Section: Croton-on-Hudson The Real Deal by Leo Wiegman
April 29, 2008
Steep Slope [Part 3]: Village Taxes 2008-2009
Last June in this column, we discussed some of the options available for curbing village property tax rates: Develop “Better Properties”; Cut Expenses; Raise Service Rates & Fees; and Reorganize Services.
Croton’s final fiscal 2008-2009 budget that emerged from the annual budget process is—as always—lower than the staff’s initial proposed budget.
How did the village board and staff get there? For many budget lines that do not involve personnel, the budget for next year is nearly flat over the current year. Let’s take a quick look at which of major tax levers were used and at inflation, capital projects, and resulting debt expenses.
The tax rate increase for 2008-2009 will be a modest 3.95%, down from the proposed budget that would have required a 5.9% increase. Given the underlying valuation for 2008-2009, the new total tax levy that yields a 3.95% increase must be circa $10,250,000 (the amount to be raised by local property taxes). The village’s total budget will be just over $16 million with the difference of c. $6 million raised by other means (parking lot, water and sewer rates, building and recreation fees, sales tax share, etc).
Compared to most other neighboring towns and villages this year, 3.95% is slightly better than the average. So, kudos to the board and staff!
Continue reading "Steep Slope [Part 3]: Village Taxes 2008-2009."
Tools: 
Print
| 
Comments (2)
April 4, 2008
Why Acid Rain was Good for us—and Other Recent Good News
The new green collar economy is beginning to emerge, right here in New York. Four news items caught my eye this week:
- The nation’s first ever carbon dioxide allowance auction in the nation for a mandatory emissions reduction program will take place on September 10, 2008.
- The dirtiest coal-fired electricity generating plant in New York will be closing in nearby Stony Point.
- A renewable energy firm is moving to Tarrytown from Portsmouth NH to be closer to the staff and financial resources they need in New York City.
- Al Gore teams up with the Geico Insurance ‘gecko’ ad firm and many others to launch a “we can solve it” campaign.
These four stories are the evidence for this economic tide: The allowance auction is part of it. So is closure of a major polluter and the arrival of a biogas technology firm.
Dealing with acid rain successfully since 1990 has taught us how to tackle other more troublesome airborne emissions. The essential tool in reducing sulfur dioxide, the emission most responsible for acid rain, was market-based regulation that let polluters decide how and when to meet lowered emission caps. (For more on how the US tackled acid rain with a cap and trade program, see the Appendix to this column on Abating Acid Rain.)
Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of burning fossil fuels. Over 80% of the carbon dioxide we put in the air comes from combusting coal, oil, gasoline, and natural gas. And half of that comes from industrial processes and power stations generating electricity and, less than 20% (!) from the internal combustion engines in our cars, trucks, planes and trains.
The US is a leading exporter of carbon dioxide to the global atmosphere. Of course, once carbon is in the atmosphere, it is not American or Chinese carbon anymore, but everyone’s carbon. View a world map of who is responsible for atmospheric carbon dioxide(CO2), at Wikipedia.
It began in earnest with the invention of the effective coal-fired steam engine in the early 1800s—an invention that propelled America trains and boats to a economic and industrial manifest destiny across the entire North American continent and beyond. Since then a steady rise of carbon as a thick blanket in the atmosphere that has been accompanied by a rise global average temperatures, hence the term “greenhouse gas.”
While scientists disagree on exactly how much the Earth is warming due to burning fossil fuels and deforestation, they do agree the Earth is getting warmer and will keep getting warmer unless we lower our carbon dioxide emissions.
The carbon allowance auction will use market principles to reduce the total amount of carbon dioxide we send into the Earth’s atmosphere. This well-thought out ” cap and trade” program is not a federal initiative. The feds have lagged far behind America’s states and cities in the recent years on environmental policy innovation. But you already knew that!
Ten states have decided not to wait for Washington. Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the signatory states, with others as observer states and regions, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, and the eastern Canadian provinces (See the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Members and Observers (2008) map.).
Continue reading "Why Acid Rain was Good for us—and Other Recent Good News."
Tools: Print
| Comments (0)
February 5, 2008
Light Industry in Croton: Major Changes Ahead
Today in Croton-on-Hudson, fourteen acres of prime light industrial land on two different sites may be headed for big changes. The two significant sites are wedged between the Route 9 state highway and Metro-North’s rail yard. One is on the market now, the Max Finkelstein Tire Warehouse, and the other, 1A Croton Point Avenue, is the subject of an active acquisition effort by the Village.
Two Lots in Croton’s Light Industrial Zone that are headed for change (click to enlarge picture).
