LEAKY GUTTERS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S JUST WHAT HAPPENS. THE PURPOSE OF DOING IT, THE WAY WE'RE DOING IT IS TO GET A FAIR VALUE AND, AND WE GO OUT OF OUR WAY, MEANING THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE GOES OUT OF THEIR WAY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET ONE OF THESE THINGS THAT COME IN THE MAIL. I GOT EIGHT TELLING ME I WAS OVER ASSESSED EIGHT IN THE LAST ROUND. UH, I STRONGLY SUGGEST BEFORE YOU DO THAT, NOT STOPPING IT FROM DOING IT, BUT THEY DO IT IN BULK AND YOU'RE PART OF A BULK, UH, COME IN AND SPEAK TO THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE AND THEY WILL, THEY WILL ACTUALLY GUIDE YOU AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE UNDER ASSESSED, OVER ASSESSED, OR I THINK, I THINK YOU MIGHT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT TO TRY ONE OF THESE COMPANIES, TRY IT. BUT WE ACTUALLY GO OUT OF OUR WAY IN ORDER TO HAVE YOU HAVE A FAIR ASSESSMENT. AND THAT'S OUR GOAL. AND THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE IS VERY GOOD AT DOING THAT. BUT ANYWAY, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT OFF THE TOPIC. WE, WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T HAVE CALLING OUT FROM THE AUDIENCE. I'M NOT SURE IF YOU ALREADY SPOKE THIS ROUND OR NOT. I DON'T RECALL. CLERK. UM, THIS, MS. TRAGIC HAS NOT SPOKE ON THIS, SO IF YOU CAN COME TO THE PODIUM, PLEASE. YES. THANK YOU. YEAH, SO I JUST WANTED TO ACTUALLY RES RESPOND TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID BECAUSE I RECENTLY TOOK A GREAT INTEREST IN HOW ASSESSMENTS WORK. SO FIRST OF ALL, THE SOFTWARE, THE MODELING, UM, UH, IS ACTUALLY, IT'S ACTUALLY VERY COMPLICATED. THERE ARE, IT'S A STATISTICAL MODEL THAT'S BUILT OUT, RIGHT? AND SO IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SALES, THEN IT'S NOT A STATISTICALLY VALID MODEL. AND SO THIS IS ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE RUNNING IN RIGHT NOW, IS THAT BECAUSE THE SALES VOLUMES ARE SO LOW, YOU HAVE ONE HOUSE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT SELLS FOR 1.5 MILLION AND YOU'RE USING THAT AS A COMPARABLE, BUT THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT IT REALLY IS. UM, SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S AN ISSUE. AND THERE, THEN THERE ARE, I THINK MANY OTHER ISSUES WITH THE WAY THAT ASSESSMENTS ARE DONE. LIKE THAT ACTUALLY VALUES OFTEN LAG BEHIND BY TWO YEARS SOMETIMES. SO EFFECTIVELY WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT THERE'S THIS GAME THAT'S KIND OF PLAYED THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOUR ASSESSMENT IS NEVER GOING TO GO DOWN. IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO GO UP. SO IT'S, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT SUCH A CLEAN STORY. ANYBODY ELSE? NO OTHER SPEAKERS. OKAY. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE CLOSE THE HEARING AND LEAVE THE RECORD OPEN TILL MONDAY AT FIVE, CLOSE THE BUSINESS ON MONDAY THE 15TH, DECEMBER 15TH. RIGHT. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. OKAY. AND THE LAST PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE DAY IS, UM, [ To consider a Local Law which would establish Accessory Dwelling Units in specified Zoning Districts, with related updates to Sections 250-19, 285-5, 285-10, 285-36, 285-38, 285-39 and 285-56 of the Code of the Town of Greenburgh [TB 23-09]] TO CONSIDER A LOCAL LAW WHICH WOULD ESTABLISH ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS AND SPECIFIED ZONING DISTRICTS WITH RELATED UPDATES TO SECTION 2 15 19 2 85 DASH 5 2 85 DASH TEN TWO EIGHTY FIVE DASH 36 2 85 DASH 38 2 85 DASH 39 2 85 DASH 56 OF THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. GOOD EVENING SUPERVISOR, FINER TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS AND ALL THOSE LISTENING TONIGHT FOR THE RECORD, I'M COMMISSIONER GARRETT DUQUE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION. THIS CONTINUED HEARING IS RELATED TO THE ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT, WHICH SEEKS TO REGULATE AND PERMIT ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS OR ADUS BY SPECIAL PERMIT IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG. THE LAST HEARING OCCURRED ON OCTOBER 22ND, 2025. FOLLOWING THAT MEETING, TOWN BOARD MEMBERS REVIEWED THE PUBLIC HEARING TRANSCRIPTS AND ON DECEMBER 2ND IN WORK SESSION FURTHER DISCUSSED THE A DU LAW IN THE CONTEXT OF UNDERSTANDING THE IMPLICATIONS OF FURTHER EXTENDING THE ELIGIBILITY OF ADUS TO DETACHED GARAGE CONVERSIONS ON LOTS OF AT LEAST 7,500 SQUARE FEET. BOARD MEMBERS ASKED FOR DATA ON THE EXTENT OF DETACHED GARAGES IN THE TOWN AND HOW PREVALENT THEY ARE ON LOTS OF AT LEAST 7,500 SQUARE FEET IN THE R FIVE AND R SEVEN FIVE ZONING DISTRICTS. UNFORTUNATELY, WHILE THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT'S RECORDS ARE HIGHLY ADVANCED AND DIGITIZED, THERE IS NO WAY AT THIS TIME TO PULL SUCH SPECIFIC DATA FOCUSING SOLELY ON DETACHED GARAGES. DESPITE THIS, I TOOK A LOOK AT A RANDOMLY SELECTED SMALL SAMPLE SIZE OF R SEVEN FIVE ZONING DISTRICT BLOCKS. SPECIFICALLY THESE WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED IN THE PARKWAY GARDENS NEIGHBORHOOD [01:20:01] ACROSS FOUR CONNECTING BLOCKS SPANNING 37 BUILDABLE LOTS WITH 36 EXISTING HOMES IDENTIFIED SEVEN DETACHED STRUCTURES. I THINK SIX OF THOSE SEVEN ARE WHAT I WOULD CALL A DETACHED GARAGE. I THINK ONE OF THEM WAS ACTUALLY MORE OF A SHED. HAVING SAID THAT, ON THREE OF THOSE SEVEN STRUCTURES, THREE OF THOSE SEVEN STRUCTURES WERE ON LOTS OF 5,000 SQUARE FEET AND THOSE WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR ADUS. AND THAT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE TOWN BOARD'S, UH, PROPOSAL ALL ALONG, TWO OF THE SEVEN STRUCTURES WERE ON LOTS OF 10,000 SQUARE FEET, AND THOSE WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN A DU WITH NO CHANGES TO THE LOCAL LAW. AND TWO OF THE SEVEN WERE INDEED ON 7,500 SQUARE FOOT LOTS AND WOULD BE ELIGIBLE, BUT ONLY WITH A MODIFICATION TO THE LOCAL LAW. AS THE 7,500 SQUARE FOOT ALLOWANCE IS PRESENTLY PROPOSED TO BE APPLIED, UH, SPECIFICALLY TO ADUS WITHIN AN EXISTING HOME. OF NOTE, FOR THOSE TWO THAT WERE ON THE 7,500 SQUARE FOOT LOT AND THE PROTOTYPICAL 7,500 SQUARE FOOT LOT IS 75 FEET IN WIDTH, A HUNDRED FEET IN DEPTH. SO FOR THOSE TWO EXAMPLES, THERE DO APPEAR TO BE, UH, THE ABILITY, THERE DOES APPEAR TO BE THE ABILITY TO ACCOMMODATE THREE PARKED CARS IN THE EXISTING DRIVEWAY. HOWEVER, THOSE DRIVEWAYS DO APPEAR TO BE APPROXIMATELY 12 FEET WIDE. AND THE, THE OWNERS IN THOSE INSTANCES, IF THE LAW WERE CHANGED, UH, WOULD LIKELY BE MOTIVATED TO PROPOSE A WIDENING OF THE DRIVEWAYS IN THE FRONT YARD TO ACCOMMODATE TWO CARS SIDE BY SIDE, SO AS NOT TO HAVE SHUFFLING OF VEHICLES AT ALL TIMES. UM, SO HAVING SAID THAT, I'M HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD HAS AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC AND I'LL DO MY BEST TO ANSWER ANY COMMENTS MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HAVE AS WELL. THANK YOU. UM, SORRY, DID YOU WANNA JUST ADD THE PART ABOUT THE WIDENING OF THE DRIVEWAYS, UH, THE SUGGESTED REVISION TO THE CURRENT CODE? YES, SURE. SO ONE OF THE DISCUSSION POINTS THAT THE WORK SESSION THAT THE TOWN BOARD HAD ON DECEMBER 2ND WAS TO FACILITATE A MAXIMUM 20 TO HAVE THE LAW SPECIFY A MAXIMUM OF 20 FOOT WIDTH ALLOWANCE IN THE FRONT YARD. UM, WHEREAS THE WAY THE LAW IS STRUCTURED NOW, UH, THE, THE, THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S NO PERMISSIBLE, UH, WIDENING OF THE DRIVEWAYS IN THE FRONT YARD WITH THE DETACHED GARAGE CONVERSIONS. UM, SO THE, THE, THE, THE SUGGESTION WAS, UH, IN THOSE INSTANCES ALLOW MAXIMUM OF 20 FEET IN THE FRONT YARD TO WIDEN THE DRIVEWAY, WHEREAS THE CURRENT ZONING ORDINANCE ALLOWS ACTUALLY MORE THAN THAT 30. SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN THE CURRENT CODE. UM, SO THAT WAS, UM, I THINK THE MAIN PROPOSAL THAT WAS, UH, ALTERNATIVELY OFFERED TO, UH, ACCOMMODATE A SCENARIO WHERE A GARAGE COULD BE CONVERTED ON A 7,500 SQUARE FOOT LOT. UM, COMMISSIONER AS A FRAME OF REFERENCE, SO YOU, YOU USE THOSE TWO, UM, RESIDENTS AND GARAGE DETACHED GARAGES AS SPECIFIC EXAMPLES, AND JUST AS A FRAME OF REFERENCE, WHAT IS THE WIDTH OF THOSE YARDS? SO IF YOU WERE, IF THOSE RESIDENTS WERE TO BUILD, UM, OUT THE DRIVEWAYS TO BE THE 20 FOOT WIDTH, WHAT WOULD BE THE REMAINDER? SO THOSE TWO LOTS WERE THE PROTOTYPICAL LOT SIZE. THEY WERE INDEED EACH 75, UH, FEET IN WIDTH AT THE FRONT AND WITH VERY IMPRECISE, BUT A, A ROUGH, UM, DIMENSION OF 12 FOOT PROJECTED FOR THEIR EXISTING DRIVEWAY. UH, ADDING AN ADDITIONAL, LET'S SAY EIGHT FEET WOULD BE 20 FEET OF DRIVEWAY, UH, SPANNING A TOTAL OF 75 FEET AND WIDTH. UM, SO 55 ADDITIONAL LESS THAN ONE THIRD. SO 55 FEET WOULD BE THE REST OF THE BALANCE OF THE LAWN, YOU'RE SAYING? YES, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A WALKWAY OR PATHWAY THAT EACH HOME WOULD HAVE, NO, WAIT, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT ACCURATE. IT'S CURRENTLY 75 FOOT WIDTH, RIGHT? YES. AND THEN THE 12 FOOT DRIVEWAY, OR IS THAT INCLUDING THE DRIVEWAY? PRESENTLY? RIGHT NOW THERE'S A 12 FOOT CURB CUT. I, I BELIEVE, UM, A 20 FOOT DRIVEWAY WOULD ACCOMMODATE, YOU KNOW, TWO CARS SIDE BY SIDE, SO THAT'S NOT, IT WOULD BE EXPANDED EIGHT FEET. SO 12 PLUS EIGHT WOULD GET YOU TO 20, AND THEN IT'S THE DELTA OF 70 MINUS 20. SO 55 FEET OF, UH, NON DRIVEWAY FRONTAGE. OKAY. SORRY IF I MISSPOKE AND GIVE IT NO, IT'S OKAY. BUT YOU'RE ASSUMING IT'S IN A SEVEN POINT 0.5 ZONING DISTRICT AND THEREFORE 75 FEET WIDTH. IF YOU HAVE 7,500 SQUARE [01:25:01] FEET AND IT'S AN R FIVE, YOU COULD HAVE 50 FEET. AND SO THE 2020 OF THE 50 FEET WOULD BE DRIVE DRIVEWAY? THAT WOULD BE CORRECT, YES. THERE ARE PRESUMABLY LOTS LIKE THAT. AND THAT'S WHY THIS IS WHY SOME OF US NEED TO STUDY THIS. AND IF YOU WERE TO EXTRAPOLATE, AND I DON'T THINK YOU CAN, RIGHT? SO YOU, BECAUSE YOUR INITIAL STATEMENT TO US WAS YOU OUGHT A HARD TIME FINDING DETACH THE GARAGES IN THE TOWN IN GREENBURG. HERE YOU GO OUT AND GET A SAMPLE SAMPLE AREA AND YOU FOUND TWO. SO I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT HAPPENED, IF IT WAS REALLY A RANDOM SAMPLING OF, YOU KNOW, PLOP DOWN HERE, YOU KNOW, OR DID YOU FIND THERE ARE TWO AND THAT BECAME YOUR SAMPLING AREA? YEAH, NO, UH, WHEN I, UH, NO, I DEFINITELY RANDOMLY SELECTED THE R SEVEN FIVE ZONE AND THEY WERE NICE UNIFORM BLOCKS. SO I SAID ACTUALLY THE SCREENSHOT, UH, WAS ABLE TO OBTAIN FOUR BLOCKS. UM, AND I WOULD'VE USED THOSE FOUR BLOCKS IF, UH, THERE WERE ZERO OR, UH, YOU KNOW, 20 DETACHED GARAGES. UM, WITH THE BENEFIT OF MORE TIME, I COULD DO DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE TOWN THAT WERE ALSO IN THE R FIVE OR THE R SEVEN FIVE. UH, IT'S JUST UNFORTUNATE THAT I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO DO SUCH A THING. AND, AND WHAT WAS THE APPROXIMATE AREA OF THE SAMPLE SIZE? UM, SO FOUR FULL BLOCKS, UM, 38 TOTAL BUILDABLE LOTS ARE 37 TOTAL BUILDABLE LOTS. SO, UM, EACH, EACH BLOCK WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, ABOUT EIGHT AND A HALF BUILDABLE LOTS ON, ON EACH ONE. SO USING THAT AS A SAMPLE SIZE AND THEN LOOKING AT THE SAMPLE SIZE OF ALL 7.5, BUT AREAS WHERE IT'S 7.5 BECAUSE YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE 7,500 SQUARE FEET AND THE NORTH ARE 7.5, THAT COULD EQUATE TO 500, 600 DETACHED GARAGES, WHICH YOU DIDN'T SEE. DOES YOUR ORIGINAL STATEMENT TO US WAS YOU HAD A HARD TIME FINDING A DETACHED GARAGE, BUT NOW THAT YOU'VE LOOKED AT THE MAP MORE CLOSELY, IS THAT NOT CORRECT? WELL, IT'S A GOOD QUESTION. UM, THIS WOULD BE IF THERE WAS ONE SHED, UH, SIX ON THE ORDER OF 38. UM, YEAH, I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS SCANNING FOR, UH, IMAGES IN PRIOR, UH, PUBLIC HEAR FOR THE BENEFIT OF PRIOR PUBLIC HEARINGS. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS THAT I WAS IN A LARGER LOT ZONE OF THE TOWN. PERHAPS I WAS LOOKING MORE IN R 10 AND R FIFTEENS, WHICH PRESUMABLY WOULD HAVE A GREATER, UM, YOU KNOW, FLEXIBILITY TO HAVE A DETACHED GARAGE. AND, UH, I, I, ALL I CAN SAY IS I, I SCANNED, UH, I DUNNO, AT LEAST, AT LEAST 10 TO 15 BLOCKS. AND, UH, IT DID SEEM LIKE THE, UH, RATIO OF DETACHED GARAGE WAS ACTUALLY QUITE LESS THAN, UM, THIS PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD THAT I LOOKED AT. SO, UM, I THINK IT'S SAFE TO SAY THEY'RE NOT TREMENDOUSLY PREVALENT, BUT, UM, MAYBE SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN WHAT, UH, I IDENTIFIED IN THIS RANDOMIZED LOOK VERSUS MY PRIOR SCAN. OKAY. ONE OTHER POINT, I THINK WE'RE MIXING APPLES AND ORANGES A LITTLE BIT. THESE ARE TWO SEPARATE THINGS. SO IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LOWERING THE LOT SIZE TO 70, WHICH WE HAD SORT OF AGREED TO 7,500 SQUARE FEET, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DRIVEWAY ACCOMMODATION FOR PARKING, THAT'S SEPARATE FROM WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S A DETACHED GARAGE THAT'S, THESE ARE SEPARATE SCENARIOS. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ACCOMMODATING PARKING OFF STREET PARKING FOR THREE CARS, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A 20 FOOT WIDTH REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S A DETACHED GARAGE IN IN THE PICTURE. SO IT'S, WE'RE LOOKING AT TWO DIFFERENT, WE WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CONVERSION OF, OF, UH, GARAGES AS ONE POTENTIAL SCENARIO. AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING JUST AT THE EXPANSION OF, UH, OF DRIVEWAYS TO 20 FEET AS OPPOSED TO THE CURRENTLY ALLOWED 30 FEET TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO NOT ENCROACH TOO MUCH ON THE YARD IF WE WERE TO ALLOW AN A DU 'CAUSE IT MEANS A SEPARATE TENANT WHO'S NOT GONNA, AS WE KNOW, JOCKING THE CARS AS MUCH AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR MORE CARS. SO THESE ARE SEPARATE THINGS THAT THEY, THEY OVERLAP IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT THEY ARE SEPARATE THINGS. AM AM I, AM I GETTING THAT RIGHT? YEAH, I THINK SO. I I WOULDN'T OKAY. DISAGREE WITH THAT. OKAY. HONORABLE KEN JONES. THANK YOU. [01:30:01] THE ONE THING I WILL SAY, JUST TO CLOSE WHATEVER THE TOWN BOARD DECIDES, UH, WE WILL LEARN A LOT IN THAT FIRST YEAR. AND, UH, WE ARE, AS WE'VE ALWAYS SAID, WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU AND REFINE THINGS, UH, AND I'M SURE THERE WILL BE WAYS TO IMPROVE THIS LAW AFTER A YEAR. RIGHT. AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'VE DONE ON THIS. RIGHT. AND THE TOWN BOARD DID AGREE AND HAD A COMPROMISE WHEN WE WENT TO SEVEN POINT, UM, SEVEN, 500 SQUARE FEET AND WE SAID THAT IT WASN'T GONNA BE A SLIPPERY SLOPE. WE WERE JUST GONNA DO THAT AND SEE HOW IT WOULD BE, UH, AND TRY IT FOR A YEAR. WE'D BE SIX WEEKS TO EIGHT WEEKS INTO THAT TRIAL ALREADY, EXCEPT WE'RE NOW WE'RE HAVING WITH WE HELD OVER IT, GET HELD OVER. IF WE MAKE ANY CHANGES, IT HAS TO GET HELD OVER TO THE NEW YEAR. UM, YOU KNOW, AT SOME POINT WE JUST HAVE TO TRY THE TRIAL, WHAT WAS HELD OVER BECAUSE WE WANT TO REVIEW THE TRANSCRIPT AND THE, UNFORTUNATELY, THERE WAS A DELAY WITH THE TRANSCRIPT ON GETTING THE PUBLIC COMMENT FROM THE LAST PUBLIC HEARING. OKAY. THANK YOU. HONORABLE KEN JONES. UH, MY COMMENTS RE REFER SPECIFICALLY TO SECTION SIX ONE B OF THE AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 2 85 DASH 36, WHICH READS, UH, THE A DU PROPOSED WITHIN OR AS AN EXPANSION OF AN EXISTING DWELLING OR WITHIN A LAWFULLY EXISTING ACCESSORY STRUCTURE PROPOSED TO BE CONVERTED TO AN A DU SHOULD HAVE A MINIMUM LOT SIZE OF 10,000 SQUARE FEET. UM, I WOULD JUST ADVOCATE FOR A SMALLER LOT SIZE, UM, OF PERHAPS 5,000 SQUARE FEET, UM, BECAUSE THAT WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE WHO REALLY, UH, NEED THE A DU WHO LIVE IN SMALLER HOMES ON SMALLER LOTS TO HAVE AN A DU VERSUS SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN A LARGER HOME OR HA HAS A LARGER LOT WHO PRESUMABLY IS A HIGHER INCOME INDIVIDUAL, UM, WHO DOESN'T NEED THE A DU AS MUCH, HAS A PERSON WHO WOULD LIVE, UH, ON THE SMALLER LOT. AND I THINK THE PURPOSE OF THE A DU LAW IS TO TRY TO BUILD IN MORE AFFORDABILITY. UH, AND BY MAKING IT A SMALLER LOT SIZE, WE WOULD IN FACT BE DOING THAT. UM, SO IT SEEMS AS THOUGH, UH, BY MAKING IT A LARGER LOT SIZE, WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING ACROSS PURPOSES. SO I THINK THE INTENT OF THE ORIGINAL DRAFTERS, UM, WAS TO CREATE MORE AFFORDABILITY AND BY INCREASING THE LOT SIZE. AND THEY ORIGINALLY, OR I SAID WE ORIGINALLY, UM, HAD WROTE, UH, 5,000 SQUARE FOOT LOT SIZE, UM, THAT WAS INCREASED TO 10,000, WHICH I THINK WORKS ACROSS PURPOSES, UM, WITH THE INTENT, WHICH IS TO PROVIDE MORE AFFORDABILITY IN THE TOWN FOR PEOPLE WHO REALLY NEED IT. YOU ARE AWARE THOUGH, THE, THE CURRENT LOCAL LAW IS, UH, FOR 7,500, RIGHT? JUST START DOWN. I WELL, BUT DOESN'T THAT 7,500 PERTAIN TO, UH, THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT WITH RE WITH REGARD TO THE EXPANSION OF EXISTING DWELLINGS, UM, THE, THE, THE, THE, OR CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, DOES THAT REFER TO, UH, THE EXPANSION OF EXISTING DWELLINGS OR WITHIN, UH, LAWFULLY EXISTING ACCESSORY STRUCTURES? I THOUGHT THAT REFERRED TO A SEPARATE, UM, UM, CATEGORY OF BUILDINGS. NO, YOU ARE CORRECT. I'M CORRECT THAT IT DOES APPLY TO A SEPARATE CATEGORY OF BUILDINGS, RIGHT? IN OTHER WORDS, WE, WE, IT GOES DOWN TO 7,500 DURING THIS TEST YEAR MM-HMM . UH, BECAUSE WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THE IMPACT IS GONNA BE ON THE NEIGHBORS. WHEN YOU'RE CLOSER, THE HOMES ARE CLOSER TOGETHER, RIGHT? SO FOR THE TEST YEAR, IT WOULD BE, YOU COULD DO AN A DU IN YOUR HOME, BUT YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO EXPAND IT TO DO THAT A DU AFTER LOOKING AT IT AND SEEING MAYBE THERE IS NO, NO, UM, ISSUE. UH, AND PARTICULARLY TAKING A LOOK AT, WHICH IS THE MOST, MOST SERIOUS THING THAT WE HAVE TO DO, WHAT WE'RE NOT DOING SO FAR IS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN R FIVE ZONE MM-HMM . AND HAVE 7,500 SQUARE FEET, THEY DON'T HAVE A, THEY DON'T HAVE A SETBACK TO THEIR DRIVEWAY MM-HMM . AND THERE'LL BE A LOT MORE TRAFFIC RIGHT NEXT TO THE PROPERTY LINE. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO STUDY, WHICH I BELIEVE SHOULD BE DURING THAT TEST YEAR. BUT YOU ARE CORRECT IN HOW YOU READ IT, WHICH I'M NOT SURPRISED. OKAY. OKAY. I MISSED, JUST WANNA GIVE ONE RECAP ON THE NUMBERS AT ANN MM-HMM . JUST TO REFRESH EVERYONE. THANK YOU. I AGREE YOU WERE CORRECT. THERE'S THREE NUMBERS. UM, IN TERMS OF LOT [01:35:01] SIZES THAT ARE APPLICABLE. THE LOWEST TIER, 7,500 SQUARE FEET, MINIMUM 7,500 SQUARE FOOT LOT WOULD ENTITLE YOU TO AN A DU WITHIN THE EXISTING HOME. PROVIDED YOU DON'T EXPAND. 10,000 SQUARE FEET IS THE MINIMUM IF ONE WERE TO DO AN EXPANSION ON THE HOME OR CONVERT A GARAGE. THE THIRD NUMBER, UH, TO NOTE IS THE 20,000. THAT IS ONLY APPLICABLE IF ONE PROPOSES A NEW DETACHED ACCESSORY STRUCTURE. SO THOSE ARE SORT OF THE THREE TIERS THAT THE TOWN BOARD HAS DEVELOPED. , AND I DO HAVE TO REITERATE THAT IT IS A ONE YEAR, THERE IS A ONE YEAR SUNSET. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY CONTROVERSIAL. WE'VE HAD MULTIPLE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS. AND THE ENTIRE REASON THAT WE APPLY TO SUNSET CLAUSE OF ONE YEAR WAS TO GET A SENSE OF THE INTEREST, GET A SENSE OF HOW IT AFFECTED PEOPLE, AND THEN BE ABLE TO MAKE A MORE INFORMED DECISION AND REEVALUATE FOR THE NEXT GO ROUND. ALL RIGHT. UH, GOOD EVENING. MEMBERS OF THE TOWN BOARD. UH, I'M STILL DYLAN PINE AND I'M SPEAKING TONIGHT AS CHAIRPERSON. IS IT STILL SPELT PLEASE? ITS SPELLED THE SAME WAY. UH, AND I'M SPEAKING TONIGHT AS CHAIRPERSON OF THE PLANNING BOARD. UH, THIS A DU DISCUSSION HAS BEEN ONGOING SINCE SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR. WHY REMAIN SILENT UP TO THIS POINT NOW AS THE NEW CHAIRPERSON? I FEEL A RESPONSIBILITY TO WEIGH IN, UH, AT LAST, UH, WEEK'S WORK SESSION, THE TOWN BOARD REVISITED THE OCTOBER 22ND HEARING AND RAISED TWO ISSUES WORTH FURTHER, UH, CONSIDERATION, GARAGE CONVERSIONS AND DRIVEWAY WIDTHS REGARDING GARAGE CONVERSIONS. NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER HAS BEEN A MAJOR CONCERN THROUGHOUT THE DISCUSSION PERIOD. AND THE QUESTION OF ALLOWING CONVERSIONS OF EXISTING DETACHED GARAGES ON 7,500 SQUARE FOOT LOTS IS THE MOST RECENT PLACE WHERE THAT CONCERN HAS RESURFACED AND PLANNING PRACTICE. NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER IS NOT SUBJECTIVE, IT IS DEFINED AND PROTECTED THROUGHOUT THE DIMENSIONAL STANDARDS ALREADY EMBEDDED IN CHAPTER 2 85. SETBACKS, HEIGHT LIMITS, LOT COVERAGE, FAR DRIVEWAY, WIDTH LIMITS AND PARKING REQUIREMENTS. NOTHING IN THE PROPOSED LAW ALTERS THOSE PROTECTIONS AS DRAFTED. THE A D THE LAW ALLOWS ADUS ON LOTS AS SMALL AS 7,500 SQUARE FEET, BUT ONLY WHERE THE UNIT IS LOCATED WITHIN THE EXISTING FOOTPRINT OF THE HOME GARAGE. CONVERSIONS HOWEVER, REMAIN PERMISSIBLE ONLY ON LOTS OF AT LEAST 10,000 SQUARE FEET, SIGNIFICANTLY LIMITING THE NUMBER OF HOMEOWNERS WHO CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY. DESPITE HAVING EXISTING STRUCTURES THAT COULD BE SAFELY REPURPOSED, I ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO CONSIDER ALLOWING CONVERSIONS OF EXISTING DETACHED GARAGES ON LOTS AS SMALL AS 7,500 SQUARE FEET. A GARAGE CONVERSION DOES NOT ADD MASSING HEIGHT OR FOOTPRINT. IT SIMPLY REPURPOSES SPACE THAT ALREADY EXISTS. AND IF AN APPLICANT CAN PROVIDE THE REQUIRED OFF STREET PARKING, THE PLANNING IMPACT IS IDENTICAL. WHETHER THE A DU IS INSIDE THE HOME OR INSIDE AN ATTACHED GARAGE, THE BUILT FORM REMAINS UNCHANGED AND THE SAME ZONING TOOLS THAT PROTECT NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER CONTINUE TO APPLY. THE SECOND ISSUE IS DRIVEWAY WIDTHS. THE CURRENT DRAFT STATES THAT THE ADUS ON LOTS BETWEEN 70 510,000 SQUARE FEET, NO WIDENING OF ILLEGAL EXISTING DRIVEWAY IN THE FRONT YARD SHALL BE PERMITTED. WHILE IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT THE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF CHAPTER 2 85 HAS BEEN DELAYED, THIS A DU LAW SHOULD NOT IMPOSE REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN THE UNDERLINING ZONING CODE AS CURRENTLY WRITTEN. IF A DRIVEWAY EXPANSION WOULD BE PERMITTED TODAY FOR ANY OTHER HOMEOWNER, IT SHOULD NOT SUDDENLY BECOME PROHIBITIVE, UH, JUST BECAUSE THE IMPROVEMENT IS ASSOCIATED WITH AN A DU APPLICATION ON A LOT OF 7,500 SQUARE FEET OR, OR GREATER AND LESS THAN 10,000 SQUARE FEET. A MORE BALANCED APPROACH, AS GARRETT HAS MENTIONED, UH, WOULD PROHIBIT DRIVEWAY EXPANSIONS ONLY BEYOND 20 FEET. THIS REMAINS MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN THE CURRENT 30 FOOT MAXIMUM, BUT DOES NOT PRECLUDE EXPANSIONS OUTRIGHT. AND IT ALLOWS HOMEOWNERS, INCLUDING THOSE CREATING ADUS TO SUPPORT AGING PARENTS CARE WORKERS TO ACCOMMODATE TWO VEHICLES. IF AND WHEN CHAPTER 2 85 UNDERGOES A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE. AND IF PERMITTED DRIVEWAY WIDTHS AND THE R FIVE ZONE ARE ADJUSTED, THOSE CHANGES WOULD NATURALLY GOVERN FUTURE A DU APPLICATIONS. BUT UNTIL THAT BROADER ZONING WORK IS COMPLETE, IMPOSING NARROWER LIMITS SOLELY ON A DU APPLICATIONS PLACE AN UNFAIR BURDEN ON HOMEOWNERS WHO ARE OFTEN PURSUING ADUS BECAUSE THEY NEED ASSISTANCE, WHETHER FINANCIAL OR FAMILY RELATED. IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO BE CLEAR THAT FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF HOMEOWNERS, THIS LAW PERMITS ONLY THE CONVERSION OF EXISTING STRUCTURES, NOT THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW A DU. NEWLY CONSTRUCTED ATTACHED ADUS ARE ALLOWED ONLY ON LOTS OF 20,000 SQUARE FEET OR MORE, WHICH INCLUDES MOST PROPERTIES IN OUR DENSE RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS. FOR EVERYONE ELSE, ADUS MUST BE CREATED ENTIRELY WITHIN EXISTING BUILDINGS. AND IF A STRUCTURE IS NON-CONFORMING TODAY, IT CANNOT BE EXPANDED TO CREATE ADDITIONAL LIVING SPACE WITHOUT A VARIANCE EXACTLY AS OUR CURRENT LAW REQUIRES SETBACKS AND LOT COVERAGE REMAIN FULLY IN PLACE. HEIGHTENED FAR CONTINUE TO LIMIT MASSING DRIVEWAY WIDTH AND PARKING STANDARDS REMAIN UNCHANGED UNLESS FURTHER RESTRICTED BY THIS LAW. IN OTHER [01:40:01] WORDS, THE SAME TOOLS THAT CURRENTLY SHAPE AND PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER CONTINUE TO DO SO UNDER THIS PROPOSAL. I ALSO WANT TO EMPHASIZE BECAUSE IT HASN'T RECEIVED ENOUGH ATTENTION THAT EVERY A DU MUST RECEIVE A SPECIAL PERMIT FROM THE PLANNING BOARD. THERE ARE NO AUTOMATIC APPROVALS. EACH APPLICATION MUST FOLLOW THE SPECIAL PERMIT PROCEDURES OF THE LOCAL LAW, INCLUDING SITE PLANS AND ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS, AND UNDERGO A PUBLIC HEARING WHERE NEIGHBORS MAKE COMMENT. THE PLANNING BOARD TAKES THIS RESPONSIBILITY SERIOUSLY, AND PUBLIC INPUT WILL REMAIN CENTRAL TO OUR REVIEW. UH, UH, FINALLY, WE MUST CONSIDER THE BROADER CONTEXT. UH, WESTCHESTER COUNTY CONTINUES TO FACE A DOCUMENTED HOUSING SHORTAGE AFFECTING SENIORS, YOUNG ADULTS, FAMILIES, AND MANY OF THE WORKERS WHO SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES. UH, WELCOME HOME. WESTCHESTER'S FIVE AND 25 REPORT IDENTIFIES ADUS AS ONE OF THE MOST PRACTICAL STEPS MUNICIPALITIES CAN TAKE. THIS MESSAGE IS NOT THAT EVERY COMMUNITY, NOT THAT EVERY COMMUNITY MUST DO THE SAME THING, BUT THAT EVERY COMMUNITY SHOULD DO SOMETHING. THIS IS THE SOMETHING I BELIEVE GREENBERG CAN DO NOW, UH, FOR THESE REASONS. AND WITH THE FULL CONFIDENCE IN THE PLANNING BOARD'S ABILITY TO REVIEW EACH APPLICATION CAREFULLY AND TRANSPARENTLY. I BELIEVE THIS A DU LAW STRIKES THE RIGHT BALANCE, AND I URGE ITS ADOPTION WITH THE ADJUSTMENTS DISCUSSED TONIGHT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION. I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION, IF THAT'S OKAY. UM, I'M JUST SORT OF WONDERING, UM, JUST FOR MY OWN, UM, YOU KNOW, THOUGHTS, UM, ABOUT HOW LONG DO YOU, ONCE SOMEBODY GETS TO THE PLANNING BOARD, HOW LONG DO YOU THINK THE PLANNING BOARD REVIEW IN A TYPICAL A DU WOULD TAKE? IS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT A MONTH, THREE MONTHS, SIX MONTHS OF, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH INFORMATION WILL WE HAVE? UH, YOU KNOW, COULD THIS BE DONE, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE SAME YEAR? UH, I'M GONNA DEFER TO GARRETT ON THAT QUESTION. WE WOULD ANTICIPATE A WORK SESSION OF THE PLANNING BOARD. WE ONE MEETING FOLLOWED BY A PUBLIC HEARING, FOLLOWED BY A CLOSE THAT OF THAT PUBLIC HEARING AND THEN A DECISION. SO, UM, IN THE FASTEST SENSE, THAT WOULD ENCOMPASS A MONTH AND A HALF MORE LIKELY. UH, I'D SAY A MONTH AND A HALF TO THREE MONTHS, IT STILL BEEN, THEY HAVE ALL THAT DOCUMENTATION IN PLACE. MM-HMM . YES, MR. SIMON. UH, AGAIN, I WISH TO SAY THAT, UH, MR. DILLON, UH, REAFFIRM WHAT THE PLANNING BOARD HAD SAID ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO. AND THAT, UH, IT IS WITH ALL THE NECESSARY SAFETY, UH, PROVISIONS BUILT INTO IT, AND WITH THE PLANNING BOARD TAKEN, THE NECESSARY REVIEWS, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT SHOULD BE DONE. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE I HAVE IS IN THE, THE LIMITATION TO, UH, A PASS TO BE, UH, THE 7.5 RESTRICTION. THAT'S MY ONLY CONCERN AT THIS POINT. UH, I WANT TO MAKE, FIRST OF ALL, WHEN YOU GO IN TO GET THE COPY OF THE AGENDA ON THIS, THERE'S ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE DIFFERENT AGENDAS I FIRST CLICKED ON. I GOT THE WRONG ONE I CLICKED ON AGAIN. UH, ONE IS DATED, I THINK, UH, UM, DECEMBER 10TH, WHICH I BELIEVE IS THE CORRECT ONE I DOWNLOADED. BUT THERE'S CONFUSION THAT IT, WHEN YOU HAVE MULTIPLE ISSUE OR MULTIPLE EXAMPLES OF A PROPO, YOU, SO SOME WAY SHOULD BE NUMBERED. OKAY? SO WHEN SOME GO, SOMEONE GOES IN TO, TO GET IT, MAKE SURE THEY DOWNLOADING THE CORRECT DOCUMENT. I ASSUME I HAVE THE DIRECT, THE CON UH, THE, UH, THE LATEST DOCUMENT IN MY HAND. AND IN THAT DOCUMENT IT MAKES NO REFER, NO REFERENCE TO A 7.5. IS THAT THE CORRECT DOCUMENT? NO, APPARENTLY I DOWNLOADED THE, THE WRONG DOCUMENT. SO YOU NEED TO GO BACK ONTO THE SITE AND YOU LOOK AT, THERE'S ABOUT FIVE DIFFERENT ITERATIONS OF THIS, AND, AND IT SOMEHOW IT SHOULD BE NUMBERED. THAT'S OKAY. SO YOU DOWNLOAD THE CORRECT ONE. OKAY. BUT ANYHOW, I JUST WANT TO, AND CORRECT ME IF MY MATH IS INCORRECT, IF SOMEONE IN OUR, OUR FIVE DISTRICTS HAVE A OVERSIZED LOT THAT SAY IT'S, UM, 10,000 SQUARE FOOT OVERSIGHT, OKAY, LOT. OKAY. AND IT SAYS THAT YOU CANNOT, IT, YOU CANNOT, THE ACCESSORY UNIT CANNOT EXCEED 30%. NOW, IF [01:45:01] YOU HAVE A, A CAPE OF 13,000, 13,000 SQUARE FEET, WHICH IS A LOT OF CAPES IN THE, IN THIS TOWN, 13,000, SOME ARE EVEN SMALLER. BUT LET'S ASSUME YOU HAVE A CAPE OF, OF 13,000 SQUARE FEET. 1300. 1300, YEAH. 13 SQUARE FEET. AND, AND YOU MUST HAVE AT LEAST, UH, YOU ARE LIMITED TO 30% OF, OF, OF YOUR SQUARE FOOTAGE. THAT MEAN THE, UH, THE MAXIMUM 80 DU YOU CAN BILL IS 390 SQUARE FEET, BUT THE MINIMUM IS 400. SO THAT PERSON, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE A LARGE LOT, BECAUSE UH, THEY HAVE A SMALL HOUSE, THEY CANNOT BUILD ACCESSORY UNIT EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE ON 10,000 SQUARE FEET. AND IF YOU FLIP IT AROUND THE OTHER WAY, IF YOU HAVE A HOUSE OF 4,500 SQUARE FEET AND YOU DECIDE TO BUILD AN ACCESSORY UNIT, YOU COULD BUILD AN ACCESSORY UNIT THAT IS 13,000 SQUARE FEET. IS THE SIZE 1300 A HOUSE? 1300 HUNDRED THAT YOU 1300, I'M SORRY, 1300, 1300 SQUARE FEET. YOU DON'T LIKE 15,000 SQUARE FEET. SO IT'S THE SIZE OF A SMALL CAPE. SO YOU COULD BUILD A CAPE ON YOUR HOUSE. SO HERE YOU ARE WITH 4,500 SQUARE FEET, YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ON YOUR PROPERTY, AND HERE'S A PERSON ON, UH, WITH A 1300 SQUARE FEET ON A OVERSIZED LOT, AND THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO BUILD AN ACCESSORY UNIT. SO IF MY INTERPRETATION AND SQUARE FEET, IF MY NU IS MY CALCULATION CORRECT, IS THAT, IS THAT THE WAY THE LAW READS? LIKE LET ERIC DO AFTER? OKAY, I EXPLAIN. YEAH, EXPLAIN THAT TO ME PLEASE. SO YOU SI YOU'RE SEATING YOUR 10, YOUR EIGHT SECONDS, YOU'RE GOOD. YOU ASK THE QUESTION. OH. OH, RIGHT. OKAY. WELL, WELL, YOU ANSWER MY QUESTION. OKAY. DO YOU HAVE TO STOP THE CLOCK? NO, YOU ASKED THE QUESTION. I'LL GRAB IT LOOKS HALF O'CLOCK. IF HE ASK A QUESTION, THEN HE'S SITTING HIS YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT. WHAT HE SAY? YES. SO, SO THE ONLY REFERENCE, UH, IN REGARDS TO MR. SIMON'S COMMENTS WITH 30%, THE ONLY 30% REFERENCE IS IN THIS SECTION, UH, A DU SIZE SECTION B, UH, FOR ADUS CONTAINED WITHIN THE EXISTING PRINCIPLE DWELLING, THE MAXIMUM GROSS. YEAH. COULD YOU PUT MY MICROPHONE OVER THERE? FOR ADU CONTAINED WITHIN THE EXISTING PRINCIPLE DWELLING, THE MAXIMUM GROSS FLOOR AREA CAN ONLY EXCEED 800 SQUARE FEET WHEN IT DOES NOT EXCEED 30% OF THE GROSS FLOOR AREA OF THE PRINCIPAL DWELLING UNIT. BUT THEN HAS THE CAVEAT WHEN THERE IS NO PROPOSED EXPANSION. SO YES, IF THERE'S, UM, 4,500 SQUARE FOOT HOME ACROSS THREE LEVELS, UM, THE, THE, THE, THE BOTTOM LEVEL AS EXAMPLE, THE FULL EXPANSE OF IT COULD BE AN A DU. SO YES, THAT WOULD EXCEED 800 SQUARE FEET, BUT ULTIMATELY YOU'RE NOT INCREASING THE MASSING, UH, OF, OF, OF WHAT WHAT ONE IS LOOKING AT. AND THEN, UM, SO WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT'S THE ONLY TIME THE 30% KICKS IN, UH, THE 400 TO 800 RANGE CARRIES ACROSS ALL OTHER A D. SO, UM, THERE'S, YOU DON'T, IF YOU HAVE A 1300 SQUARE FOOT CAPE, YOU'RE NOT, UH, DIVIDING THAT BY 30 OR YOU'RE NOT MULTIPLYING THAT TIMES 30%. AND THAT'S JUST NOT A FUNCTION OF THE A DU SIZE. YOU HAVE A 1300 SQUARE FOOT CAPE, YOU CAN, UM, BUILD ANYWHERE FROM A 400 TO 800 A DU EITHER WITHIN OR, UH, ATTACHED TO THAT 1300 SQUARE FOOT GATE. SO THE, SO THE PERCENTAGE AND THE SQUARE FOOTAGE ARE NOT CONNECTED, IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? ONLY ON THE HIGH END IF YOU HAVE AN EXISTING HOME AND YOU'RE NOT INCREASING THE, DOES THAT CLARIFY WHAT? SOMEWHAT, BUT IT WOULD BE NICE IF THAT WAS MADE VERY CLEAR. OKAY. IT'S A LITTLE CONFUSING. AND I, AND I HOPE YOU DON'T HAVE THE WRONG VERSION THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU MAY, AND I APOLOGIZE IF THERE'S MULTIPLE VERSIONS OUT THERE. BUT, UM, OKAY, MR. SIMON, WE'LL GET, WE'LL GET YOU THE CORRECT VERSION. UH, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, UM, I'M ON THE WEBSITE NOW AND IT HAS ATTACHMENTS AND WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER HAS DONE IS HE'S MADE SURE THAT EACH REVISION IS LISTED. SO IT IS, IT HAS, IT IS EVERY REVISION THAT HAS BEEN, UM, DURING A HEARING AND THEN IT IS DATED. SO, UM, HOPEFULLY YES, THE FILE NAME. THANK YOU. I FORGOT THAT WE, WE WE DO IT BY FILE NAME. YES. IT'S, IT'LL SAY, UH, A DU LOCAL LAW FOR, UH, 12, 10, 20 25 PUBLIC HEARING. WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO BE CONSISTENT IN THAT MANNER. I DOWNLOAD 1210, [01:50:01] BUT THEY, THEY'RE NOT IN NUMERICAL ORDER. CORRECT. OKAY. SO THAT'S WHAT MAKE IT, IF THEY WERE IN NUMERICAL ORDER. SO YOU TAKE THE LAST ONE AND YOU KNOW THAT'S WHAT RIGHT, THIS IS 12, 12 SHOULD BE ON TOP. IS IT THAT I HAVE DULY NOTED. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU MS. THERE'S NO OTHER, UH, SPEAKERS ON AN EIGHTH HOUSE. AM MS. AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, IT WAS ONLY A COUPLE YEARS AGO THAT THE TOWN BOARD DID AWAY WITH A LOCAL LAW THAT FORBADE SAME ROOM OCCUPANCY IN HOTEL ROOMS BY UNMARRIED PERSONS. TODAY, THIS HEARING IS ABOUT LETTING ANYONE SHARE LIVING UNDER THE SAME ROOF, SAY HELLO TO ADUS. ARRIVING ON THE HOTELS OF PRESS RELEASES WHEN TALKING THE TALK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WAS A HOT BUTTON ISSUE FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS. AFFORDABLE, SERVED A REAL AND CONTINUING NEED, BUT QUICKLY AND QUIETLY ABANDONED. ONE GIVING WAY TO HEATING SPECIFIC INSTANCES, INSTANCES OF UNDERSERVED MARKETS, THOSE BEING RESIDENTS WHO COULD NO LONGER AFFORD TO LIVE HERE, RISING TAXES, ET CETERA. BUT THEY SHOULD STICK AROUND FOR THE BUDGET HEARINGS WHEN THE TOWN BOARD IS GOING TO PERSUADE TAXPAYERS AT THE COMING YEARS. TAX INCREASES ARE MINUSCULE AND AFFORDABLE. SENIORS WHOSE CHILDREN SINGLE OR MARRIED OR THEIR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN, NEED AN AFFORDABLE PLACE TO LIVE. BY REV REVERSING LIVING ARRANGEMENTS, THE KIDS UPSIZING ABETTING THEIR PARENTS DOWNSIZING IN A FAMILIAR DWELLING AGING, OR THOSE IN FAILING HEALTH STAY AT HOMERS, ABLE TO BENEFIT BY PROVIDING THEIR CARE GIVERS WITH A PLACE TO LIVE. AND VETERANS WHO HELP THEIR COUNTRY AND NOW NEED HELP. BUT INSTEAD, ADU IS REALLY HELPING ONLY THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD THE CAUSE OF CREATING THE A DU BECAUSE CONVERSION COSTS DON'T COME CHEAP. ANY AFFORDABLE TALK FLUSH DOWN THE DRAIN REPLACED BY REGULATIONS SOLELY BASED ON LAND USE PROVISIONS, BECAUSE THAT'S GAR DUANES THE AREA OF EXPERTISE AND NOT HOW TO WELCOME THE SINGLE UNIT AFFORDABLE PRODUCT, AFFORDABLE VANISHING WITHOUT A TRACE WHILE NEWLY CREATED. A DU LAW MAINTAINS A ZERO RENT CONTROL ENVIRONMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF NO REAL RENTAL DOLLARS BEING CHARGED FOR FAMILY MEMBERS RENT OF LESSER DOLLARS IN COLLECTING OF RENT, NO RENT HELPS TOWARDS PAYING THE TAX BURDEN AND VETERANS MIGHT STILL BE PRICED OUT. AND IF CREATING AFFORDABLE RENT WERE REALLY OF CONCERN TO THE TOWN BOARD, THE TOWN BOARD COULD ALWAYS REDUCE THE ASSESSMENTS OF THOSE PROPERTIES WHICH CHARGE BELOW MARKET RENTS. DID THE TOWN BOARD THIS YEAR OPEN TO EVERY TAXPAYER'S WALLETS TO OFFER LOWER ASSESSMENTS? 10% TO ANY VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS REGARDLESS OF NEED. LOWER ASSESSMENTS FOR SOME RESIDENTS EQUALS SHIFTING THEIR TAX REDUCTION TO THOSE WHOSE ASSESSMENT REMAINS AT A HUNDRED PERCENT. SO WHY NOT SHARE THE COMMUNITY BURDEN TO DO THE RIGHT THING BY CREATING AFFORDABLE UNITS FOR THOSE IN NEED OF AFFORDABLE, IF IT REALLY IS A GOAL, AND NOT JUST PLUM, BUT THEN THERE'S THIS TO THINK ABOUT, WELL, THOSE ADUS CREATED FOR HUMANISTIC PURPOSES MAY HAVE REMAINED TRUE TO THEIR ORIGIN ONE DAY THEY ARE BORN AGAIN AND IT'S A NEW BALL GAME. SO FOR THOSE WHO COULD AFFORD TO CREATE AN A DU SOMEDAY, THEY'LL HAVE TO SHED THEIR ORIGINAL PURPOSE AND GIVE BIRTH TO THE ROLLERCOASTER RIDE OF RED CHARGES AT WHATEVER THE MARKET CAN BEAR. SMALL INVESTORS WHO ONCE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ONLY ABLE TO PURCHASE A CONDO UNIT TO RENT OUT NOW HAVE A NEW TICKET TO RIDE OR CREATE AN AIRBNB, BUT IN COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL OVERNIGHT STAY REGULATIONS OR SELL THE MOTHER HOUSE WITH A RENTAL UNIT LACKING ANY RENT CONTROLS BECAUSE IN TIME MOM AND POP, THE SENIORS, THE UNHEALTHY AND THE VETERANS REST IN PEACE. THE CHILDREN GROW UP AND MOVE WHILE OUR MARKET RATE RENTAL REMAINS THEIR LEGACY. ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL AND SAY HELLO TO SMALL INVESTORS WHO BEGIN THE SEARCH FOR REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITIES WHICH MIGHT ECONOMICALLY JUSTIFY AND ALLOW ADDING AN A DU TO THE TAX LOT. THE BIRTH OF ADUS CAN ALSO BE THE BIRTH OF TRULY AFFORDABLE HOUSING BY OPERATING OUTSIDE THE MAIN INCOME STANDARDS SET BY GOVERNMENT. ADUS ARE SINGLE DWELLING UNITS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH MULTIFAMILY HOUSING. DOES THE TOWN BOARD [01:55:01] HAVE THE GUTS TO PUT INTO PRACTICE WHAT IT HAS BEEN PREACHING AND RENT ADD RENT CONTROLS TO THE APPLICATION FEE? DR. CARROLL? OH, HMM. I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA SPEAK. NO, I DON'T DISAGREE, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT'S BEFORE US. DR. CAROL ALLEN , CAROL, CAROL ALLEN FROM HARTSDALE. I'VE SPOKEN BEFORE YOU SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT WHO THIS LAW SHOULD BE TRYING TO HELP. AND WHILE YOU HAVE CREATED A COMPROMISE AND DROPPED THE LOT REQUIREMENT TO 7,500, YOU'RE STILL NOT TAKING CARE OF THOSE WHO MIGHT MOST NEED TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. AND I'M SORRY THAT YOU ARE BEING SO STUBBORN ABOUT THAT BECAUSE EVERYBODY WHO HAS COME FORWARD, EVERYBODY WHO HAS COME FORWARD AND GONE PUBLICLY ON RECORD HAS SAID THAT WE SHOULD BE DROPPING THIS REQUIREMENT. YES, YOU HAVE HEARD FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUBMITTED COMMENTS, BUT THEY HAVE NOT COME IN AND STOOD BEFORE THE PUBLIC AND GONE ON RECORD SO THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS WHO THEY ARE WHEN THEY'RE SAYING, NO, WE DON'T WANT TO DO THIS. AND I WOULD, I APPRECIATE THAT THE CURRENT CHAIR OF OUR PLANNING BOARD HAS SPOKEN ABOUT THIS. THE ONE THING I'M NOT CERTAIN THOUGH, HE SAID ADOPT THINGS THAT WERE SUGGESTED TONIGHT. AND I'M NOT EXACTLY CERTAIN WHAT ITEMS HE WAS REFERRING TO, AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF HE COULD BE GIVEN TIME TO CLARIFY WHAT HE MEANT BY THAT STATEMENT. IF WE HAVE A SECOND ROUND, EVERYBODY WILL BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. ONCE AGAIN, IT'S CLEAR. ARE WE INTENDING ON CLOSING IT? I, I DO WANT TO COMMENT 'CAUSE WE HEARD IT MANY, MANY TIMES THAT THIS IS REALLY DESIGNED FOR P KEEPING PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES IF THEY'RE LOWER INCOME. BUT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN LARGER HOMES AND THEY WOULD LIKE TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES AND MAYBE THEY LOST A SPOUSE, I'M NOT REFERRING TO MYSELF, BUT MAY HAVE LOST A SPOUSE LOST INCOME, AND THEY WOULD LIKE TO FIND A WAY THAT THEY COULD STILL STAY IN A HOUSE, THAT THEY HAVE THEIR MEMORIES. SO TO COME HERE MEETING AFTER MEETING AND SAY, THIS IS NOT ADDRESSING PEOPLE TO KEEP THEM IN THEIR HOMES. AND THE ONLY WAY TO DO THAT IS TO MAKE SURE YOU ADDRESS THOSE ON SMALLER LOTS. UH, FRANKLY, I DON'T BUY IT. UM, WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO HELP EVERYBODY WHO, WHO WE CAN HELP, BUT WE HAVE TO DO IT IN A SYSTEMATIC WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NO NEGATIVE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE TAKING THIS PHASED APPROACH. IF, IF IT'S THE WILL OF THE PUBLIC THAT WE DON'T DO THIS TEST YEAR, AND INSTEAD LET'S WORK OUT ALL THE DETAILS THAT MIGHT OCCUR, BUT DO IT AS A TABLE MODEL AS OPPOSED TO AN ACTUALITY. YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD CONSIDER, BUT I THINK THE BOARD IS INTERESTED IN ACTUALLY TRYING SOMETHING, GATHERING DATA AND THEN MAKING DECISIONS BASED ON THAT DATA COLLECTION. UM, I'M JUST GONNA ADD ONE THING, WHICH IS THAT, UM, I AGREE WITH WHAT DR. ALLEN SAID, THAT THE COMMENTARY PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME FORWARD HAVE REALLY ADVOCATED FOR SOMETHING VERY SPECIFIC, WHICH IS A, NOT EVEN THE, A COMPROMISE OF 7,500 SQUARE FOOT LOT, BUT A 5,000 SQUARE FOOT LOT AND LIFE IS ABOUT COMPROMISE. BUT IF WE'RE REALLY LISTENING TO WHAT PEOPLE WANT, THEN WE HAVE TO REALLY LISTEN AND WE HAVE TO BE RESPONSIVE. SO YES, WE, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING. THIS IS, WE HAVE PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO LOTS OF HEARINGS, BUT THIS IS ABOUT EQUITY. AND UH, I I JUST THINK THAT IT'S PRETTY, UH, PRETTY WELL UNDERSTOOD THAT IF YOU HAVE A, A, A LARGER PROPERTY, MOST LIKELY YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE MORE, A HIGHER INCOME AND NOT HAVE AS MUCH PERHAPS NEED TO HAVE THE AFFORDABILITY IN YOUR HOME. AS SOMEONE WITH A SMALLER, SMALLER LOT SIZE, I DO UNDERSTAND THAT WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, MAINTAIN THE, THE CHARACTER OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. I THINK THAT WAS OUTLINED VERY WELL WITH OUR, OUR PLANNING BOARD CHAIR, THAT THESE THINGS ARE ALREADY IN PLACE. UM, AND, UH, WE, I THINK WE'VE REALLY WORKED HARD AS A BOARD TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION, [02:00:01] BUT I THINK WE DO NEED TO LISTEN TO WHAT THE PUBLIC IS SAYING AND IF WE NEED TO HOLD IT OVER AGAIN. I MEAN, I THINK EVERYONE'S SORT OF TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT IT, BUT I WANNA FIND THE, THE BEST POSSIBLE SOLUTION. SO I'LL, I'LL, AND I WOULD ALSO, I AGREE WITH YOU. I FEEL THAT, UM, THE PURPOSE OF THIS LAW WHEN IT WAS FIRST INTRODUCED WAS TO HELP PEOPLE WHO REALLY NEED, NEED THE HELP. AND I'M PERSONALLY MORE INTERESTED IN HELPING PEOPLE WHO ARE ON, YOU KNOW, FIXED INCOMES, UM, RATHER THAN PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY WEALTHY, UH, WHO DON'T NEED THE BENEFITS OF A DU AS MUCH AS PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN SMALL, IN SMALLER HOMES. AND AS WAS STATED AT PREVIOUS HEARINGS AND DURING OUR MEETINGS, UM, THIS LAW, WHEN WE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST YEAR, YOU KNOW, WE THINK, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE LUCKY, THERE'S GONNA BE A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA PARTICIPATE NO MATTER WHAT WE DO. YOU'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT A HUNDRED PEOPLE, YOU'RE PROBABLY TALKING ABOUT, IT COULD BE FIVE PEOPLE, IT COULD BE 10 PEOPLE IN ONE YEAR. UH, I THINK THERE MAY BE A MAXIMUM OF, DIDN'T WE TALK ABOUT LIKE 15 PEOPLE OR WHATEVER. SO I FEEL WE SHOULD BE MORE LIBERAL. UH, GIVE IT A TRY, UH, YOU KNOW, TEST IT OUT. AND IF IT TURNS OUT AFTER ONE YEAR, IT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S PROBLEMS. THERE'S ONLY GONNA BE A HANDFUL OF HOMES THAT ARE GOING REALLY HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT, BUT AT LEAST WE'RE TESTING IT OUT. AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I JUST FEEL THAT EVERYBODY IN THE TOWN SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY, WHETHER THEY'RE RICH OR POOR. SO I WOULD REALLY WANNA PREFER, YOU KNOW, I WOULD PREFER A, A BETTER LAW THAT WOULD ALLOW MORE PEOPLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS. AND YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT'S A TEST, IT'S A PILOT. SO WE TEST IT OUT. THERE'LL BE A FEW PEOPLE WHO WILL, YOU KNOW, SMALLER HOMES THAT MIGHT PARTICIPATE. IF WE'RE LUCKY, THERE'LL BE A FEW PEOPLE. AND AFTER A YEAR, WE'LL JUST SEE WHAT THE IMPACTS ARE. AND I ALSO, UH, HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE PLANNING BOARD. YOU KNOW, I THINK THE PLANNING BOARD WILL DO THEIR, UH, JOB OF REVIEWING. UM, SO IF THEY FEEL THAT THERE'S GONNA BE ALL THIS MASSIVE PARKING PROBLEMS OR WHATEVER, THEY'LL PROBABLY SAY NO. SO MAYBE WE'LL FIND A HOUSE OR TWO THAT WE ARE WORKS. SO I DEFINITELY FEEL THAT THE LAW, UH, SHOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, MODIFIED. YOU KNOW, I, I, I'D LIKE TO JUST ADDRESS ONE THING. I THINK EVERYONE'S MAKING AN ASSUMPTION, WHICH IS THAT LARGER HOUSE, MORE MONEY, SMALL HOUSE, LESS MONEY. IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY WORK THAT WAY. THERE WAS A HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT DONE IN 2019 BY WESTCHESTER COUNTY. UM, I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S BEEN UPDATED, BUT IT WAS VERY THOROUGH AND VERY CAREFUL, CAREFULLY COMPLETED. AND AT THE TIME IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT A VERY LARGE PERCENTAGE, AND I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO LOOK AT IT, IT JUST, UM, IT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT ABOUT NOW THAT, UH, TO GIVE YOU THE PERCENTAGE, BUT THERE, THERE ARE GREATER NUMBER OF PEOPLE, A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE THAT ARE UNDERWATER, UM, WHO LIVE IN HOUSES. THEY MAY BE LARGE HOUSES, BUT THEY ARE IN DISREPAIR. UM, THEY ARE, UH, MAYBE THEY'RE SENIOR, UH, SENIORS WHO BOUGHT THE HOUSE LONG AGO, BUT THEN LIVING ON A FIXED INCOME, WERE UNABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE REPAIRS, BUT THEY MAINTAINED THE HOUSE. SO THE, THE HAVING A LAW, UM, THAT ALLOWS FOR ADU CAN APPLY TO PEOPLE IN NEED WHO LIVE IN LARGER HOMES TOO. UM, I, I AGREE THAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS THIS FURTHER. UM, I'M NOT INSENSITIVE TO WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING. I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, ADUS ARE NOT, UM, SHOULDN'T BE MISTAKEN FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT THEY CERTAINLY CAN HELP MAKE LIVING MORE AFFORDABLE, ESPECIALLY FOR SENIORS WHO MIGHT WANT TO SEED MOST OF THEIR HOMES TO THEIR CHILDREN OR IN THOSE IN NEED OF HAVING AN AIDE LIVING IN A SEPARATE APARTMENT WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE HOUSE BECAUSE THEY NEED 24 HOUR CARE. UM, AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS, WE WENT BACK AND FORTH AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME, AND THIS WAS WHY, UH, BECAUSE WE WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE, SOME OF US THINKING THAT WE SHOULD HAVE, UH, A, A LARGER, UH, SQUARE FOOTAGE REQUIREMENT, SOME OF US SMALLER SQUARE FOOTAGE REQUIREMENTS. SO WE SAID, LET'S TRY IT OUT. AND THAT WAS THE POINT I WAS MAKING BEFORE, LET'S TRY IT OUT AND SEE HOW IT WORKS, [02:05:01] HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED, LET'S GIVE IT A TIMEFRAME THAT WE CAN THEN REASSESS AND REEVALUATE. SO IT'S NOT WHATEVER WE DECIDE AND WHEN WE MAKE THE DECISION, IT'S NOT CAST IN STONE. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT AS WELL. THAT IS THE PURPOSE. AND IT'S NOT AS IF WE AREN'T LISTENING AND THINKING AND CARING ABOUT PEOPLE IN SMALLER HOUSES, BUT WE'RE ALSO CARING ABOUT PEOPLE IN LARGER HOUSES WHO CAN AVAIL THEMSELVES OF THIS. I HAD A QUESTION FOR YOU. UH, THIS IS A COMPROMISE IDEA. UM, WHAT IF, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'RE SAYING THAT THE FIRST YEAR IS A TEST, IT'S A PILOT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A PILOT JUST TO GET DATA AND TO LEARN. WHAT IF WE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ALSO SAID WE'RE GONNA BE PUTTING SOME LIMITS. WHAT IF WE, UM, HAD, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THE LIMITS, SAY TWO OR THREE HOMES THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A TOWN OF OVER 45,000. I THINK IT'S OVER 45,000 RESIDENTS. WHAT IF WE SAID TWO OR UH, THREE HOMES COULD BE THE SMALLER LOT SIZE SIMILAR TO WHAT, YOU KNOW, CAROL IS SUGGESTING. AND THE REST WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, IF THERE'S 15 HOMES THAT WE'RE GONNA ALLOW, UM, YOU KNOW, 12 HOMES WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE LARGER ONES. THIS WAY WE COULD TEST OUT FOR ONE YEAR, UM, TO SEE THE IMPACT OF THE SMALL, OF THE SMALLER HOMES. AND AGAIN, YOU'RE TALKING FOR THE WHOLE TOWN, LIKE THREE, LET'S SAY WE LIMIT IT TO THREE HOMES OR WHATEVER. FOR THE SMALLER SIZE, AT LEAST WE'LL TEST IT OUT. WE COULD GET SOME DATA AND WE COULD SEE THE IMPACTS. AND THEN, UH, A YEAR FROM NOW WE COULD BASICALLY, UM, EVALUATE IMPACTS. AND IF IT TURNS OUT THAT IT REALLY IS WORKING, THEN WE COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, EXPAND, EXPAND THE PROGRAM A YEAR FROM NOW. BUT AT LEAST WE'LL TEST SOMETHING. YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO MAKE IT, YOU KNOW, EASIER FOR LOWER INCOME FAMILIES WHO HAVE SMALLER LOT SIZES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PROGRAM. SO THAT'S JUST A COMPROMISE IDEA THAT WE COULD DISCUSS. THE, THE ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. LIKE TO SEE SOME, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST SEE SOMETHING MOVE. 'CAUSE WE HAVE BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH. WE HAVE, UM, MADE SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE, TO THE LAWS BASED ON WHAT RESIDENTS HAVE COMMENTED ON. AND AT SOME POINT WE, WE HAVE TO MOVE THE NEEDLE AT SOME POINT. WE HAVE TO MOVE ON AND SEE IF WE'RE GOING TO, WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO DO, AND NOW I'M CONFUSED 'CAUSE NOW FROM WHAT I'M HEARING NOW, ARE WE NOT DOING A SUNSET? ARE WE GONNA DO A SUNSET? OR WHAT ARE WE GONNA GATHER, GATHER DATA TO SEE WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOES NOT WORK? UM, SO AT SOME POINT, YOU KNOW, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SEE ADU GET A LIFE AND ADU REALLY GO FORWARD SO WE CAN SEE HOW THIS IS GOING TO WORK WITHIN THE COMMUNITY AND ADJUST AS WE SEE FIT. SO I'M JUST, I'M JUST HOPING AT SOME POINT WE CAN GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE CAN MOVE THIS ALONG SO WE CAN, YOU KNOW, SEE HOW THIS IS GOING TO WORK. BUT I AGREE, UH, I WAS SURPRISED THAT IT WAS HELD OVER THE LAST TIME AFTER WE HAD, YOU KNOW, A COMPROMISE GOING. UM, I WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE TO SEE THIS GET, GET IMPLEMENTED. IF WE ARE MAKING CHANGES, THEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HAVING A DISCUSSION SOMETIMES IN, IN JANUARY, BY THE TIME IT GETS ON HER DESK FOR 10 DAYS IN FINAL FORM, MAYBE FEBRUARY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS EVOLVING INTO A LEAFBLOWER LAW TYPE OF DISCUSSION WHERE RIGHT, IT JUST KEEPS CREEPING AND CREEPING AND CREEPING. SO REALLY THE DECISION FOR THE BOARD IS, UH, DO WE CLOSE THE HEARING? UM, AND WE COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE A VOTE ON THE 17TH ON THE CURRENT VERSION BECAUSE IT'S BEEN ON OUR DESK FOR 10 DAYS. UH, ACTUALLY IT'S BEEN ON OUR DESK, ON OUR DESK FOR ABOUT THREE WEEKS. OR DO WE WAIT UNTIL JANUARY, HAVE ANOTHER PUBLIC HEARING AND SEE WHERE THAT GOES. UM, YOU KNOW, AT SOME POINT WE NEED TO START GATHERING DATA. UM, AND WE'RE NOT DOING THAT. SO ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT THE CURRENT LAW WITH THE PROPOSED TWO AMENDMENTS, WELL, THAT WOULD BE A CHANGE 'CAUSE THAT'S, THAT WOULD BE A CHANGE. SO WE HAVEN'T DISCUSSED, WE HAVEN'T, WE HAVEN'T DECIDED WHAT WE WOULD DO ABOUT THAT. I MEAN, WELL, I THINK, I THINK THE BO ALL FIVE BOARD MEMBERS AGREED THAT IT WAS A GOOD COMPROMISE TO JUST DO THE 7,500. THEN AFTER WE HAD THAT AGREEMENT AMONG ALL OF US, YOU THEN SAID, UM, WELL, OKAY, HOW ABOUT GARAGES? NO, NO. AND THEN, NO, NO. YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO SEE THE TRANSCRIPT YES. FROM THE LAST PUBLIC HEARING IN WHICH THOSE COMMENTS WERE, UH, INCLUDED, WHICH WE REVIEWED. THAT WAS WHAT I TOOK FROM THAT TRANSCRIPT. I DON'T, I KNOW, I HOPE EVERYBODY SAW THAT TRANSCRIPT AND, AND [02:10:01] PULLED THOSE TWO THINGS OUT OF IT. THERE WERE OTHER THINGS THAT WERE RECOMMENDED. THOSE WERE THE TWO THINGS THAT I THOUGHT WERE THE MOST IMPACTFUL. RIGHT. UM, IS WE DIDN'T HOLD ON IT. WE, WE GOT THE TRANSCRIPT WHEN WE GOT IT, AND THEN WE DISCUSSED IT WHEN WE DISCUSSED IT WHILE WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE, THE REST OF ALL THE BUDGET STUFF. SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S BEEN, UH, AN UNNECESSARILY, UH, HOLD OR WAIT ON ANYTHING. UM, WE SCHEDULED THIS. WE HAD TO GIVE THE PUBLIC TIME TO BE ABLE TO SEE THESE AMENDMENTS, UH, OR, OR HEAR THEM FROM OUR COMMISSIONER. AND WE ARE, THESE ARE, YES. ADDITIONAL NEW PROPOSED CHANGES. SO I THINK ANOTHER DISCUSSION IS STILL IN ORDER. I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S MY FEELING. AND I THINK THERE'S SOMEONE FROM THE PUBLIC WHO WANTS TO SPEAK. HE HASN'T SPOKEN YET. NO. OKAY. GOOD EVENING. UM, I'M MICHAEL DARVISH. UH, I JUST DECIDED TO SHOW UP TO SEE THE TOWN BOARD MEETING , JUST BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY INTERESTING. I'VE LIVED IN EDGEMONT FOR 20 SOMETHING YEARS. UH, FIRST THANKS VERY MUCH FOR ALL THE HARD WORK YOU GUYS DO. IT IS HARD. UM, I HAVE TWO THOUGHTS. THE FIRST ONE IS ON A DU, UH, AND THE SECOND ONE ACTUALLY, UM, IS A LITTLE BIT MORE. AND, AND THE PROCESS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH. AND THAT EXTENDS A LITTLE BIT INTO THE IDEA OF PROCESS AND HOW YOU KIND OF MORE, HOW ANY ORGANIZATION MAY FRAME, UH, SOLUTIONS AND TRY TO MOVE THEM FORWARD IS VIABLE AS A BACKGROUNDER, I AM A ONCE UPON A TIME MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT AND CURRENTLY WORK IN, UM, WORKING WITH COMPANIES AND HELPING THEM GROW AND EVOLVE. AND A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH PROCESS AND DECISION MAKING. A LOT OF IT IS FINANCIAL, A LOT OF ITS POLICY, UH, A LOT OF ITS PEOPLE, THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, IT TURNS OUT THAT THE A DU IS SOMETHING THAT I'M PROBABLY ELIGIBLE FOR BASED ON EVERYTHING YOU'VE SAID. I SAT ON MY PHONE, I USED AI, AND I TRIED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT, WHAT THAT SCENARIO WOULD LOOK LIKE WHILE WE WERE HAVING THE MEETING. IT WOULD PROBABLY COST ME $140,000 TO PUT THIS UP. THAT'S A FAIR AMOUNT OF MONEY. I PROBABLY COULD AFFORD IT. IT'S PAINFUL, EVEN FOR ME TO SAY, TO THINK OF PUTTING $140,000 INTO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO EVEN AT THE SAME TIME, I WOULD HAVE TO ASK, HOW WOULD I GET THE PAYBACK FOR THAT? MY MOM IS AN OLDER PERSON. IT WOULD BE TERRIFIC FOR HER TO COME AND TO LIVE. I STILL THINK THAT THAT'S A, A DIFFICULT OPTION TO TRY TO CONSIDER. THIS LEADS ME TO A, TO A DIFFERENT POINT, WHICH IS THAT A, A SUBPOINT, I THOUGHT MR. SMOS, WHO I'VE NEVER MET BEFORE, ACTUALLY SAID A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE PROBABLY LIKELY SCENARIOS ON WHAT COULD HAPPEN. THAT PEOPLE WOULD LOOK AT THIS AS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES AND YOU WOULD HAVE CERTAIN KIND OF PEOPLE GOING, UH, AND MAKING INVESTMENTS IN DECISIONS. I'M NOT SURE, THEREFORE THAT THE POPULATION OF THREE OR FOUR DIFFERENT CASES THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT ARE ALL OF THEM. UH, IS IT GOING TO BE THE ONE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? IS IT GOING TO BE A DIFFERENT CASE THAT'S REALLY GONNA HAPPEN ON THE IDEA OF A PILOT? FIRST OF ALL, I LOVE THE FACT THAT THE TOWN'S TRYING TO BE INNOVATIVE AND BRING IDEAS LIKE AN A DU IN. I THINK IT'S NECESSARY. I THINK WE LIVE IN A TIME WHERE SO MUCH CHANGE IS HAPPENING IN EVERY DIMENSION ON JUST ON OPERATIONS PLANNING, WHICH IS REALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. AND I THINK THAT THERE ARE MANY, MANY TOOLS. UH, AI IS A VERY POWERFUL ONE. IT'S NOT A CLICHE. IT IS SOMETHING THAT I USE EVERY DAY. IT'S INCREDIBLY POWERFUL FOR SCENARIO PLANNING. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR PILOT, I ASK, WHAT IS IT THAT THE PILOT'S REALLY GOING TO DO? NOT TO CHALLENGE DOING A PILOT, IT'S A GOOD IDEA, BUT MORE SO IS THAT, IS ARE YOU GONNA HAVE A SAMPLE BIG ENOUGH? ARE YOU GONNA GET THE INFORMATION THAT YOU REALLY NEED? ARE YOU SPENDING TIME THAT PROBABLY YOU COULD, YOU COULD MODEL AND TRY TO SURVEY PEOPLE, MODEL DIFFERENT SCENARIOS. THINK ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THE ECONOMICS AND, AND OTHER ELEMENTS THAT ARE IN THIS AND MAYBE COME TO THE ANSWERS A YEAR EARLIER THAN DOING A YEAR PILOT IN THIS PARTICULAR A DU CASE. I THINK IT'S DIFFICULT FOR ANY ONE PERSON, PARTICULARLY SOME OF THE, THE FOLKS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, TO HAVE THE TOOLS AND THE TIME AND THE DOLLARS AND THE CONFIDENCE AND THE LEGAL MEANS AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS, AND THE CONVERSATIONS WITH MOM TO COME LIVE THERE. IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET ALL THAT ARRANGED IN A YEAR. SO I'M NOT SURE, PLUS THE QUESTION OF HOW MANY, UH, POTENTIAL, UH, HOUSES ARE GONNA BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS. I'M NOT SURE YOU'RE GONNA GET A STA A STATISTICAL ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SOLVE. SO [02:15:01] 12 MONTHS FROM NOW, 18 MONTHS FROM NOW, WHERE ARE YOU? SO MY ENCOURAGEMENT, AND THIS EXTENDS TO THE WORK THAT THE, THAT THE CONTROLLER'S DOING. MY, MY, MY ENCOURAGEMENT IS TO HAVE THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE OR SOME OFFICE, YOUR OFFICE, TO BE THINKING ABOUT USING THESE TOOLS TO DEVELOP OUT THE SCENARIOS SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE A MUCH DEEPER UNDERSTANDING. NOT, I DON'T JUST MEAN THE BOARD, BUT I MEAN EVERYBODY WHO'S, WHO'S, UH, INTERESTED IN THIS QUESTION. UH, AND THE INNOVATION THAT'S UNDER THIS QUESTION AND THE, AND MOVING THE COMMUNITY FORWARD IN THIS QUESTION. I THINK THAT YOU CAN GET A LOT OF DEEPER SCENARIOS THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO PRESENT THESE TO THE TOWN OR TO YOUR INTERNAL PLANNING PROCESS SO THAT YOU CAN SELECT THE CASES THAT YOU WANT THIS TO SOLVE FOR. ON THE QUESTION OF THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, I HAPPEN TO ASK MYSELF ON AI, HOW MANY CONTROLLER PE, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG WORKING IN THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE? HOW MANY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS DO WE HAVE? WHAT'S THE BUDGET OF THE TOWN? I'M SORRY, BUT I I HAVE DO HAVE TO HOLD YOU TO THE FIVE MINUTES I'VE BEEN HOLDING. CAN I ADD ONE MORE, ONE MORE MINUTE? NO, YOU CANNOT. SORRY. OR ELSE I'D HAVE TO GIVE A, I WAS CURIOUS TO HEAR WHAT THE PUNCH PUNCHLINE WE COULD WANT THE PUNCHLINE. I WHY DON'T WE JUST, THIS IS LIKE REALLY INTERESTING. I MINUTES TALK OFFLINE. IT I'LL DO IT. I DON'T THINK I'LL DO IT IN 20 SECONDS. WE, WE DON'T KNOW. WE CANNOT DO THAT. I, I'M SORRY. AS PARLIAMENTARIAN, I HAVE TO STICK A FIVE MINUTE RULE. WE, UNLESS WE ALLOW ADDITIONAL TIME FOR EVERY OTHER SPEAKER FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT, YEAH, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A SUGGESTION. I YOU'VE GOT SOME INTERESTING, GOOD IDEAS. IF YOU WOULD PLEASE WRITE TO US. MM-HMM. AND THEN GIVE US YOUR PUNCHLINE. YOU, I I'M ALSO WONDERING, I SORT OF FEEL LIKE THIS IS LIKE WHEN I WATCH YOUR, IT'S PUBLIC COMMENT AS WELL. SO YOU COULD SPEAK AFTER AND IT SHUTS OFF RIGHT AT THE INTERESTING PART. SO I'M CUR YOU CAN SPEAK IN PUBLIC COMMENT. CAN I JUST ASK ONE QUESTION? WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO VOLUNTEER, UH, YOUR TIME AND HELP US COME UP WITH, CAN TALK ABOUT THIS AFTER? MAYBE. OKAY. MAY YEAH, MAYBE I COULD EMAIL YOU WHERE YOU COULD EMAIL ME. SO WE HAVE TO DECIDE ARE WE CLOSING THE HEARING OR ARE WE KEEPING IT OVER? BECAUSE IF WE WE'RE CLOSING IT, THEN THERE'S ANOTHER ROUND OR WE WANNA JUST HAVE AN INFORMAL VOTE ANOTHER ROUND AND THEN WE GET TO HEAR. YEAH. THAT'S NOT THE POINT. WHEN IS, ARE WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT THE A CQ LAW? WE HAVE PUBLIC HEARING. LET'S JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT. OKAY. WHAT, WELL, WE, WE HAVE TO, NO, WE HAVE WHY, WHY DON'T WE HAVE A, A VOTE THEN TO SEE IF THERE WOULD BE A SECOND ROUND. IF, IF, IF THERE'S A SECOND ROUND YOU'RE EXPECTING TO CLOSE TONIGHT AND THERE COULD BE NO FURTHER CHANGES TO THE LAW. MM-HMM . IF THERE, IF YOU WANT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE LAW, YOU ADJOURN THE HEARING NOW TO A FURTHER DATE. THERE IS NO SECOND ROUND. ANYBODY WHO WOULD STILL LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE TOPIC TONIGHT COULD SPEAK DURING PUBLIC COMMENT IF THEY WISH, WHICH IS LIKE IN FIVE MINUTES. CAN'T YOU JUST VOTE TO ALLOW A SECOND ROUND AND NOT VOTE THE HEARING? NO, NOT ACCORDING TO OUR AGENDA. NO, NOT ACCORDING TO OUR RULES. I'M VOTING TO ADJOURN. YOU COULD ALSO MAKE THAT MOTION AND SEE IF THERE'S A SECOND IN THE MAJORITY VOTE. OH, OKAY. SO I MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE HEARING. I'LL SECOND TO WHAT TO WHAT DATE TO, UM, WELL I THINK WE NOT TILL THE NEXT, UH, WE, WE, WE NEED A LITTLE MORE TIME TO JANUARY 14TH OR JANUARY 28TH. OR I, I WOULD DEFER TO THE REST OF THE BOARD ON THAT. COMMISSIONER. OH, OR THE COMMISSIONER? WELL, THE 14TH IS THE REORG MEETING. OH YEAH. SO BOARD RESERVES 28 BY THE TOWN BOARD AGENDA. OH, WE, WE KNOW THE RULES. PLEASE STOP WITH THE OUTBURSTS. SO CAN WE DO WE IS THE MOTION TO, TO THE 28TH? ADJOURN TO THE 28TH? DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. I DID. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. IT'S THREE ALL AGAINST A I'LL. I'LL VOTE. AYE. BUT I JUST, I JUST THINK THIS IS JUST GONNA GO ON AND ON AND ON AND I REALLY WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE GOTTEN THIS THING IMPLEMENTED. OKAY. [ PUBLIC COMMENT Advanced signup is required. A continuous five-minute limit per speaker will be strictly enforced. The clock will start when a speaker begins speaking and will not be stopped for any reason until the speaker is finished, or five minutes have elapsed, whichever occurs first. Interruptions by Town Board members, the Town Clerk or the public will not be permitted. If a speaker insists on an immediate answer, should an answer be provided, it shall be part of the speaker's five-minute allocation and not be interrupted. There will not be a second five-minute round. Any written comments sent to PublicComment@GreenburghNY.com by 4 PM the day of the hearing will be forwarded to all Town Board members in advance of the meeting for their consideration. Written comments will not be read at the meeting unless the original author is present to do so.] NOW WE'LL HAVE THE PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, AND, UM, YOU COULD SPEAK, OKAY, WELL WE HAVE A LIST. WE HAVE A LIST OF FOUR EYES IN ONE THING. COULD COULD HE JUST SPEAK JUST THAT'S NOT FAIR TO MR. LAWRENCE? ELLEN ELLENBERG. I HAVE ZERO. WE HAVE A LIST OF FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. OKAY. YEAH. I'LL HAVE LISA CLARIFY. LAWRENCE ELLENBERG, SHE SAID I MAKES PEOPLE DISCOURAGE. DIDN'T GINA SAY I, SHE SAID VERY PATIENT. I, YEAH, IT'S REALLY DISGUSTING. I THOUGHT SO. SAID I. GOOD EVENING. YOU'RE WELCOME, MR. FINER BOARD. UM, I'LL BE REALLY QUICK. I JUST, I NEED SOME ASSISTANCE HERE. UM, I HAD A CHECK STOLEN. UH, CAN YOU JUST IDENTIFY YOURSELF? SORRY. LAWRENCE ELLENBERG. E-L-L-E-N-B-E-R-G. UH, PAID MY SCHOOL TAXES. UH, BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. SOMEONE [02:20:01] STOLE THE CHECK, WASHED THE NAME OFF IT. I DIDN'T REALIZE UNTIL SEVERAL MONTHS LATER WHEN I GOT A LETTER FROM THE TOWN THAT IT HAD BEEN STOLEN. 'CAUSE THE AMOUNTS WERE THE SAME. SO, UM, LONG STORY SHORT, I GOT THE POLICE REPORT. I DID EVERYTHING I'VE BEEN TOLD BY, UM, THE RECEIVER OF TAXES AND I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET THIS RESOLVED SINCE JUNE. UM, MS. HOWARD SAID IT'S WITH THE BOARD AND SHE SAID NO ONE FROM THE BOARD HAS EMAILED HER BACK. UM, I HAVE EMAILED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD. WE'RE PLANNING ON APPROVING THAT IN JANUARY. OKAY. THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO KNOW. OKAY. AND YOU FILED WITH, WHICH, UH, THANK YOU. YOU FILED THE POLICE POLICE REPORT. THE POLICE REPORT. JUDGES POLICE REPORT WITH WHICH POLICE DEPARTMENT? UH, GREENBERG. GREAT. THANK YOU. SO DID YOU TRY TO FILE IT LEY, WHICH IS WHERE THE POST OFFICE WAS? UH, I DIDN'T PROBABLY ALSO, 'CAUSE I MAILED IT PROBABLY FROM THE CITY WOULD BE MY GUESS, BUT, UH, WHAT'S THAT? I'M SORRY. I DIDN'T CATCH IT. I, I MAILED IT MOST LIKELY FROM MANHATTAN, SO FROM MY OFFICE. SO THAT'S WHY I, NO, BUT, BUT THE CRIME HAPPENED IN ARDSLEY, RIGHT AT THE ARDSLEY POST OFFICE. IS THIS WHERE DID YOU FILE FILE THE POLICE REPORT? I FILED THE POLICE REPORT HERE. GREENBURG GREEN. AND WHERE DID YOU MAIL? I MAILED IT IN THE CITY, BUT YEAH, IN MANHATTAN. OKAY. I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID. SO, SO IT WASN'T LEY? NO, I THINK THAT, SO THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING TOTALLY NEW THEN, BECAUSE ALL THE OTHER ONES HAD TO DEAL WITH THE LEY POST OFFICE. YOU'VE HAD OTHER ISSUES. YES. YES. WONDERFUL. IS THE FIRST TIME I'M HEARING THAT IT'S A DIFFERENT NOW. MY, I MEAN I WON'T GET INTO, BASICALLY MY OFFICE HAD NUMEROUS ISSUES IN THE CITY. I HATE HEAR IT'S AN ISSUE ALL OVER. APPARENTLY. I'M FINDING OUT THERE ARE A LOT OF ISSUES. I WAS SPEAKING TO A SENIOR CITIZEN TODAY. I WENT TO THE SENIOR CITIZEN HOLIDAY PARTY IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT. SOMEBODY, UH, HAD A SIMILAR SITUATION. THEY, I THINK IN PURCHASE THEY JUST TOLD ME TODAY AND THEY WANTED YOU MIGHT, SO I THINK FOR YEARS IT WAS DON'T PAY ANYTHING ONLINE. NOW EVERYBODY SAYS PAY IT ONLINE. WE'RE JUST TRYING TO CLARIFY BECAUSE NO, WE JUST TRY TO UNDERSTAND. 'CAUSE EVERY OTHER INCIDENT, AND THERE'S ABOUT A DOZEN MM-HMM . WHERE PEOPLE HAVE MAILED SOMETHING AT THE LEY POST OFFICE. UH, AND ACTUALLY SOME GIVEN IT OVER THE COUNTER, IT WOUND UP THAT THEIR, THEIR CHECKS EITHER FOR WATER BILL OR FOR THE, THE PROPERTY TAXES OR SCHOOL TAXES WAS MAILED THERE. AND THEN IT WAS WASHED, LIKE YOU'RE SAYING. YEAH, I GUESS THE FIRST TIME I'M HEARING I'M THE OUTLIER. 'CAUSE I I I'M FROM THE CITY. YOU WERE OUT SOMEWHERE IN MANHATTAN THAT'S HAPPENING. WE'RE NOT AWARE OF THAT. DID YOU ACTUALLY BRING IT TO THE POST OFFICE? UH, IT WAS PUT, NO, IT WAS PUT IN THE MAILBOX, UM, OUTSIDE MY OFFICE. IT WAS PUT IN THE MAILBOX OUTSIDE. OKAY. OFFICE. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT, WHY WOULD IT, EVEN IF HE MAIL, DO YOU LIVE IN THE, UH, THE, ARE YOU, DO YOU LIVE IN THE AREA OF THE ? YEAH, I, I LIVE IN EDGEMONT, SO NO, NO. SO NO, NO. SO YOU WOULD NOT BE GETTING YOUR MAIL FROM THE ARTS POST OFFICE, YOU WOULD BE GETTING IT ON CENTRAL AVENUE. OKAY. VERY INTERESTING. YEP. WELL THAT'S, I PROVIDED ALL THE INFORMATION SO YOU CAN CHECK THE NAME ON THE CHECK AND SEE IF IT CROSSES. I, I'VE REVIEWED THE POLICE REPORT. I, I I KNOW, I KNOW THE SITUATION. SO YEAH. SO WE'RE PLANNING ON GETTING THESE ON THE JANUARY AGENDA. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY, YOU'RE WELCOME. APPRECIATE IT. GOOD EVENING. YOU HAVE I THANK HAVE A GO ON, BARBARA. WHAT? BARBARA THERE. THE CRIME OCCURRED IN MANHATTAN. ALL GOOD NIGHT. MS. TANYA DRAGIC. THANK YOU. UM, HONORABLE KEN JONES. OKAY. WITCH HAT. OKAY. YOU AGAIN. UH, HI. UM, I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE GREENBERG BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM INITIATIVE BANNER PROJECT, UH, TO INTRODUCE TO THE TOWN BOARD, UH, IN THE PUBLIC FORUM, UH, THE BANNER PROJECT. I HOPE YOU RECEIVED FROM HOLLY THE BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE BANNER PROJECT THAT I PROVIDED TO HER. UM, THE GREENBERG BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM INITIATIVE IS PROPOSING A BANNER PROJECT, UH, THAT CELEBRATES INDIVIDUALS WHOSE LIVES AND LEGACIES EMBODY THE VALUES OF EXCELLENCE, PERSEVERANCE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, CULTURAL INNOVATION, AND COMMUNITY UPLIFT. UM, WE HOPE, UH, TO HANG BANNERS, UH, ON A TOWN STREET IN COLLABORATION WITH THE TOWN BOARD, UM, THAT WOULD CELEBRATE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE A CONNECTION TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, DECEASED INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE A CONNECTION TO THE COMMUNITY. UM, THE STANDARDS [02:25:01] FOR THE BANNERS AND THE INDIVIDUALS REPRESENTED ON THE BANNERS WOULD BE ONE OF EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP. UH, THEY WOULD HAVE TO HAVE AN ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY, USED ART MEDIA OR CULTURE AS A VEHICLE FOR SO STORYTELLING OR SOCIAL AWARENESS. UH, ELEVATED UNDERREPRESENTED VOICES THROUGH CREATIVE EXPRESSION, DEMONSTRATED EXCELLENCE ACROSS DISCIPLINES SUCH AS FILM, PHOTOGRAPHY, MUSIC, LITERATURE, OR PERFORMANCE. UH, THE HONOREES MAY BE RECOGNIZED, UH, FOR SEVERAL DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, UH, INCLUDING BEING A TRAILBLAZER IN CIVIL RIGHTS OR SOCIAL JUSTICE, UH, CULTURAL OR ARTISTIC INNOVATION. BEING AN EDUCATOR, A SCHOLAR, OR A PUBLIC SERVANT, BEING A COMMUNITY ADVOCATE OR HUMANITARIAN, AS WELL AS BEING A PIONEER IN MEDIA OR ENTERTAINMENT. UH, THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR CHOOSING THE INDIVIDUALS TO BE REPRESENTED ON THE BANNERS WOULD BE THROUGH NOMINATION FROM THE, THE COMMUNITY. AND EACH NOMINEE SHOULD REFLECT COURAGE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY, INNOVATION IN ART, EDUCATION, OR PUBLIC LIFE CONTRIBUTION TO A RACIAL OR SOCIAL EQUITY, COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND STORYTELLING, AND HAVE A POSITIVE AND ENDURING COMMUNITY INFLUENCE. UH, THE CURRENT LIST OF HONOREES, UH, OR PROPOSED HONOREES WOULD INCLUDE, UH, CAB CALLAWAY, GORDON PARKS, VERNON JORDAN, WILLIAM SUTTER, AMONG OTHERS. UM, WE ARE NOT ASKING THE TOWN FOR ANY FUNDS, UH, BUT AN IN KIND CONTRIBUTION, WHICH WOULD BE THE HELP OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND PLACING THE BANNERS, UH, ON, UH, THE POLLS ON A STREET THAT WOULD BE SELECTED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE TOWN BOARD. UM, AND WE WOULD HOPE THAT, UH, AND MY PURPOSE OF COMING HERE THIS EVENING, UH, IS TO PUBLICLY INTRODUCE THE CONCEPT. UM, I HOPE TO GET ON A WORK SESSION AGENDA COMING UP SO WE CAN DISCUSS IT IN MORE DETAIL. BUT I WANTED TO, UH, JUST INTRODUCE THE CONCEPT TO YOU HERE, UH, AND TO THE PUBLIC AT LARGE SO THAT WE CAN BEGIN THE CONVERSATION. CAN, UH, TWO THINGS. YES. NUMBER ONE, YOU MIGHT WANNA TALK ABOUT THE BLACK HISTORY, UH, MUSEUM EXHIBITION THAT WE HAVE GOING ON RIGHT HERE. YES. YES. AND NUMBER TWO, FOR HOW LONG ARE YOU SUGGESTING THE BANNERS, UH, BE? UM, THE LENGTH OF TIME IS TO BE DETERMINED. THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WE WOULD COLLABORATE WITH THE TOWN BOARD ON. UM, AND FOR AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THE BANNERS MIGHT LOOK LIKE OR THE BEGINNINGS OF THE GREENBERG BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM INITIATIVE, THERE IS CURRENTLY AN EXHIBIT HANGING HERE ON THE FIRST FLOOR OF TOWN HALL, UH, THAT PEOPLE CAN COME AND SEE, UH, TO SEE THE TYPES OF PEOPLE. WE HOPE, UH, TO CONTINUE TO HONOR WITH THESE BANNERS, UH, AND TO GET A FULL FLAVOR OF THE GREENBERG BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM INITIATIVE. MM-HMM . UM, WE HOPE THAT THESE EXHIBITS WILL CONTINUE AND WILL ONE DAY BE PART OF A PERMANENT EXHIBIT, UH, HERE IN TOWN, UH, PERMANENTLY HOUSED, UM, IN A BUILDING SOMEWHERE IN THE TOWN THAT WE WOULD ALSO HOPE TO COLLABORATE WITH THE TOWN IN DEVELOPING. AND YOU'LL GIVE US MORE DETAILS AT THE, I THINK WE SAID THE 23RD, WE DO THE WORK SESSION. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SHOOTING FOR, YES. OKAY, GREAT. AND I THINK THIS IS DONE IN NORTHERN WESTCHESTER ALSO. YES. UH, WELL, SIMILAR, UH, BANNERS HAVE BEEN HUNG, UM, IN MANY DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES IN WESTCHESTER, INCLUDING OUR NEIGHBORING COMMUNITY OF VAL HOWA, UM, WHERE THEY'RE CELEBRATING, UH, WAR VETERANS WITH SIMILAR BANNERS AND GREENBERG TOO. YEAH. I MEAN, WE THANK YOU, KEN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE, THANK YOU. THANK YOU WALTER. SIMON, I WOULD JUST, UH, LIKE TO TALK A FEW MINUTES ABOUT THE PROCESS WHEN WE HAVE OUR FIVE MINUTES AND TO MAKE A PROPER, UH, RECOGNITION OF THE SUPERVISOR, THE TOWN BOARD MEMBERS, AND THE PUBLIC. IT TAKES A FEW SECONDS TO DO THAT. AND SO KNOWING THAT YOU ONLY HAVE FIVE MINUTES, THEN YOU RUSH IN AND MAKING YOUR PRESENTATION WITHOUT EVEN RECOGNIZING THE BOARD. NOW I SPEND 30 SECONDS JUST TO SAY THAT NOW IF I HAVE FIVE MINUTES, I'M NOT GONNA SPEND 30 MINUTES SAYING, GOOD EVENING, MR. FINER MEMBERS OF THE TOWN BOARD THE PUBLIC, BECAUSE THE TIME CLOCK IS GOING ON. SO [02:30:01] I GET UP HERE AND SAY, I'M WALTER SIMON, AND GO RIGHT INTO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY. I THINK IT'S DISRESPECTFUL AND, AND THE WAY YOU USE THE CLOCK, THE CLOCK, YOU MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR CITIZENS WHO WANT TO EXERCISE THE QUO IN THE TOWN BOARD MEETING AND RECOGNIZE THE SUPERVISORS, THE MEMBERS OF THE TOWN BOARD IN A PROPER FASHION. SO WHAT I'M SUGGESTING THAT YOU ALLOW NO MORE THAN 30 SECONDS SO PEOPLE COULD COME UP AND MAKE THE PROPER RECOGNITION OF THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC. AND THEN, AND THEN AFTER 30 SECONDS, THEN THIS COX WILL START. THAT'S A SUGGESTION, AND I THINK IT, IT WILL ADD TO THE PROFESSIONALISM OF PRESENTATIONS WHEN I COME UP HERE AND I JUST SAY, I'M WALTER SIMON AND START TALKING. SO AT LEAST CONSIDER THAT. THANK YOU. DR. ALLEN, DID YOU WISH TO SPEAK MR. ISH? UH, I KNOW, I APOLOGIZE, MR. ISH, IF YOU CAN JUST, UH, WAIT ONE SECOND. OKAY. MR. TAR, GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. I'M WAITING FOR THE PUNCHLINE. . UH, I'M SO NEW. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A TIME CLOCK. UH, THE PUNCHLINE WAS THE, THE, UH, CONTROLLER HAS, I THINK FROM WHAT I'VE READ ABOUT EIGHT PEOPLE ON STAFF, YOU HAVE A CERTAIN SIZE BUDGET, YOU HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS, MAYBE 15, LET'S SAY YOU'RE IN THE 60. NO, YOU'RE IN $138 MILLION RANGE, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. WHEN I COMPARE THE RATIO OF THOSE NUMBERS TO THE STAFF, IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY'VE GOT DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF WORK COMPARED TO, UH, WHITE PLAINS OR COMPARED TO ING OR COMPARED TO SOME OF THE OTHER TOWNS AROUND. YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT. WHY I SAY THAT IF YOU INVEST IN ANOTHER PERSON OR TWO, MAYBE THEY HAVE MORE TIME TO WORK. AND USING THESE TOOLS AND APPROACHES I TALKED ABOUT LIKE, LIKE, UH, ANALYTIC TOOLS THAT ARE GONNA ALLOW YOU TO FORGE, I THINK, UH, DEEPER SCENARIO PLANNING ON SOME OF THE THINGS ON THE BUDGET. UH, AND POSSIBLY YOU CAN SAVE TWO, THREE, 4% OF THE BUDGET AS YOU GO FORWARD USING AS AI AND PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING AND SOME OTHER THINGS. THAT'S THE WAY I THINK COMPANIES ARE DOING IT AND THEY SEEM TO BE EVOLVING PRETTY QUICKLY, VERY QUICKLY. AND I THINK IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A TOWN. YEAH, I'VE BEEN, UH, READING SOME, YOU KNOW, GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE, PUBLIC SECTOR MAGAZINES AND THEY'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AI. UM, AND AGAIN, IF YOU'RE, YOU'D BE WILLING TO LIKE, SIT DOWN WITH, WITH ME AT SOME POINT AND AND OTHER STAFF PEOPLE, IT REALLY WOULD BE APPRECIATED BECAUSE I THINK THAT, UM, WE SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL THE TOOLS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, ARE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AND IT MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP US. I THINK IT COULD BE REALLY USEFUL. AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE EVEN PUTTING A COMMITTEE OF CITIZENS WHO UNDERSTAND THE USE OF AI AND UM, AND THEY COULD ASSIST US IF WE HAVE A BUDGET COMMITTEE, UH, THEY COULD ASSIST US COMING UP WITH MODELS THAT COULD HELP THE TOWN, YOU KNOW, SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM. I THINK THIS COULD BE, THIS IS A REALLY GREAT USE IDEA. YEAH. I JUST WANNA MENTION, I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS A LITTLE TINY KIND OF A CHANGE THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WAY ORGANIZATIONS ARE BEING RUN. I THINK IT'S HIGHLY TRANSFORMATIONAL. AND WHAT THAT, WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS YOU HAVE TO HAVE A POINT OF VIEW THAT THIS IS THE WAY YOU WANNA RUN A BUSINESS OR RUN A, RUN AN ORGANIZATION OR RUN A GOVERNMENT. IT'S NOT LIKE, OH, WE'LL JUST MAKE A COUPLE OF LITTLE CHANGES AND MAYBE WE'LL GET A LITTLE BIT. I THINK THAT, THAT I'M, I'M REALLY ENCOURAGING THAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE PROCESS OF HOW YOU RUN GOVERNMENT AND YOU, AND YOU TRY TO AVAIL OF THE TOOLS THAT I THINK ARE ALREADY HERE AND ARE BEING USED IN LOTS OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. THIS IS REALLY TERRIFIC. IT WAS WORTH HAVING THIS MEETING JUST TO HEAR THIS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, THE CONTROLLER HAS GIVEN US SIX YEAR PROJECTIONS FOR BOTH THE A AND B BUDGET, AND WE'VE HEARD FROM RESIDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING ABOUT THE RISE OF TAXES. IT'S THE, IT'S UNAFFORDABLE FOR SOME PEOPLE. SO WE HAVE TO THINK OUT OF THE BOX. WE HAVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE SKILLS OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO HAVE EXPERTISE IN, YOU KNOW, AI AND, AND IF WE HAVE TO REINVENT THE WAY GOVERNMENT IS RUN, UM, WE HAVE TO DO IT BECAUSE IT'S NOT GONNA BE SUSTAINABLE, UH, JUST TO RUN THE TOWN. LIKE IT'S ALWAYS BEEN RUN. WE HAVE TO BE OPEN. AND IF YOU HAVE GOOD IDEAS, YOU [02:35:01] KNOW, I REALLY WOULD, UH, YOU KNOW, BE WELCOME. AND THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY LIKE YOU WHO ALSO HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH AI. AND AGAIN, I I HAVE LIKE NO DOUBT THAT WE COULD SAVE, LIKE YOU SAID, IF WE COULD SAVE THREE OR 4%, THAT'S A, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE A REALLY MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT. SO THANK YOU. IT'S ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE. NO, I'M, I DEFINITELY AM GOING TO GIVE YOU A RING. THANK YOU. SO HOW TB TWO A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS MORE INTO THE EDGEMONT CORPORATION BATTLE. WHY ARE WE SPENDING IT? HAVE WE SPENT IT ALREADY AND YOU'RE JUST APPRO THE RESOLUTION? OR IS IT GOING FORWARD TO SPEND A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS? WHY DON'T WE WAIT AND SEE WHERE EDGEMONT IS ON ALL THIS? IF WE'RE LOOKING TO SAVE MONEY AND REDUCE TAXES? MR. DANKO, I REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ME. HE JUST, MINUTES AGO HE TOLD ME IT'S ON THE AGENDA, BUT ALSO ON THE AGENDA IS THE TOWN BOARD RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY THE TOWN BOARD AGENDA AT ANY TIME. SO WHEN I SUGGESTED YOU COULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM BY VOTING TO ALLOW ADDITIONAL TIME, YOU TOLD ME YOU CAN'T DO IT BECAUSE IT'S ON THE AGENDA ALREADY. EARLIER WHEN I SUGGESTED THAT THE TOWN RECONSIDER RECONSIDER HOW IT HANDLES ASSESSMENTS YOU KEPT, AND I SAID, YOU KNOW, HOME RULE EXCEPTION, YOU KEPT SAYING IT'S AGAINST THE LAW, BUT THE PURPOSE OF A HOME RULE EXCEPTION IS TO GO AGAINST THE LAW AND SEE WHETHER IT'S POSSIBLE. YOU KNOW, YOU'D RATHER GIVE A FALSE IMPRESSION AS THE PA PARLIAMENTARIAN AS TO WHAT THE PUBLIC THINKS OR EXPRESSES. AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S VERY FAIR SINCE YOU ARE SITTING ON THE DAIS AND HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK WHENEVER YOU WANT. I THINK YOU NEED TO EXERCISE A LITTLE BIT OF FAIRNESS AGAINST THE PUBLIC. SO HOW'S THE TOWN BOARD GONNA SAVE US MONEY THIS YEAR? THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW. AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER, THEN I THINK YOU HAVE A REAL PROBLEM. WELL, ONE OF THE IDEAS I BROUGHT UP A FEW HOURS AGO WAS, UH, NOT, UH, WAS ELIMINATING THE FIVE PHYSICIANS THAT, UM, WE'RE NOT DISCUSSING THAT. NO, HE, HE, HE JUST ASKED. WE HAVE A WHOLE AGENDA TO GO THROUGH STILL. OKAY. OKAY. WELL, I I HAVE TO COMMENT VERY BRIEFLY. I DO NOT APPRECIATE WHEN THERE ARE OUTBURSTS FROM THE CROWD, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAVE A STENOGRAPHER WHO WE HAVE TO PAY FOR THE TRANSCRIPT AND FOR HER TIME. AND WHEN MANY PEOPLE ARE TALKING OVER AT ONCE, WE NEED A COMPLETE RECORD. SO I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT, I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR COMMENTS TONIGHT. UM, I, BUT I DON'T APPRECIATE IS THE COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE WHEN SOMEONE ELSE IS SPEAKING AND IT MAKES THINGS VERY CONFUSING. WELL, SINCE I HAVE A COUPLE MINUTES LEFT, THEN LET ME RESPOND TO THAT. DOES IT NOT SAY WHAT I READ ON THE AGENDA, IS IT NOT ACCURATE THAT YOU CAN CHANGE THE AGENDA AND AT ANY TIME IT DOES SAY THAT, AND THAT'S COMMON PRACTICE BY ROBERT'S RULES AND ANY MUNICIPALITY. SO EVEN IF I TALKED OUT OF TURN AND COMPLETELY UPSET THE STENOGRAPHER, YOU ARE SAYING YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE AGENDA. IT'S INCORRECT, ISN'T IT? I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND RE-LISTEN TO THAT PORTION. WELL, YOU, YOU SAID, I, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE VERY CLEAR THAT I WAS INTERRUPTING THE EVERYONE ELSE, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS YOU'RE NOT SO CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID. MAYBE YOU REMEMBER BETTER ABOUT WHEN I WAS TALKING ABOUT CHANGING HOW ASSESSMENT IS PERFORMED AND I ANSWERED YOU AT THAT TIME. I SAID WE WOULD HAVE TO GO TO THE STATE AND IT WOULD BE UP TO THEIR DISCRETION. BUT YOU ALSO SAID IT'S AGAINST THE LAW AT THE TIME. IT'S EVEN THOUGH AGAINST THE LAW WE COULD SEEK A HOME RULE EXCEPTION. HAL, I'M LISTENING TO A BOARD WHO CREATES POLICY. I'M LISTENING TO AN AUDIENCE THAT'S AT A PODIUM. I CANNOT HEAR OUTBURSTS FROM THE CROWD. EVERY SINGLE MINUTIAE THAT IS SAID WHEN WE'RE TALKING, OH, MINUTIA AND CROWD. THAT'S VERY INTERESTING AS CHOICE OF WORDS. LET ME BRING UP ANOTHER POINT. THE SCREEN THERE. PEOPLE WHO ARE SEATED HERE CAN SEE VERY CLEARLY, EVEN THOUGH SHE HAS A BACKDROP THAT SAYS HANNAH GREENBERG AND IT RESEMBLES THE FLAG ON ONE SIDE AND THE FLAG ON THE OTHER SIDE. WE KNOW SHE'S NOT PHYSICALLY HERE. AND YOU ANSWERED THAT SAYS REMOTE. I HAD ASKED YOU THE QUESTION IS, DOESN'T SHE HAVE TO DISCLOSE HER HOME ADDRESS? SHE DOES NOT. NO. THE, THE ADDRESS WHERE SHE IS, SHE DOES NOT. WHERE'S THE SECOND [02:40:01] NOTE? ME. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THAT'S THE LAW. I WILL YIELD ON THAT POINT. IF SHE WANTED TO BE PART OF THE QUORUM, SHE WOULD HAVE TO DISCLOSE IT AND BE IN A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE LOCATION, BUT LOCATION. BUT SHE'S NOT, SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BECAUSE THERE'S A QUORUM OF THE BOARD HERE IN A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE LOCATION. SHE'S BE ABLE TO VOTE. SHE DOESN'T BECAUSE WE HAVE A QUORUM. SHE HAS THE ABILITY TO VOTE AS LONG AS THERE'S A MAJORITY OF THE BOARD PRESENT IN A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE LOCATION. AND THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. WE HAVE A FOUR OF FIVE BOARD MEMBERS HERE. SO HER VOTE COUNTS. AND I THINK IT'S ALSO COMMENDABLE WHEN SOMEBODY ISN'T FAILING, GREAT TO PARTICIPATE IN A BOARD MEETING. IT SHOWS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DEDICATION. SO I THINK IT'S REALLY FANTASTIC, YOU KNOW, WHILE SHE'S DONE, EVEN WHEN SHE WAS NOW SHE'S, UH, GINA IS FEELING BETTER, BUT WHEN SHE WASN'T FEELING AS GREAT, SHE STILL PARTICIPATED. SO I THINK THAT'S TREMENDOUSLY COMMENDABLE. AND THIS BOARD ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT PIONEERED BEFORE COVID BEFORE ANYONE KNEW WHAT A ZOOM WAS, UH, USING A REMOTE, UM, UH, VIDEO CONFERENCING, UH, ON THIS BOARD BACK THEN IT WAS SKYPE. YEAH, IT WAS, I REMEMBER THAT WE WERE I THINK LIKE THE FIRST IN THE STATE, RIGHT? CLIFF ABRAMS. OKAY. NO, CLIFF ABRAMS. CLIFF ABRAMS, UM, SUPERVISOR FINDER, THE TOWN BOARD. TOWN CLERK. MM-HMM . TOWN COUNCIL . UM, ONCE UPON A TIME AGO, AND I THINK IT WAS BEFORE ALAN AND GINA AND YOU JOY, BUT I'M SURE FRANCIS AND PAUL WAS HERE. IT USED TO BE IT'S, UM, 10 35 RIGHT NOW. UM, IT USED TO BE AT SEVEN 30 WHEN THE MEETING START, IF YOU WANTED A PUBLIC COMMENT, YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES. THEN IF YOU WANTED A SECOND TURN, YOU HAD TO WAIT TO THE END OF THE MEETING. LIKE NOW YOU GET THREE MINUTES. AND I BROUGHT THIS UP BEFORE TO SAY THAT IT'S NOT FAIR FOR THE CITIZENS WHO WANT TO SPEAK AND TO FEELING THAT YO WANT TO HEAR OUR COMMENTS, THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT TO 10 30 AT NIGHT TO GET FIVE MINUTES. UM, LAST MONTH I HAD ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE EXTRA PEOPLE HERE WHO WANTED TO SHARE SOME PUBLIC COMMENTS, BUT THEY WAS YOUNG, THEY COULDN'T STAY, YOU KNOW, IT WAS LATE AND I JUST, THEY COULD CONSIDER, OR GOING BACK TO, I DON'T KNOW WHY IT STOPPED, BUT IF YOU COULD TAKE A LOOK AT IT GOING BACK TWO TO FIVE MINUTES OR YOU EITHER HAVE THREE MINUTES IN FIVE MINUTES, WHATEVER Y'ALL WANT TO DO, BUT PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO COME UP HERE AND SPEAK HOW THEY FEEL BEFORE WE HAVE TO SIT BACK THERE AND HEAR ALL THE HEARINGS. THAT'S ONE THING. ALL RIGHT. UM, ALSO, I REMEMBER, AND I COULD BE WRONG, THAT THE UM, COMMISSIONERS, LIKE THE DEPARTMENT, COUNTY RESOURCE, PARKS AND REC, I THINK THEY USED TO COME UP AND GIVE THEIR REPORTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. UM, I DON'T SEE NONE OF THEM EVER BEEN AT MEETINGS NO MORE. AND IT MIGHT BE A REASON WHY Y'ALL DON'T WANT THEM HERE. I DON'T KNOW. BUT I REMEMBER THEY USED TO HAVE TO BE HERE. UM, I DON'T WANNA BE A SOUR PUSH. TRUST ME, I TRY, I TRY MY BEST, YOU KNOW, BUT I'M WALKING AROUND A EXHIBIT AND I SEE LIKE, UM, MS. PERRY, MR. SUTER, UM, UH, MS. WILLIAMS AND, AND LAND STAR AND DR. H****R. I KNOW THEY GAVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT WHEN I SEE KA CARAWAY AND, AND THESE CELEBRITIES LIKE THAT WHO LIVED HERE, BUT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE WHY THEY UP THERE BECAUSE I DON'T NEVER KNOW NONE OF THEM. AND I'VE BEEN AGREEMENT MY WHOLE LIFE. I DON'T KNOW NONE OF THEM WHO GAVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY. AND IF I'M WRONG, I STAND TO BE CORRECTED. BUT IF YOU ARE GONNA HAVE A BAZILLION OF PEOPLE WHO GAVE BACK AND I HAD TO SEE IF SOMEBODY DID SOMETHING WELL, LIKE ATLANTA STAR, Y'ALL GOT THEM UP THERE. DR. H****R, UM, BARBARA PERRY, MS. WILLIAMS, BUT [02:45:01] C CALLAWAY AND ALL THE OTHER CELEBRITIES, MAN, I I USED TO BE THE PAPER BOY FOR ROY CAPELLA, RIGHT? HE WAS HORRIBLE. . HE AIN'T NEVER GIMME A TIP , THIS IS BIBLE. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? AND YOU KNOW, JUST BECAUSE HE THEY LIVE HERE DON'T MEAN THEY DESERVE TO BE HONORED. DEFINITELY. THEY, THEY, WE GOT A COMMUNITY CENTER. ROY LIVES ON JUPA HILL. THE CENTER IS WHAT, A FIVE MINUTE, 10 MINUTE, UM, RIDE, 15 MINUTE WALK. HE AIN'T NEVER GAVE BACK. HE'S A BASEBALL PLAYER. FAMOUS. HE AIN'T NEVER GAVE BACK TO THE CENTER TO HELP US OUT OR TO COME SHOW HIS FACE TO YOUNGER PEOPLE. I'M JUST SAYING, I AIN'T TRYING TO BE A SOUR. BUT IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE THIS EXHIBIT, MAN, LET'S HAVE PEOPLE WHO FROM GREENBURG, WE GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM GREENBURG WHO DOING GREAT THINGS, GREAT THINGS. I KNOW A FEW OF THEM THAT'S HAD UP THERE. SO I'D RATHER SEE SOME FACES LIKE THAT WHO REALLY GAVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY INSTEAD OF SOMEBODY MOM, MABEL'S AND CAB WHO JUST LIVED HERE. THANK YOU. IS THAT IT? THAT'S THAT IS IT? OKAY. MOVE THE AGENDA. OKAY. STATE, UM, TB ONE [ TB 1 - 12/10/2025 Resolution of the Town Board authorizing an agreement with JOBOMEDIA LLC d/b/a Artistically Serving Communities (ASC) for the 2026 Summer Jazz Concert Series, at Yosemite Park, at a cost not to exceed $30,000] RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN BOARD AUTHORIZING THE AGREEMENT WITH JOB O MEDIA, UH, ARTISTICALLY SERVING COMMUNITIES FOR THE 2026 SUMMER GS CONCERT SERIES AT YOSEMITE PARK AT A COST NOT TO EXCEED $30,000. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT. JANIE, DO YOU WANT A SECOND? THAT AYE. OKAY, SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. UM, [ TB 2 - 12/10/2025 Resolution of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh authorizing the continued retention of Cozen O’Connor for the Town Supervisor's review and evaluation of a petition filed for the purposes of Village Incorporation, for an additional $100,000, $350,000 in total] RELU, UH, TB TWO, UM, A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AUTHORIZING THE CONTINUED RETENTION OF COZEN O'CONNOR FOR THE TOWN SUPERVISOR'S REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF A PETITION FILE FOR THE PURPOSE OF VILLAGE AND CORPORATION FOR AN ADDITIONAL A HUNDRED THOUSAND THREE 50,000 IN TOTAL. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND IN FAVOR, AYE. AYE. AYE. AND JUST TO CLARIFY, WE HAVE NOT ALREADY SPENT THOSE FUNDS. I OF COURSE GET THE PERMISSION OF THE BOARD FIRST BEFORE, UM, LETTING ANY ADDITIONAL WORK OCCUR JUST TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION FROM EARLIER. OKAY. UM, A S ONE [ AS 1 - 12/10/2025 Resolution authorizing compensation for the Board of Assessment Review members for 2025, not to exceed $6,300] RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING COMPENSATION FOR THE BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW MEMBERS FOR 2025 NOT TO EXCEED $6,300. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. [ AT 1 - 12/10/2025 Resolution authorizing settlement of property damage related Claim, File No.: 96/25C, by Lydia & Tom Gray, for an amount not to exceed $93.21] A T ONE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF PROPERTY DAMAGE RELATED CLAIM, UM, BY LYDIA AND TOM GRAY FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $93 AND 21 CENTS. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND IN FAVOR, AYE. AYE. AT [ AT 2 – 12/10/2025 Resolution authorizing settlement of property damage related Claim, File No.: 107/25C, by Daniel R. Weinfeld, for an amount not to exceed $1,278.89] TWO RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF PROPERTY DAMAGE CLAIM BY DANIEL WEINFELD FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,278 AND 89 CENTS. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. [ AT 3 - 12/10/2025 Resolution approving the retention of the law firm of Morris Duffy Alonso Faley & Pitcoff to represent the Town of Greenburgh in the matter of Infant, E. M. by her mother and Natural Guardian Shelone Mitchell, et ano v. The Town of Greenburgh, for an amount not to exceed $25,000] A THREE RESOLUTION OF APPRO THE LAW FIRM OF MA DUFFY UHSO AND PITCOCK TO REPRESENT THE TOWN OF GREENBURG IN THE MATTER OF INFANT BY HER MOTHER AND NATURAL GUARDIAN. SHE, SHE, LAUREN MITCHELL, UM, VERSUS THE TOWN OF GREENBURG FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $25,000. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT. I'LL SECOND. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THIS AS AMENDED AS I READ THE RESOLUTION AND MADE IT APPEAR AS IF THE FORMER DEPUTY TOWN ATTORNEY DID SOMETHING WRONG. AND I THINK IT'S ONLY BECAUSE THE FORMER DEPUTY TOWN ATTORNEY WHO HANDLED THIS CASE IS NO LONGER HERE TO REPRESENT IT. SO WE NOW HAVE OUTSIDE COUNSEL TO DO THAT. IS THAT CORRECT? TOWN ATTORNEY? ALMOST THE FORMER. I I, I TOTALLY AGREE THAT THE FORMER DEPUTY TOWN ATTORNEY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH INJURING THIS INFANT IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. RIGHT? UM, HE WOULD HAVE HANDLED THIS CASE BECAUSE OF HIS RETIREMENT. WE ARE OUTSOURCING IT TO MORE STUFFY. HE DID NOT DO ADDITIONAL, HE DID NOT DO WORK ON THIS CASE. IT CAME IN AFTER HIS RETIREMENT. SO WHY IS HE EVEN MENTIONED? I BELIEVE THAT WAS A HOLDOVER FROM SOME LANGUAGE WE WERE USING A FEW MONTHS AGO BECAUSE, UM, TECHNICALLY SPEAKING THIS IS SORT OF AN IN-BETWEEN AREA USING THE OUTSIDE COUNSEL AT THIS POINT. AND WE ARE USING THE OUTSIDE COUNSEL BECAUSE HE RETIRED. SO WE CAN TAKE THAT OUT. IF THE BOARD WISHES ON FUTURE RESOLUTIONS OUTTA ONE, WE ARE OUT A YEAR TAKE, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE IT OUT OF THIS ONE. I'D LIKE TO AMEND IT TO REMOVE A REFERENCE TO THE FORMER TOWN ATTORNEY. 'CAUSE IT DOES APPEAR AS IF THE TOWN ATTORNEY BECAUSE THAT IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THE FORMER TOWN ATTORNEY DID SOMETHING TO INJURE THE INFANT. CAN I, I, OKAY. I AGREE. AND CAN WE MAKE THE AMENDMENT, AND I'LL MAKE THE AMENDMENT FOR FUTURE RESOLUTIONS AS WELL TO SAY THAT THERE IS NO IN-HOUSE COUNSEL FOR, UM, SUMMONS AND COMPLAINTS AND WE'RE, AND WE'RE USING OUTSIDE COUNSEL FOR THOSE PURPOSES AT [02:50:01] THIS TIME. SO PAUL, WOULD YOU MAKE THAT MOTION AS AMEND AS THE TOWN ATTORNEY JUST SAID? YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE BASING IT ON AN AMENDMENT AND I'LL MAKE THAT CHANGE SO WE'RE NOT REFERENCING THE THE RETIRED. RESTATE RESTATE YOUR MOTION, BUT SAY AS AMENDED, UH, ACCORDING TO WHAT THE TOWN ATTORNEY JUST SAID. ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD. WAIT, THIS IS, UH, THE MA STUFFY RIGHT? I'LL THREE. I'LL ALSO FAIL A T THREE RESOLUTION, UM, APPROVING THE RETENTION OF THE LAW FOR OF MA STUFFY. I ALSO FAIL AND TUFF TO REPRESENT THE TOWN OF GREENBERG IN A MATTER OF INFANT A M BY HER MOTHER AND NATURAL GUARDIAN SHALL OWN, UH, MITCHELL, UH, FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $25,000 AS AMENDED BY THE TOWN ATTORNEY. CORRECT. ALL SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR. A AYE AYE. A [ CL 1 - 12/10/2025 Order of the Town Board scheduling a Public Hearing for Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 7:30 PM to consider an application by Paige Brodsky to extend the Finmor Sewer District in the Town of Greenburgh] C ONE ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD SCHEDULING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14TH AT 7:30 PM TO CONSIDER AN APPLICATION, UH, BY PAGE BROSKY TO EXTEND THE FINMORE SEWER DISTRICT IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. [ CL 2 - 12/10/2025 Order of the Town Board scheduling a Public Hearing for Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 7:30 PM, to consider an application by Michael P. Teverbaugh, Sr. & Karen Taverbaugh to extend the Finmor Sewer District in the Town of Greenburgh ] UM, C TWO ORDER THE TOWN BOARD SCHEDULING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14TH AT 7:30 PM TO CONSIDER AN APPLICATION BY MICHAEL REBA AND KAREN REBA TO EXTEND THE FINMORE SEWER DISTRICT IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. C3 [ CL 3 - 12/10/2025 Resolution scheduling a Public Hearing for Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 7:30 PM, for the purpose of considering a one-year agreement between the Town of Greenburgh and the Village of Irvington to provide Fire Protection Services to Unincorporated area residents of the East Irvington Fire Protection District for the year 2024] RESOLUTION SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14TH AT 7:30 PM FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING A ONE YEAR AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AND THE VILLAGE OF IRVINGTON TO PROVIDE FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES TO UNINCORPORATED AREA RESIDENCE OF THE EAST IRVINGTON FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT FOR THE YEAR 2024. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. I ALSO, UM, SENT A LETTER, UH, AN EMAIL TO, UH, ALL THE MAYORS, VILLAGE MANAGERS AND FIRE DISTRICTS TODAY, UH, WITH YOUR SUGGESTION THAT, UH, THEY PROVIDE US WITH, UM, CONTRACTS, UM, NO LATER THAN, UM, THE END OF MARCH, OF THE YEAR OF THE, THE CONTRACT. AND, UM, WHEN I WAS, UH, I WAS IN LEY AND I SPOKE TO, UH, THE MAYOR OF THE NEW MAYOR OF ARDSLEY, UH, YOU KNOW, EARLIER TONIGHT. AND I ALSO, UM, SPOKE TO, UM, UH, I EMAILED, GOT A RESPONSE FROM THE FIRE CHIEF IN TARRYTOWN AND YOU KNOW, HE LIKED THE IDEA. SO I, I THINK YOUR IDEA WAS REALLY EXCELLENT. I WANNA COMPLIMENT YOU FOR COMING UP WITH A, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. APPROVE A CONTRACT IN, IN 2026, UH, FOR SERVICES THAT WERE RENDERED IN 2024. SO THIS, THIS WAS IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, I JUST FEEL HAS BEEN EMBARRASSING. UM, SO I JUST WANNA REITERATE, IN THE CASE OF TARRYTOWN, THE, IT WASN'T THE TOWN'S DELAY, THE TOWN ONLY RECEIVED THE BILL FOR FROM TARRYTOWN FOR 2024, ABOUT SIX WEEKS AGO. AND I BELIEVE THE ORIGINAL ONE THAT THEY GAVE US, THEY HAD TO RESCIND AND GAVE US A DIFFERENT SET OF DATA. UH, SO WE ONLY GOT IT WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS AFTER MULTIPLE REQUESTS FOR IT, AFTER MULTIPLE REQUESTS TO GET THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, RIGHT? BUT YOU LAST COUPLE WEEKS. BUT GOING FORWARD, YOUR SUGGESTION WILL SOLVE A PROBLEM BECAUSE BASICALLY YOU DON'T PAY BILLS TWO YEARS AFTER THE FACT. YOU KNOW, YOU, WELL IT'S AGAIN, TO RE TO REITERATE THE REITERATION, IT WASN'T PAYING A BILL TWO, TWO YEARS AFTER THE FACT. IT WAS PAYING A BILL A FEW WEEKS AFTER IT WAS RECEIVED FOR WORK THAT WAS TWO YEARS OLD. RIGHT? BUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF, UH, UH, FOR IRVINGTON WOULD SAY, BY THE WAY, WE DON'T WANNA SIGN THE CONTRACT AND IT'S ALREADY 2026 AND THE SERVICES WERE 2024. YOU KNOW, WE BASICALLY HAVE TO PAY THEM SOMETHING BECAUSE THEY PROVIDED A SERVICE. BUT SOME OF THE FIRE CONTRACTS, THAT'S THE WAY THEY DO IT. YEAH, BUT SO IT'S GONNA, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MODIFY HOW THE CONTRACTS ARE DONE, BUT I ALSO ALSO THINK THAT WE SHOULD BE MOVING TOWARDS, UH, IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR, HOW CLOSE DID THEIR BUDGETS COME TO REALITY. AND THEN WE ADJUST BASED ON WHAT, WHAT YEAH, THAT, WHAT OCCURRED. ANYTHING THAT WE COULD DO THAT, RIGHT? WE'LL MAKE IT BETTER. SO [ CL 4 - 12/10/2025 Resolution scheduling a Public Hearing for Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 7:30 PM, for the purpose of considering a one-year agreement between the Town of Greenburgh and the Village of Irvington to provide Fire Protection Services to Unincorporated area residents of the East Irvington Fire Protection District for the year 2025] SEE, ALL FOUR RESOLUTION SCHEDULING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14TH AT SEVEN 30 FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING A ONE YEAR AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AND THE VILLAGE OF IRVINGTON TO PROVIDE FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES TO ONE INCORPORATED AREA RESIDENCE OF THE EAST IRVINGTON FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT FOR THE YEAR 2025. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. [ CL 5 - 12/10/2025 Resolution rescinding Resolution CL-2 – 11/24/2024 and authorizing closing Edgemont Road, from Artillery Road to the triangle with Edgemont Place, on Sunday, December 14, 2025, from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, for the Edgemont Community Council (ECC) to hold its annual Menorah lighting event at Crane’s Pond ] RESOLUTION, RESCIND RESOLUTION CL TWO AND AUTHORIZING CLOSING CL TWO FROM 1124. 2025. THAT SHOULD BE, UM, RIGHT . WHERE ARE HERE IN OTHER, IT'S RIGHT HERE. IT'S RES I'LL READ IT. UH, RESOLUTION, RESCINDING RESOLUTION CL TWO FROM NOVEMBER 24TH, 2025 [02:55:02] AND AUTHORIZING CLOSING EDGEMONT ROAD FROM A CHILLY ROAD TO THE TRIANGLE OF EDGEMONT PLACE ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14TH, 2025 FROM 6:30 PM TO 8:00 PM FOR THE EDGEMONT COMMUNITY COUNCIL ECC TO HOLD ITS ANNUAL AU LIGHTING, UH, EVENT AT CRANE POND. SO THE, THE REASON WHY WE'RE SENDING SOMETHING IS THAT, WELL, THE OTHER ONE HAD FOUR 30 TO SIX 30, BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT THE ROD DOG CAN'T MAKE IT BETWEEN FOUR 30 AND SIX 30. SO RATHER THAN HAVING CONFUSING RESOLUTIONS, WE JUST WIPED OUT THE PREVIOUS ONE AND WE'RE PUTTING A NEW ONE. SO YOU, YOU'RE MAKING THAT MOTION, PAUL. I MAKE THE MOTION. SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. C ONE [ CD 1 - 12/10/2025 Resolution approving, with conditions, an amended site plan application by Metropolis Country Club (“Metropolis”), as it relates to an existing golf course located at 289 Dobbs Ferry Road (P.O. White Plains, NY) [TB 25-09] ] CD ONE. UM, RESOLUTION APPROVING WITH CONDITIONS AND AMENDED SITE PLAN APPLICATION BY METROPOLIS COUNTRY CLUB AS IT RELATES TO AN EXISTING GOLF COURSE LOCATED AT NOT APPROVING LEE CONDITIONS APPROVING WITH CONDITIONS. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I SAID. SAID CONDITIONS. ALRIGHT, I MAKE THAT MOTION. SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. UM, YOUR [ CD 2 - 12/10/2025 Resolution adopting a Local Law amending Chapter 605 of the Code of the Town of Greenburgh, entitled, “Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals,” as it relates to the composition of Planning Board, by increasing the number of alternates from one to two and decreasing the membership from seven to five, with a one-year re-evaluation period of the reduction] CCE TWO RESOLUTION ADOPTING A LOCAL LAW AMENDING CHAPTER 6 0 5 OF THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG ENTITLED, UH, PLANNING BOARD AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS AS IT RELATES TO THE COMPOSITION OF PLANNING BOARD BY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF ALTERNATES FROM ONE TO TWO AND DECREASING THE MEMBERSHIP FROM SEVEN TO FIVE WITH A ONE YEAR REEVALUATION PERIOD OF THE REDUCTION. ORIGINALLY I WAS GONNA BE, I WAS AGAINST IT, BUT SINCE IT'S ONLY, UH, GONNA BE FOR LESS THAN A YEAR, UM, I'LL VOTE FOR IT BECAUSE, UM, THE PLANNING BOARD NEEDS TO DO THEIR WORK AND IF WE DON'T APPROVE IT, UH, THERE COULD BE PROBLEMS AT THE SHORT TERM, BUT LONG TERM THERE'LL BE SE HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET BACK TO THE SEVEN MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR. SO I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ARE YOU MOVING IT? GOOD. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. A UM, [ CD 3 - 12/10/2025 Resolution of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh authorizing the services of AKRF, inc. (“AKRF”), related to traffic signal upgrades along East Hartsdale Avenue in the vicinity of the Hartsdale Train Station and Rockledge Road, for an amount not to exceed $12,000] CD THREE RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AUTHORIZING THE SERVICES OF A KRF RELATED TO TRAFFIC SIGNAL UPGRADES ALONG EAST HARTSDALE AVENUE AND THE VICINITY OF THE HARSDALE TRAIN STATION ON ROCKLEDGE ROAD FOR AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $12,000. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT. SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. UH, CD [ CD 4 - 12/10/2025 Resolution of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh authorizing the purchase of traffic signal infrastructure to be installed along East Hartsdale Avenue in the vicinity of the Hartsdale Train Station and Rockledge Road, for an amount not to exceed $17,291.74] FOUR RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN BOARD OF CR C. NO. CD FOUR CD CD FOUR. CD FOUR. OH, SORRY. RESOLUTION. THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG ARISING THE PURCHASE OF TRAFFIC SIGNAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO BE INSTALLED ALONG EAST HARSDALE AVENUE IN THE VICINITY OF THE HARSDALE TRAIN STATION IN ROCKLEDGE ROAD FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 17,000 2 91 70 $4. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? A A AYE. GINA, GINA, UH, [ CR 1 - 12/10/2025 Resolution accepting on behalf of the Department of Community Resources a $6,0000 donation from the Metropolis Country Club Foundation to help support the programs at the Theodore D. Young Community Center] CR ONE RESOLUTION ACCEPTING ON BEHALF OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY RESOURCES RESOURCED FOUR. IS THIS $6,000? YEAH. $6,000 DONATION FROM THE METROPOLIS COUNTRY. I WAS JUST THERE. OH, DID WE GET AN OH, RIGHT. UM, I ACTUALLY DO HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU. OKAY. UM, LET PAUL MAKE THE MOTION. OKAY. SORRY. WE'LL SECOND IT. WE COULD HAVE A DISCUSSION. UH, $6,000 DEMOTION FROM THE METROPOLIS COUNTRY CLUB FOUNDATION TO HELP SUPPORT THE PROGRAMS OF THEATER YOUNG COMMUNITY CENTER. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT. SECOND, SECOND, SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? EVERYBODY SECOND IT. JUST PICK ONE. OKAY. ALRIGHT, SO YOU HAD SOME INFORMATION. SO IN 2023, UM, A A DONATION WAS MADE BY THE, UM, BY THE METROPOLIS COUNTRY CLUB FOUNDATION. THAT'S THE OPERATIVE WORD HERE TO I THINK IT WAS THE SUMMER CAMP FOR, AT, AT, UH, YOU KEEP WALKING, YOU JUST KEEP MOVING AWAY FROM, OKAY. SORRY. THAT'S GOOD. UM, AND, AND, UM, JOE LUCCHESE AND, OH, I GUESS IT WAS JERRY BYRNE AT THE TIME BROUGHT IT TO THE ETHICS BOARD TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS ACCEPTABLE AND THE ETHICS BOARD APPROVED IT. OKAY. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR, PAUL? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. [ CO 1 - 12/10/2025 Resolution authorizing Fiscal Year 2025 budget transfers] CO ONE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET TRANSFERS. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. [ CO 2 - 12/10/2025 Resolution authorizing Milliman, Inc. to perform actuarial services required by GASB 75 for Fiscal Years 2025 and 2026, at a cost not to exceed $12,500 for each year] CO2 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING MILLIMAN TO PERFORM ACTUAL ACTUARIAL SERVICES REQUIRED BY GSB 75 FOR A FISCAL YEAR 2025 AND 2026 AT REQUEST NOT TO EXCEED $12,500. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND IN FAVOR, AYE. AYE. UM, THE CO THREE HAS BEING HELD OVER, UM, AND, UM, UH, [ CO 4 - 12/10/2025 Resolution authorizing Fiscal Year 2025 highway department budget amendment for the purchase of snow removal vehicles] RESOLUTION, UH, CO FOUR RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING FISCAL YEAR 2025 HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT BUDGET AMENDMENT, UH, FOR THE PURPOSE OF SNOW REMOVAL VEHICLES. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND, SECOND FAVOR, AYE. AYE. TAKE ONE P [ PO 1 - 12/10/2025 Resolution adopting the recommendation of the Greenburgh Police Department to add no parking restrictions on the west side of Pine Street, amending Chapter 460 of the Code of the Town of Greenburgh] [03:00:01] OH ONE, UH, RESOLUTION. UH, ADOPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE GREENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT TO ADD NO PARKING RESTRICTION ON THE WEST SIDE OF PINE STREET, AMENDING CHAPTER FOUR 60 OF THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND IN FAVOR, AYE. AYE. RES APPEAL. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT ABOUT WHICH ONE? PINE STREET. WHAT ABOUT IT? SO WHAT, WHAT ARE THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH ONE? UH, WHAT IF YOU'RE ON CCO ROAD HEADING TOWARDS NINE A, YOU MAKE THE TURN UP TO PINE STREET, IT'S RIGHT AS YOU'RE GOING DOWN THE HILL BY THE HOUSING AUTHORITY AS YOU GO UP THE HILL, THERE'S A, A FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT CURVE. OH YEAH. AND THERE'S NO SITE DISTANCE. YEAH. YEAH. SO THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S A RESTRIC PO TWO, [ PO 2 - 12/10/2025 Resolution adopting the recommendation of the Greenburgh Police Department to amend the parking restrictions on Lincoln Place, amending Chapter 460 of the Code of the Town of Greenburgh] UH, RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE GREENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT TO AMEND THE PARKING RESTRICTIONS ON LINCOLN PLACE. AMENDING CHAPTER FOUR 60 OF THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. DITO DI, NO [ PO 3 -12/10/2025 Resolution adopting the recommendation of the Greenburgh Police Department to reduce the posted maximum speed limit on Pipeline Road and Aqueduct Drive, amending Chapter 460 of the Code of the Town of Greenburgh ] PSYCH RESOLUTION. UH, P THREE, UH, RESOLUTION, UH, ADOPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE GREENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT TO REDUCE THE POSTED MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT ON PIPELINE ROAD AND AQUEDUCT DRIVE AMENDING CHAPTER FOUR 60 OF THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. FOUR. AND THEY'RE REDUCING IT TO 25 MILES AN HOUR. WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE PUT IT ON THERE, BUT THEY'RE REDUCING. YEAH. WELL YOU NEED TO GO LIKE THREE MILES AN HOUR TO GET OVER THOSE , RIGHT? YEAH. P FOUR IS BEING HELD OVER. PO FOUR IS BEING HELD OVER. PW ONE IS BEING HELD OVER. RIGHT. UH, [ PW 2 - 12/10/2025 Resolution renewing the Annual Generator Maintenance contract with Gentech Ltd, for an amount not to exceed $30,000] PW TWO, UH, RESOLUTION RENEWING THE ANNUAL GENERATOR MAINTENANCE, UH, CONTRACT WITH GENTECH LTD FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED, UH, $30,000. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. AND UM, WE'RE GOING TO, THERE'S A MOTION HELD, A SPECIAL WORK SESSION ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11TH AT 4:00 PM UM, AT GREENBERG TOWN HALL AUDITORIUM TO HELD DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR ANNUAL AUDITORS. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AND THAT'S IT. MOTION TERRANCE. I HOPE YOU HEARD THAT LAST PART. , WHAT TIME WAS THAT? FOUR 4:00 PM FOUR O'CLOCK. PAUL, PICK THE TIME. 4:00 PM A YOU MOTION TO AURN. IT'S 11. MOTION TO ADJOURN UNLESS YOU WANT. STAY. 10 56. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.