How Scarsdale School Taxes Stack Up to Other Westchester Districts and Why
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With many in Scarsdale impacted by the loss of our deduction for state and local taxes, and a vote coming this month on the proposed 2019-20 school budget, real estate taxes are top of mind. If you do not frequent Board of Education meetings, you might wonder why Scarsdale’s school taxes, which represent about 62% of your real estate taxes, seem so high – and how Scarsdale stacks up to other communities in Westchester.
Greenacres resident Michael Levine recently performed an analysis in order to answer some of these questions and has drawn some interesting conclusions.
His analysis shows that although our school taxes are the highest in Westchester, our spending per pupil ($31,118) ranks only 12th out of the 40 school districts in the country. Byram Hills, Irvington and Briarcliff Manor are among the districts that spend more per pupil. Scarsdale’s spending per pupil “is higher than the middle, but not extremely high” and is consistent with the goal of “fund[ing] an excellent public school district, and one of the best in the country, the state and the county.”
Instead, Mr. Levine identifies two “unsurprising” factors that primarily explain our high taxes and that are not “management issues.” The first key contributing factor is that Scarsdale is an affluent community and “therefore receives less state and federal support than other districts and must pay a higher percentage of expenses using School Taxes.” In fact, Scarsdale ranks 1st out of 40 in the percentage of expenditures funded by school taxes (91.8%) and 40th out of 40 in the percentage funded by state and federal support. 
The second key contributing factor is that Scarsdale is desirable. The district’s fine reputation leads young families to move here and enroll children in the school system. As a result, Scarsdale also ranks 1st out of 40 when measuring pupil population as a percentage of the total district population (26.0%). “If two districts have the same total population but one has more children enrolled in the schools, the one with the more pupils will have more expenses.”
Mr. Levine’s analysis provides tables that show, for each district in Westchester, the school tax per capita, the school tax as a percent of expenditures, the spending per pupil and the pupil population as a percentage of total population. It also includes an appendix that explains why he used the school tax per capita as the metric for comparing the relative levels of school taxes and discusses some possible alternative metrics.
He concludes by saying, “So, yes, the perception that Scarsdale’s School Taxes are notably high is a valid perception. Since School Taxes are a dominant percentage of total taxes, it follows that total taxes are also notably high…. [T]he predominant reasons for the high taxes are not surprising and not under the control of the school leadership – we have chosen to live in an affluent community, and to raise families and send our children to school here…. It does not make sense to fault anyone for causing this situation. But I suppose if I did want to view this as some sort of problem and I was looking for someone to blame, I would have to paraphrase Pogo: ‘We have met the enemy and they are us.’”
See the full report here:
Residents Reap the Rewards of Food Scrap Recycling Program
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Michelle Sterling and Ron Schulhof: Founders of the Food Scrap Recycling Program in ScarsdaleThe Village held it's annual Compost GIveback Day this past Saturday where residents were able to pickup compost made from our food scraps. Residents brought buckets, pails, boxes, and bags all day to the recycling center to pick up the compost to use on their plants and trees. The Village Food Scrap Recycling program has recycled over 600,000 lbs. of food scraps since launching in 2017. These food scraps are brought to a compost facility where they are mixed with wood chips and in just 90 days turn into useful compost. Compost is a soil amendment that provides food and nutrients to plants, shrubs, trees and lawns. Compost is mixed into the soil around these plantings.
Since Scarsdale launched the food scrap recycling program, 15 other towns around Westchester followed our lead and have launched similar programs. Scarsdale residents and students are now recycling food scraps in all Scarsdale schools, at home and at a number of houses of worship. To learn more or sign up for the food scrap recycling program, email [email protected].
Opening Comments from Marc Samwick at his First Village Board Meeting as Mayor of Scarsdale
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Newly elected Mayor Marc Samwick presided over his first Village Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday April 9. Here are his opening comments when he discussed a change in the committee system, development at Freightway and instructions for communicating with the Village Board. See below:
Good evening. I am very happy to be here and to welcome and congratulate Trustees Lewis and Waldman on their election and Trustee Ross on his reelection to the Village Board. I am also very happy to join Trustees Arest and Crandall and to rejoin Trustee Veron and to welcome and congratulate her on her new job as Deputy Mayor.