What land uses do we currently find in Croton-on-Hudson’s Light Industrial (LI) zone? The major uses revolve around rail transit. From largest to smallest, the current uses and whether they pay property taxes are as follows:
| Croton’s Light Industrial Zone Occupants | Area | Tax Income? |
| Metro North’s Harmon Yard and Croton Harmon Train Station | 100+ acres | No Tax Income |
| Village’s Parking Lot, Public Works Garage, Salt Shed and Canoe Launch | 16 acres | No Tax Income |
| Greentree Realty (1A Croton Point Avenue, former waste transfer site) | 9.5 acres | Taxable |
| Finkelstein Tire Warehouse (special permit required) | 4.5 acres | Taxable |
| Office Buildings (at 1 and 2 Croton Point Avenue and Senasqua Road | 2 acres | Taxable |
Financially, two facts stand out. First, the 130+ acres in our Light Industrial zone yield only 16 acres of taxable land. About 90% of the light industrial acres produce no property tax income to the village. Metro-North is tax-exempt and so is the land the village owns.
Most communities that create light industrial zones do so explicitly to generate property taxes (or payments in lieu of taxes) and local jobs, while consolidating the location of such businesses. Think of all the industrial or business parks that spring up near transportation hubs all over the Northeast.
Second, the Village owned Parking Lot generates over $2 million dollars revenue from annual parking fees. But fixing the flood prone section of the lot will cost $1.5 million. That capital expense alone (before any borrowing costs) comes to roughly $750 per commuter or $400 per village household. Borrowing to fix the lot will increase the village tax rate which village homeowners disproportionately shoulder compared to non-residential property owners.
Village property tax rates have climbed 22 percent in the past three years alone. The major challenge facing the village is trying to stimulate revenue from sources other than the homeowners. One way to lower residential tax hikes is to have more and better commercial properties contributing taxes to the village coffers. So it matters a great deal who the next operators on these light industrial lots will be and what they will be doing.
Continue reading "Light Industry in Croton: Major Changes Ahead."
Tools: Print
| Comments (0)
January 2, 2008
Croton River Protection Plan Ready for Action: Streamwalk Anyone?
Did you know…?
- The Croton River has five tributaries between the dam and the Hudson, the largest of which is Indian Brook.
- New York State stocks the Croton River below the dam each spring with approximately 1,200 rainbow and brown trout.
- The Croton Gorge and Indian Brook watershed contains the drinking water supply for residents in three of its five communities (Croton and the Ossinings).
- Only 11% of the land in the watershed is undeveloped, but another 27% is open space or park land.
- The largest development of non-residential land in the watershed is the Croton-Harmon train station and commuter parking lot, zoned for light industrial use.
- One third of the watershed contains steep slopes, especially sensitive to erosion.
- The Croton Bay estuary, one of the largest shelters in the lower Hudson, is a documented haven for migratory fish.
- Sixty-four species of breeding birds (.pdf download, 2 pages) have been identified in the hills of the Croton Gorge and Indian Brook watershed.
Anyone who enjoys the Croton River gorge and bay for hiking, swimming, birding, fishing, paddle sports, or just watching nature should read the Indian Brook-Croton Gorge Watershed Conservation Action Plan today, which Westchester County has just released.
The thirty-five year old idea for a Croton River Compact among the Croton Gorge communities will get a big lift from the data in this plan. Ultimately, the goal is to guide future development of these 3,400 acres with nature always in mind.
We must strike a careful balance between the human need for the built environment, such housing and roads, and human need for the critical services that nature herself provides, such clean water and air.
Continue reading "Croton River Protection Plan Ready for Action: Streamwalk Anyone?."
Tools: Print
| Comments (1)
December 15, 2007
A Tale of 2 Court Decisions: Goodbye, Special Permit for 1A Croton Point Avenue
The only good news in the two recent appellate decisions appears to be court’s upholding the injunction the village obtained that blocks a waste transfer station from instantly opening at 1A Croton Point Avenue. [Endnote 1]
Everything else in the decisions seems like bad news for either preventing a transfer site from re-opening or for curbing the village’s legal expenses.
The two recent Appellate Court rulings seems to suggest—when the injunction is lifted—that property owner Greentree does not require a new special use permit from the Village Board to continue use of the site as a waste transfer station, if they choose, and has a right to a zoning variance for a different use, if they choose that instead.
Hence, the owners may lease the site to a new operator with the right to use it as a waste transfer station, as defined by 42 operation and maintenance conditions originally imposed by the 1998 special permit. [Endnote 2]
In the Village v Northeast Interchange Railway (NIR) decision, the final phrase concerning “as a matter of right” seems clearly to benefit the owner (which remains Greentree) and operator (which was NIR, but could be any future waste hauler).
