Apr. 3, 2013:  The Bronxville Board of Trustees, at its April 1 annual meeting, adopted Local Law #3-2013, which allows the board, when adopting the village's 2013-2014 budget, to override the 2% tax cap mandated by the State of New York.

"The adoption of the law does not indicate an intention to exceed the 2% cap," stated Harold Porr, village administrator. "It gives this board the authority to exceed the cap if it's in the best interest of the village to do so." Porr noted that the law will give the trustees maximum flexibility in the ongoing budget process.

Deputy Mayor Robert Underhill reminded the board that, prior to the State of New York's imposing the 2% cap, Bronxville was one of the few municipalities that had passed several budgets calling for no increase in taxes.

"I find it deeply offensive when our state legislators say they're keeping property taxes down when, in fact, they aren't," Underhill said. "I believe that the ability to levy taxes on a local basis rests with village government, not the state."

Mayor Mary Marvin described the conflict between restraints imposed by the state and its unfunded mandates as "one of the most frustrating things I've been involved with during my tenure." She questioned the political motivation of the state in sending the village a bill for pension contributions, health care premiums, and workers' compensation premiums that constitutes a 5% increase, when "we're the people who are supposed to, somehow, not raise taxes by more than 2%."

Marvin reminded the board that village capital improvements are not exempt from the tax cap and characterized the cap as a powerful disincentive for municipalities to deal with aging infrastructure.

Other Trustee Action

Trustee Anne W. Poorman presented a resolution to appoint Cheryl Jarosz as a police officer to the Bronxville Police Department. Jarosz, an Eastchester resident, served with the Mount Vernon Police Department for seven years.

The board unanimously passed the resolution, making Jarosz the second female officer on the Bronxville force. Her appointment brings the number of officers to 20, which is two positions short of a full complement.

The Bronxville Board of Trustees will meet on Monday, April 8, at 8:00 pm in the Trustees Room at Bronxville Village Hall, at which time the board, by a resolution passed at the annual meeting, will hold a public hearing on the 2013-2014 proposed budget.

Pictured here: Mayor Mary Marvin being sworn in to her fifth term as Bronxville Village mayor by Justice George McKinnis.

Photo by Carol P. Bartold