BUDGET /TAXES

By Robert H. "Bob" Levine

Our elected officials hold themselves unaccountable in managing the people's money, with constantly escalating budgets and shortfalls

It's not turned out that way. Despite all the new buildings that have been constructed in White Plains, the City's tax base has actually declined, going from a total of about $320 million in 2000 to under $292 million in 2007 (down from $440 million in 1990). This decline in the tax base has resulted in increases in the City's property tax rate, increases kept low, thus far, by depending on projected increases in sales tax revenues from the new businesses being attracted to White Plains, and by sundry innovative bookkeeping techniques.

Apparently it has just come to the Mayor that, as we warned three years ago at our first Ridgeway meeting (of the Citizens Plan Committee), the negative of a PILOT is that we lose the asset to the county, resulting in demonstrably sizable reductions in tax revenues, regardless of what we're being told to the contrary. Where was he 10 years ago when there was an opportunity to bring an IDA to White Plains? Mount Vernon got one. New Rochelle got one. Yonkers got one, Peekskill has one. Why didn't we get one when all this development was going on?

The Mayor allowed in public recently that he expects it will take 10 or 15 years before we see the fruits of what's going on downtown. How long has he felt this way? Why weren't we told as much going in? Why weren't we asked if we were willing to contribute 10 or 15 years of City financial health to developers? At the rate we're going many of us aren't going to be here 10 or 15 years from now. What will be our financial legacy for the next White Plains