The Court removed key wording that blocked the Greetree “from operating a transfer station at the Property without first obtaining a special permit in accordance with the Village’s Zoning Code….” Instead the Court enjoined such parties “from operating a transfer station at the Property until such time as the Village recognizes the permissibility of their proposed use, it is judicially determined that they may use the Property for its intended purpose as a matter of right, or a use variance is obtained….”
Removing the Village’s “special permit” as a requirement for “operating a transfer station” and imposing the Village’s recognizing “the permissibility of their proposed use” leaves the question of what “permissibility” means. Will defining this permissibility become a future legal battle?
Continue reading "A Tale of 2 Court Decisions: Goodbye, Special Permit for 1A Croton Point Avenue."
Tools: Print
| Comments (9)
November 16, 2007
25 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Tap Water Quality in Croton
Croton-on-Hudson has proposed dosing its water supply with the anti-corrosion compound, zinc orthophosphate (“ZOP”), as a measure to reduce brown water and lead traces, which some homeowners experience. The frequently asked questions below deal with the topics individually.
This FAQ is a work-in-progress: Comments, corrections and amendments are welcome! The questions are numbered to facilitate referring to them for correction or comment.
1. Where can I find some reliable information about “Get the Lead Out”?
* The U.S.E.P.A has good, basic information on lead in drinking water.
* Read the New York State “Get the Lead Out of Drinking Water” flyer.
* The Natural Resources Defense Council has some good basic information on water filters.
* Croton-on-Hudson’s website contains the annual Water Quality Reports and details on the anti-corrosion control proposal.
2. What kinds of homes are at risk for the lead in the tap water?
In 1985 the state banned lead-based solder for joining water pipes. The hundreds of village homes and condos built since 1986 are not likely at risk. In addition, older homes whose owners have undertaken major plumbing renovations since 1986 are not likely at risk either. Homes that have installed filtration and purification systems or under-the-sink filters are most likely not at risk. If in doubt, test your tap water to be sure. The most likely homes at risk are older homes in which the water pipes may have been soldered together with lead-based compounds.
3. How do I test if my home’s water pipes add lead to my drinking water?
Any lead is bad. A simple test in which you follow a protocol in collecting a tap water sample and mail it to a certified lab will tell you whether any lead appears in your tap water. The test kit and lab work is under $40 and available at many local hardware stores.
4. Where can I find some more information about water tests?
The web sites below contain information about testing tap water for lead. The list below does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of any particular firm or organization.
* www.inspect-ny.com/water/leadtest.htm
* www.leadcheck.com
* www.leadinspector.com
* www.leadtesting.org
5. What can I do, if my home does have old water pipes?
Croton’s homeowners have a range of good options. In approximate order of increasing expense per homeowner, they include:
a. Run your tap until the water is cold. Hot water picks up more lead from pipes or solder. Colder water reduces the lead that is shed by solder in the joints. Use only cold tap water for drinking or cooking.
b. Install an appropriate filter under the sink. Some filters will remove lead. Use a scrupulous vendor. Use a certified plumber to install it. This is always an option, even after the village would begin a ZOP additive.
c. Have the village install a system wide remedy such as a water additive to reduce corrosion.
d. Have a plumber examine the joints of your home’s water pipes. If needed, replace old ones with non-lead based solder joints. Or replace your metal water pipes with certified plastic piping (e.g. WaterPEX tubing). Such projects will significantly reduce any potential lead problem.
e. Similarly, replace brass fittings or appliances from your water systems with other materials. Your home’s the water meter or pressure reduction valve may contain brass.
f. If you have a brown water problem, a whole-house filter may help. The downside is these filters are expensive and must be constantly maintained. Consult with a plumbing professional.
Continue reading "25 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Tap Water Quality in Croton."
Tools: Print
| Comments (15)
October 24, 2007
How Many Crotonites Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb?
If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.
Turning off lights and appliances not in use is one great way to conserve. Using more energy efficient lights and appliances is another. Take the pledge and learn more today at “Change A Bulb.”
CFL bulbs use one fifth to one quarter of the electricity of an equivalent incandescent bulbs. An 11 to 14 watt CFL bulbs gives the same light output as 60 watt incandescent bulb. And CFL bulbs last 6 to 15 times longer than incandescent bulbs and have no delicate incandescent filament to burn out.
