Accomplishments

By Edward W. Brancati

A list of Accomplishments that Ed Brancati has achieved in his first term as Supervisor.

Cell Towers:

To address the need for comprehensive cell coverage throughout Town, Ed sought proposals to place cell towers on Town owned land. Working with the Antenna Advisory Board, the Town selected Verizon to build a tower on the former ski hill property adjacent to Town Park which will meet the needs of Cross River, Waccabuc, and the South Salem area. In addition, Ed is supportive of the current application for a cell tower at the Vista Fire Department. He also worked to approve the placement of a cell-on-wheels tower at the same location to meet short-term needs until the tower can be completed.

Water Quality:

Working with the Lakes Committee, Ed has helped to complete water quality improvement projects for Lake Kitchawan as well as lakes Rippowam and Oscaleta. These projects were completed in large part with money obtained from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection's East of Hudson funds. Future projects will improve Lake Truesdale and Lake Katonah. Further, Ed worked to obtain the majority of funding for the Lakes Management Plan for all seven lakes in Town through a grant from the New York State Department of State. The plan was completed and presented to the Town Board earlier this year. This plan will provide a guide to long-term improvement of the health and vitality of our lakes.

As a member of the Northern Westchester Watershed Coalition, Ed has worked closely with neighboring communities to protect water quality in our area and worked to create an inter-municipal agreement amongst the members of the Coalition to meet the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's MS4 retrofit requirements. This effort will reduce costs and achieve the required reductions in phosphorus in the East of Hudson Watershed.

ADA:

Ed has collaborated with the U.S. Justice Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development, in addition to our local Committee for the Disabled to obtain approval for the improvements to the Onatru Farm House. He invited consulting architects from the Justice Department to provide an extensive and complete assessment of the work that needs to be completed to bring our facilities into full compliance. Having received that report, Ed is working with an ADA Task Force that he helped create to address those issues. In addition, he has worked to put the Town on a path toward complete compliance with federal guidelines through a voluntary agreement, which was approved by the Board, and establishes timelines and objectives to be met between the Town and the Justice Department.

Emergency Management:

Through Ed's leadership, the Town finally adopted an Emergency Management Plan, which he drafted with the Emergency Management Committee he worked to create. He has also helped to implement an interoperable communication system for our first responders and Town Employees which is critical to emergency management as well as improving the daily operations of the Town. In addition he has collaborated with the Towns of Bedford and North Castle to obtain a grant to fund an All-Hazard Mitigation Plan that will enable our community to become even more prepared and further reduce the potential impact to our Town in the event of an emergency. Ed has worked with Westchester County and the South Salem Fire District to have a Voice Over Internet Protocol phone placed in Town to provide an additional level of communication to other emergency response agencies outside of Town in the event of an emergency with the cost of the equipment and installation covered by the County. To ensure that our residents with special needs are included on the Westchester Special Needs Registry, Ed and our first responder agencies have worked with the County so that in the event of an emergency, our residents most in need will receive the care and attention they deserve and require.

Abandoned and Hazardous Homes on Fairmount Road:

In 2008, Ed led the effort to demolish the hazardous homes on Fairmount Road that had been an unaddressed public safety concern and eyesore for more than twenty years. He has taken every step to ensure that taxpayers are not burdened with the cost of this work and has had the Town bill the work to the property owner in accordance with the Town Code.

Road Improvements:

The Town continued its important and necessary work in 2008 to repair and repave those roads that were in poor condition. Working with the Stormwater Management Committee, we are seeking efficient and effective ways for the Town to reduce its costs in maintaining the Town's 12 miles of dirt roads, while at the same time improving safety and water quality.

Financial Management:

Throughout the past year and a half, two Finance Directors and Ed have worked to mitigate the financial situation that existed prior to their arrival. They had to completely rebuild the 2007 financial records, which were originally deemed by the external auditor as "un-auditable." They were able to restore approximately $1.1 million to fund balance for previous years by closing old and unused purchase orders as well as accurately accounting for compensated absences. In addition, they created a capital fund to accurately track all of the revenues and expenses associated with the various capital projects that the Town has undertaken. They also created a long-term debt account to manage the Town's various debt obligations. The creation of these two items is long overdue and allows for greater transparency and accounting of Town resources. They also proposed and adopted a new investment policy which will allow the Town to invest with greater flexibility and maximize resources, a fund balance policy which will be critical to stabilizing future Town budgets, and a resolution requiring an approval from the Supervisor for any purchase of goods or services of any amount in an efforts to further reduce spending.

Finally, during the worst economic times since the Great Depression, they were able to maintain the Town's AA+ credit rating from Standard & Poor's, ensuring that the Town continues to receive an excellent interest rate from lenders and saving taxpayer funds.

Budget:

Budgeted expenses have managed to increase every year for years. However, Ed worked to reduce our budgeted expenses, taking 2009 budgeted expenses below what was budgeted for 2007. Ed has implemented cuts that have reduced 2009 budgeted expenses more than $820,000 below 2008 actual expenses and more than $1.2 million below 2007 actual expenses. These cuts represent the largest reduction in spending in the Town's history. He also restructured health care for Town employees in an effort to continue to provide them with sound health care coverage, while greatly reducing costs and saving taxpayers more than $120,000 annually. In addition, Ed kept spending for 2008 below budgeted levels by more than $200,000.

Personnel:

Ed, in a collaborative effort with the Deputy Supervisor, the Superintendent of Parks & Recreation, and Labor Counsel, drafted a new Employee Handbook that was adopted by the Board. The new policies and guidelines replace an outdated document whose replacement was also long overdue. The new handbook is current with all regulations of New York State Civil Service and legislation that has been adopted by the New York State Legislature regarding municipal employees. These new policies address many issues that had not previously been dealt with including use of cell phones, vehicles, computers, and the Town as a drug free workplace as well as clearly articulating a drug and alcohol testing policy.

Legislation:

Under Ed's leadership the Town adopted legislation that allows developers the option to cluster their developments, which reduces their costs and preserves critical natural resources. Ed also worked to adopt legislation that legitimized private nature preserves in Town such as the Wolf Conservation Center and the Audubon Society. He worked with the Town's Building Inspector to adopt legislation that cleaned up our Town Building Code; and working with our Receiver of Taxes and Facilities Manager, made the necessary changes to the Oakridge Water District to address issues regarding late-payment or non-payment of water bills that unfairly harm the many who pay on-time.

Energy Efficiency:

Ed collaborated with many of the neighboring communities to create the Northern Westchester Energy Action Coalition. This effort allowed communities with fewer than 35,000 residents to obtain Energy Efficiency Block Grant funding for various energy efficiency projects and to find ways in which our communities could work together to reduce our energy costs.