I would like to discuss three items in my comments this evening: (i), the new Village Board organizational structure, (ii) the potential redevelopment of the Freightway parking garage site, and (iii) communications.
Village Board Organizational Structure:
Let me begin with the new organizational structure. One of the valuable lessons I learned in business school was to unify the structure of an organization with the way in which the organization functions. For quite some time, we have not had an alignment of the structure of our elected government and the work that is done by those officials. The committee structure that we have become accustomed to was designed to permit Trustees to focus their attention on their specifically assigned committees. For well over 20 years, Trustees have consistently been involved in all village matters and have attended all committee meetings. While we applaud the dedication of over a generation of Trustees, we recognize that it is time to match our structure with our operations by eliminating Village Board standing committees. This change will align our structure with how the Board actually functions. It is expected to improve efficiency, enhance communication, and, most importantly, enable all Trustees to have an equal voice and vote. In making this change, we have looked at surrounding communities and how their governing bodies operate. The overwhelming majority of communities surveyed have a framework similar to the one we plan to implement.
We will schedule work sessions on a monthly basis, though there will be months that have more than one work session and, possibly, though rarely, months that do not have work sessions. There will still be meetings called for in-depth discussions of specific topics – some of the topics I would expect to see covered under separate meetings might include the potential redevelopment of the Freightway parking site, potential changes to the land use code, or items that require more time sensitivity or deeper discussion. We will issue agendas, which will likely cover a number of varying subjects, and start times of our work sessions, but you can generally expect to see sessions begin at 6:00pm or 6:30 pm on the 2nd or 4th Tuesday of the month. Similar to the committee meetings we are accustomed to, work sessions will be open to the public although there still will be certain topics that will be held in executive session. Summary meeting notes will also be provided so the community can stay informed.
Potential Redevelopment of the Freightway Parking Garage Site:
Second, I would like to provide a summary of the potential redevelopment of the Freightway parking site and let you know what to expect from here. The Freightway parking garage was built in 1972 and is currently in need of nearly $2.5 million of repair and upgrade work. After looking at the very successful development of Christie Place, which was nearly built as a stand-alone parking garage at taxpayer’s expense and is now a vibrant residential and retail hub with below-grade parking for village residents, the Village Board decided to pursue a survey of resident interest in the potential redevelopment of the Freightway garage site. The Freightway Steering Committee was formed about two years ago, worked with the village’s consultant, BFJ Planning, and completed a visioning study for the Freightway site. The input of over 750 residents and other stakeholders was taken into account in doing the visioning study and I encourage all residents to review the report on the village’s website, www.scarsdale.com. The visioning study was the basis for a Request for Expressions of Interest that was designed to gauge interest from private developers who might partner with the Village to create a new hub that would bring vitality to our village center and, importantly, provide connectivity between both sides of our village center. We were very pleased to receive seven responses from developers in pursuing a public-private partnership to redevelop the Freightway site. The next steps in the process will include issuance of a Request for Proposals, selection of a Preferred Developer, negotiation of a mutually acceptable development agreement with the Preferred Developer and the standard land use process which will include the Planning Board, Board of Architectural Review and the Village Board.
A few personal comments about this process. First, we are in the very early stages of the process. I estimate that we are in the top of the 2nd inning with the 9th inning representing commencement of construction. Second, the Village Board started with extensive resident input through the visioning study and will continue to seek resident input throughout the process. Third, the Village Board is focused on issues that matter to residents, namely the potential impact on parking and schools – both of which are critical to Scarsdale residents. There will be ample time to address these matters, and other potential concerns, as we better understand what plans are developed for the Freightway site. We believe that we are embarking on a project that can materially enhance our village center and we look forward to creating a shared vision with the community.
Communications:
Lastly, I would like to discuss communications. Listening to the community is one of the most important duties of Village Board members. With that as a guiding principle, there are three areas I would like to highlight this evening. First, this Board will generally try not to vote on a matter that is the subject of a public hearing until at least the following Board meeting. It is important to provide the community with ample time to comment on matters and to provide the Board with time to digest community comments. There will be exceptions to this guideline in the event of pro forma matters, such as the annual renewal of taxi licenses in the village, and matters that carry a high degree of time sensitivity.
