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  • Highlights – Rye Town Board Meeting March 24, 2009

    04/02/2009

    1) Rye Town revenues from the Mortgage Tax, in the words of Supervisor Joe Carvin, “fell off a cliff.”
     
    In 2007, mortgage tax revenues were $1,500,000 (approximately)
    In 2008, mortgage tax revenues were $933,000
    2009 estimates are for approximately $625,000, and may be an optimistic projection at this point.

    As Supervisor Carvin put it, “that’s a 60% drop in revenue in two years.”
    2) Supervisor Carvin is making a major push for shared town services among the three school districts and two villages that compose the Town of Rye. He even held up purchase or lease of a new or used tractor to replace a 28 year old mechanically irreparable tractor mower in Crawford Park until a thorough survey could be taken of all the other governmental entities in the Town to see if they had equipment that could be used in Crawford Park. Additionally, other ways to consolidate school and municipal services will be investigated by a special committee. Councilmen Bob Nioras and Bill Villanova will co-chair that committee.

    3) In the only bright revenue spot in the entire evening (we use the word “bright” advisedly because what is “bright” for the Town” is bad news for others), Supervisor Carvin announced that 79 property owners in the Town who had failed to pay their real estate property taxes for years – sometimes as long as a decade – were finally being dunned and threatened with In-Rem foreclosure. They have until June 15 to pay up. There is an estimated $1,400,000 in back taxes that if not paid to the Town, the Town will foreclose on the properties. Receiver of Taxes Nicholas Mecca reported that in only two weeks after these notices were sent out, about $225,000 had been paid up. Will the years long due property taxes (with penalties) make up for the Town’s shortfall in revenue? Supervisor Carvin is waiting for more numbers.

    4) Town Confidential Secretary Bishop Nowotnik reported that the roof on the Town Hall is leaking badly; the Supervisor’s office has a bucket to collect rainwater during downpours. Even the Rye Town Park Beach building, which has not had repairs for years, has leaky roofs, which must be fixed, at an estimated cost of $1,200,000. Net of existing Grant funds of $400,000, the Town may need to bond the $800,000. By law the City of Rye would be responsible for ½ of any bonded capital improvements.

    5) The Town, having had a reval in 2004, is mandated to update it in 2010. Town Assessor Mitchell Markowitz reported that the Town has signed a $70,000 contract with a firm called Geospan, which shortly will start taking aerial pictures of the entire Town as well as sending a car equipped with multiple digital cameras which will photograph every property from street level. The contract could be reduced to $55,000 if Geospan gets a similar contract from Yonkers, and is able to combine their aerial and car tracking efforts.

    6) Supervisor Carvin said that within the next two years he either wants to change the efficiency and strength of Rye Town by consolidating government services in the Villages and Towns that comprise the Town, or propose the elimination of the Town altogether. He said the Town cannot continue with business as usual, which is “unsustainable” in the current economic environment, which is projected to last for years. 

    7) Supervisor Carvin deplored the low voter turnouts in the elections in Port Chester and Rye Brook. He said the Rye Town Democracy Project would aim, one way or the other, to get increased voter participation (up from the current under 25% to 40-50%) for local elections, and committed to work with Councilman David Gelfarb and Councilwoman Michele Mendicino who will act as co-Chairpersons of the Rye Town Democracy Project.




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