WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. March 26, 2006: Mayor Alfred Del Vecchio has written WPCNR reflecting on the "good news" that the Moody's "Negative Outlook," hanging like an albatross around Mayor Delfino's neck the last two years has been lifted:
John,
May I make a fiscal point about White Plains:
When Joe Delfino took office 8 years ago he inherited a very solvent city with a AA-1 bond rating and an improving outlook. Two years ago Moodys had to warn Delfino about the city's spending policy with a "negative outlook" for its bond rating. Now, unless the city's spending policy spearheaded by incentive giveaways to developers is curtailed, removal of the "negative outlook" by quick-fix, one-shot infusion of cash from the sale of city property and confiscation of Parking Authority fund balance, will gain the taxpayer only a temporary reprieve.
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In the face of a $3 billion "renaissance redevelopment" of the city, the extraordinary efforts required to balance the budget is not a return to "normalcy". When the operating expenses for running a city requires the depletion of its fund balance to balance the budget, the city has serious financial problems. Hence Moodys warning.
Now, if the renaissance development over the past eight years has created infrastructure and allied expenses that are not exceeded by the revenues from that development, that development has caused an operating deficit which will hurt the non revenue producing taxpayers, namely the homeowners. And the problem of expenses exceeding revenue will still exist.
Unless the need for larger sewer lines, water lines, and repairs to streets and sidewalks, etc. to accommodate the additional use from new construction is taken care of by additional revenue from that development, the fiscal problems will continue to exist. I, for one, am hoping that the city's revenues will be such that they will give the homeowners a tax break equivalent to the profits enjoyed by the developers. I think that would be fair and make the development worthwhile.
And let's try to remember that the need for valet parking was caused by improper planning on the part of the city to accommodate the number of cars generated by the renaissance redevelopment. Now we're trying to fix the problems caused by valet parking. I'm not sure whether the sound I hear is from "growing pains" or the death rattle. But that's another topic.
Alfred Del Vecchio