Second, you will notice that the public comment section of the Board agenda is now prior to Board liaison reports. Again, this change is being made to emphasize that listening to our constituents is critical.
Lastly, we wish to make it easier for people to comment to the Board. We recognize that stepping to the microphone at Rutherford Hall can be intimidating and not very welcoming. We also recognize the value of hearing from village residents and other stakeholders. In an effort to provide alternative means of communicating with your elected officials, I hosted a “Coffee with the Mayor” on Saturday at Metro Deli. I was very happy to sit down with residents and discuss issues and concerns and to just say hi. We plan to encourage communication in less formal settings and are open to trying new approaches to reach people, so if you have any suggestions or wish to share your views on a particular matter, please email me at [email protected]. Speaking of email addresses, you will also note that the Trustees now have village email addresses that use a uniform standard that makes it easier to reach your elected officials. You can reach any of the Trustees at their “first initial” and “last name” @scarsdale.com, for example, you may reach Trustee Ross at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.
With that, I am happy to hand it over to Village Manager Pappalardo for Village Manager’s comments.
From Village Hall: Mayor Comments on Freightway and Public Communication: Village Announces Water Flushing Schedule
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Here are comments from Scarsdale Mayor Marc Samwick that were delivered at the April 23rd meeting of the Board of Trustees. Read below for board policy on communicating at meetings, information about the development of the Freighway site and on the Village's use of organic gradening methods and native plants on Village-owned property.
Public Comment and Public Hearings:
The Board has heard from certain members of the community that: (i) people would like to be better able to manage the five minutes allocated per person at public comment and at public hearings, and (ii) people would like more time to speak at public comment and at public hearings.
We understand and agree that we can better communicate time with residents wishing to speak at the microphone. We evaluated a couple of different alternatives and opted to implement a chime that will indicate when there is one minute remaining. This will be followed by a second chime one minute later that will indicate the completion of five minutes.
We also understand that there are times that people may wish to speak for more than five minutes.
We have looked into best practices and there appears to be some consensus that established and consistently enforced parameters are effective in promoting productive and fair communication.
We also found a number of specific recommendations to establish between three and five minute time limits per speaker. Some also recommend limiting total public comment to set time frames with some recommending cumulative a time limit of 30 minutes.
We wish to encourage community involvement and open communication so we believe it preferable to maintain our existing five-minute limits and maintain the practice of not having an overall time limit for public comment.
It is important to note that enforcement of the five-minute limit has potential ramifications on fairness and potentially on one’s first amendment rights. It would not be fair and could potentially be viewed by some as a first amendment infringement if we were to inconsistently enforce an individual’s time limit. In an effort to promote equitability and free speech, we intend to enforce the five-minute limit.
We understand there may be periodic frustration with this policy and we ask the community to respect the policy outlined this evening for the betterment and equitability of Board meetings.
We also wish to remind people that the public comment portion of Board Meetings is only one of the ways to communicate with your elected officials. Please note that board members may be reached via email at their first initial followed by their last name @scarsdale.com and I may be reached at [email protected]. We will continue to seek alternative methods to promote communication with your Board. We very much want to hear from you.
Freightway:
I would like to update the community on the potential redevelopment of the Freightway parking garage site. As many of you know, we have been working on this project for two years.Mayor Marc Samwick
As I mentioned two weeks ago, the next steps in this process lead up to the issuance of a Request for Proposals (or, RFP). As a lead item for us to work toward the issuance of an RFP, we intend to vote this evening on the retention of a planning consulting firm, AKRF, a New York City-based firm with an office in White Plains. The selection of AKRF was the result of a search process that included contacting 7 firms and 6 meetings by the Board of Trustees to interview and discuss this selection. We are very pleased with the selection of AKRF, a firm with extensive experience throughout Westchester County, the New York Metropolitan Area and the Boston-Washington corridor. AKRF has worked on transit-oriented projects involving the MTA and brings valuable experience to the team.
Tomorrow evening we will hold two meetings with AKRF. The first meeting will start at 6:15 and is expected to be held in executive session. The second meeting will start at 7:30 and is expected to cover the steps leading to the issuance of an RFP.