CFLs are fine in all common light fixtures that presently use incandescent bulbs. They will yield the greatest savings, and avoid problems, if they are installed in indoor sockets where (a) lights are kept on for more than just a few minutes at a time (i.e. most locations except closets) and (b) lights are not controlled by motion sensors or photocells. They will work in outdoor sockets, but may not be as bright as expected when it gets very cold. Their long life makes them especially useful for hard to reach light fixtures.
Continue reading "How Many Crotonites Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb?."
Tools: Print
| Comments (2)
October 1, 2007
Price is Right and Prince is Wrong: Holding Blackwater Accountable
The Bush-Cheney war in Iraq is a full-employment act for mercenaries and a high-margin business for war profiteers. What are we going to do about that?
Did you know America has well over a quarter million people serving in Iraq and Afghanistan? The US has more private military contractors on duty in Iraq (180,000) than we have soldiers stationed there (+130,000).
An astounding 1000 contractors have perished on our behalf. If we add the casualties among the private contractors to the official US troop casualties that the Defense Department does report, the US count would instantly jump by 25%. Over 13,000 contractors have been injured, a human toll also omitted from the Pentagon tallies.
From largest to smallest, the top three private military contractors in use by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan are Blackwater USA (great mercenary name, by the way!), Dyncorp, and Triple Canopy.
The Bush-Cheney administration is clearly expanding the use of private contractors in Iraq for all kinds of work—from transport to guard duty—in order to reduce the official number of US service men and women stationed there.
We pay between 4 and 10 times more for each private contract employee than we do for each soldier getting a government paycheck. A private mercenary may earn $600 a day or more, but may have no health insurance through his employer.
Private guards hired with our tax dollars by one particular private military contractor, Blackwater, are at least twice as likely to use deadly force as guards from its competing firms. Especially when Blackwater’s guards kill innocent Iraqi mothers and children in our name, this trigger-happy group inflames the distrust the average Iraqi might heap upon all Americans, undermining the conditions in which our enlisted men and women must work.
Continue reading "Price is Right and Prince is Wrong: Holding Blackwater Accountable."
Tools: Print
| Comments (4)
September 23, 2007
Do You Know This Man? Croton, Wind, and the Fellow who Made it Happen.
Meet Russ Cary, farmer, conservationist, and a key figure in the success of the Fenner Wind Farm. Mr. Cary is also Supervisor of the Town of Fenner, located between Syracuse and Utica. On the wind farm project, Mr. Cary had plenty of cooperation and some resistance from local farmers and residents (video: “Interview at Fenner Wind Farm in N.Y.”).
What connects Croton and the dairy farms of the Fenner plateau?
When the Fenner Wind came on line in 2001, it needed customers for its electricity. In early 2003, Croton became the first New York community to sign on as a Fenner customer. Since then almost 60 villages, towns, cities and counties in New York have followed Croton’s lead. Cumulatively, these public customers have bought over 31 million kilowatt hours of wind power.
The Municipal Wind Buyers Group, put together by then Croton Mayor Bob Elliott and Community Energy, won an award from the USEPA and Energy Department for fostering renewable energy. But Croton, in turn, was only following leaders like Supervisor Cary.
Fenner plans a 2 acre visitor’s center, the Fenner Renewable Energy Education (FREE) Center at the foot of one turbine tower, while fundraising is underway for this non-profit educational venture.
How the Fenner wind farm project happen?
In 1998, the Town of Fenner (population 1,680) was first approached by Bill Moore, an energy entrepreneur, who sought permission to install a few meteorological towers to measure wind speed, direction, and duration.
Mr. Moore told the Town that he wanted to investigate whether Fenner had the potential to produce enough wind power to pay for the installation of a wind farm. The ideal wind speed for a wind farm is 27 miles per hour averaged over a 24 hour period.
Continue reading "Do You Know This Man? Croton, Wind, and the Fellow who Made it Happen.."
Tools: Print
| Comments (0)
August 8, 2007
"What's in Your Bottle?"
Why leave bottled water to Trump or Evian? Bob Scott’s idea about bottling “Croton Water” is worth a closer look. Another neighbor suggested that we could bottle “Croton Clearwater” with proceeds benefiting both Village and a key environmental group, such as Clearwater.
If Paul Newman can do this for salad dressing and Ben and Jerry for ice cream, why can’t we create profit-for-non-profits by bottling our very good drinking water.
The carbon footprint of imported water is an environmental disaster. Many bottled waters now on the market are pumped from municipal water sources in Europe and beyond. Many waters, whether from public or private wells, make trans-oceanic voyages to reach our lips.
One popular brand comes from the Pacific island of Fiji—over 8,000 miles away! Think of all the barrels of oil consumed fueling the ocean voyage for those water bottles from Fiji to Long Beach and their tractor trailer trip from Long Beach to New York. Crazy!