We are committed to holding an open and transparent process with respect to the potential redevelopment of the Freightway site with numerous opportunities for public input and engagement. We expect the RFP process to result in the selection of a preferred developer to work with the Village in a public-private partnership to redevelop the Freightway site. In connection with the process of selecting a preferred developer, it will at times be necessary to maintain confidence to protect the Village’s interests. We are cognizant of the tension that may arise between an open and transparent process and maintaining certain information in a confidential manner. We will do our best to provide the maximum information flow at the earliest time while protecting the Village’s interests.
We encourage you to attend tomorrow evening’s meeting to hear more about the process leading up to the issuance of the RFP and to stay abreast of the potential redevelopment of the Freightway site.
Landscape management program:
Lastly, I would like to discuss pesticide use by the Village on Village-owned properties. I have spoke with the Village Manager and Brian Gray, the Superintendant of the PRC about this issue and I am please to report that:
1. The Village is committed to the use of organic methods in our landscaping program.
2. A key strategy of our current approach is to use organic fertilizer and seeding to both strengthen the soil and make the turf grass more healthy and resilient to weed growth.
3. Increasingly, the Village has focused planting native species of plants, trees, and shrubs in lieu of other non-native alternatives.
4. As one example of our approach, a number of our athletic fields were stricken with a white grub infestation in 2018. To combat the problem, an organic microorganism nematode application was applied and will be monitored for its success through the fall of 2019.
5. Together with our Public Works staff, the Parks, Recreation, and Conservation staff diligently oversee our parks and other municipal grounds to ensure that their significant contribution to our Village in a Park identity is maintained over time and that the recreational fields and parks remain safe, attractive locations for both passive and active recreational endeavors.
Water Flushing Schedule:
The periodic water main flushing program of the Village Water Department will begin Monday, April 15, 2019, and will continue until all pipes in the system have been systematically flushed.
The program is scheduled to prevent discoloration of water associated with peak summer usage. Slight discoloration may occur during the flushing period, during daytime and early evening hours, but will quickly dissipate. The discolored water is safe for consumption; however, to avoid possible staining, clothes washing should be delayed until the water is clear.
The neighborhood flushing schedule is as follows:
April 15th through April 18th: Greenacres west of Post Road; Fox Meadow; Old Scarsdale; Overhill; Berkeley-in-Scarsdale; Bramlee Heights; Arthur Manor; and Post Road starting from White Plains through Eastchester.
April 22nd through April 28th: Greenacres east of Post Road; Drake-Edgewood; Sherbrooke Park; Heathcote; Murray Hill/Middle Heathcote; East Heathcote; Secor Farms; and part of West Quaker Ridge.
April 29th through May 3rd: Remaining portion of West Quaker Ridge; Scarsdale Meadows; Quaker Ridge; and Colonial Acres.
A map version of the flushing schedule can be accessed here. Please also note that the schedule may be adjusted or extended, particularly in response to weather conditions.
Weekly schedule updates will be available on the Water Department webpage of scarsdale.com, as well as broadcast on cable television channels 42 and 43 (Verizon) and 75 and 76 (Cablevision/Altice).
Barbara Fogel Passes Away at 95
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Barbara Rothschild Fogel of Scarsdale died Wednesday, April 10 after a short illness. She was 95 years old. She was the wife of the late Edward A. Fogel, to whom she was happily married for 50 years. She was a proud graduate of Smith College in 1944 and worked as a writer, editor and prolific artist throughout her life. She was active in the Scarsdale School System, serving on the School Board for six years, including serving as its president in the last year of her term. She is survived by her son James and daughter-in-law Meg Allyn Krilov, and by her daughter Janet and son-in-law Robert Schlegel. She is survived as well by her grandchildren, Jeffrey, Anna and Miriam Fogel and Dana and Sarah Schlegel. She also leaves three great-grandchildren, Ezra and Will Fogel and Caleb Nelson. We are grateful that she was able to say goodbye to all her children and grandchildren in the week before her death. She lived her life quietly and calmly, with a deep appreciation of all her blessings.
The funeral will be at 10:00 am Sunday, April 14 at the Riverdale Temple, 4545 Independence Ave. Shiva will be at 86 Carthage Rd. Scarsdale, NY, her home for 63 years, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday, April 14, and from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Monday, April 15. Shiva will also be held at the home of her son and daughter-in-law at 2600 Netherland Ave, Apt 2806, Riverdale, NY on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 16 and 17 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