What about Croton’s water?
A year or two ago, the Croton Historical Society presented the Village Board and SummerFest attendees with plastic bottles of Croton water sporting a neat label featuring the Croton Dam: New Croton Dam Centennial bottled spring water for $14.40 a case!
Croton’s water was ranked number 1 in the County’s 2006 annual taste test. The village’s water foreman, Tom Brann, tells me our Croton Gorge aquifer water ranks quite frequently among the tops in the county for taste and quality.
Continue reading ""What's in Your Bottle?"."
Tools: Print
| Comments (1)
July 2, 2007
The Steep Slope, Part 2: Croton's Options for Controlling Taxes
Recently, we looked at the overall property tax picture for Croton and, in particular, the school tax portion. Now, let’s look at the village taxes—about a third of our local tax bill. And at some possible strategies for keeping property taxes in check:
- Option #1: Develop “Better Properties”
- Option #2: Cut Expenses
- Option #3: Raise Rates
- Option #4: Reorganize Services
Under state law, the village expenses must equal revenue each year. Village revenue comes from property taxes, parking lot permits (gold in the chart), and other sources (county sales tax, etc).
A larger portion of village revenue comes from non-tax sources (yellow and gold in the chart above) than for the school district, chiefly due to the village’s income from the Croton Harmon commuter parking lot and the village’s water sales. Other sources include our share of the county sales tax, and fees for village programs and services.
Income from the Westchester County sales tax goes up and down with the general economy, so we can do little to influence that revenue stream. Croton’s annual share has lately been between $840,000 and $960,000. We do control our parking and water rates, which bring in over $1.5 million each.
The good news is the village’s non-tax revenues have kept pace with the budget increases since 1998. The bad news is, while expenses will keep going up, our existing non-tax revenues may not be able to keep up any longer.
Even with non-tax revenues increasing, the village tax rate—like the school rate—has climbed even steeply in recent years. Can we reduce the steepness of this tax slope? What do we do on the expense side? On the revenue side?
Continue reading "The Steep Slope, Part 2: Croton's Options for Controlling Taxes."
Tools: Print
| Comments (6)
June 19, 2007
The Steep Slope of Property Taxes in Croton, Part 1
June brings the annual Village property tax bill to our mailboxes. Let’s face it, taxes never go down. But we should try to keep the tax increases as low as possible. But the news lately has been grim.
Residents within the Village of Croton-on-Hudson pay property taxes to several different taxing bodies. These amounts are—from largest to smallest—the School District (Croton-Harmon or Hendrick Hudson), Village, Westchester County, and Town of Cortandt.
The biggest portion of our total annual property taxes—over half—goes to the schools. The pie chart slice for the school portion shown here assumes a property owner receives no school tax relief . Even for families with school tax relief, schools still represent about 45% of the total tax burden.
All annual expenses (labor, borrowing, benefits, materials, pension contributions, etc) for a local taxing body minus all annual revenues (state aid, grants, parking lot revenue, sales tax share, user fees, etc) equals the amount the body raises by property tax.
The amount of money the school district or village needs to raise by property tax divided into the total dollar value of all properties (“total assessed valuation”) determines the tax rate. The rate of taxation is usually expressed per thousand dollars of assessed property value.
The specific property tax amount we pay is determined by multiplying the assessed value of our property by the tax rate per thousand dollars of value. If the tax rate is $500 and my house as assessed value of $10,000 on the village or town books, then I pay $5,000.
Properties in Croton have two different property assessments: a village assessed value in the Croton office and a town assessed value in the Cortlandt town files.
Only the village taxes are based on the village assessment. All other taxes for a property are based on the town’s assessed value of the property and are collected by the Town of Cortlandt on behalf of itself, the County, the schools and library.
Usually, the village and town assessments yield pretty similar real property market values. Property taxes are quite simple; more valuable properties pay more tax than less valuable properties.
But sometimes the town and village values are far apart. In that case, property owners have the right to petition for relief from an unreasonably high assessment in a annual process called tax grievance. (Word to the wise: If you do decide to file a grievance, be sure to do your homework on why the village or town assessment produces an unreasonably high market value for your lot in comparison to similar lots.)
Together, the size of annual budgets for the school district and village determine 80% or more of our local taxes.
In the past decade the combined school district plus village budget total has tripled to $55 million. Non-tax revenues have not tripled. The increase for the Croton Harmon Unified School District reflects major new capital borrowing for renovations of all 3 schools in Croton.
Continue reading "The Steep Slope of Property Taxes in Croton, Part 1."
Tools: Print
| Comments (3)