Supervisor's E-Newsletter, December 2017

Happy holiday season! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. There were many wonderful seasonal gatherings and events to celebrate the holidays in the community.

On December 6th the Town Board members and I passed the 2018 Town Budget under the state mandated tax cap with a 2.63% increase in the tax levy. It is a responsible budget that maintains the Town’s financial stability and the quality high level services provided to residents. The budget provides the means to fund our buildings, recreation facilities and programs, infrastructure, roads, sidewalks and capital equipment. We continue to build the budget upon conservative financial projections. The development and implementation of this budget comes with various challenges created by national and regional economic factors, changes to Federal and State funding and even changes to our weather and climate.

2018 Budget Expenses

A costly challenge that we addressed is the loss of tax exempt status for advanced refunding of municipal bonds in the new federal tax bill. Fortunately for our residents, the Town Administrator, Steve Altieri, brought this to the attention of the Comptroller, who in record time, working with bond counsel and the Town Board, implemented the advanced bond refunding the Town had planned for 2018 in the last two weeks of 2017 before the tax exempt status was withdrawn. This will save the Town over half a million dollars in debt financing costs.

The Town Budget is available on the Town Website at www.townofmamaroneckny.org.

Pre-payment of Property Taxes

I know the changes in the new federal tax bill are a cause of great concern to residents, as well. We received many calls from residents interested in prepaying their taxes. We had extensive discussions with other municipal officials and our state representatives to determine if it was possible for our residents to prepay their 2018 Property Taxes. Initially, we determined that it was not legal or possible given the timing for completion of the Town tax warrant. However, Christmas weekend, the Governor signed an executive order allowing Town governments to issue and approve tax warrants and accept partial payment of taxes. Again, fortunately for residents, the Town administration and Town Board acted quickly and were able to create a mechanism for residents to pre-pay their 2018 Town and County taxes by the end of 2017. If you wish to prepay your Town and County tax or the second half of the 2017-18 School Taxes in 2017, be sure the Town of Mamaroneck Tax Receiver receives payment on or before December 31, 2017, or that the transmittal of payment is postmarked by the USPS on or before December 31, 2017. Should you have any questions, please refer to the Town website, www.townofmamaroneckny.org, for more details. .

Residents Prepaying 2018 Taxes

Food Waste Recycling Volunteers

New Garbage Commission Website

www.lmsanitation.org The Larchmont/Mamaroneck Joint Garbage Commission has launched their new website!

The LMSanitation website allows you to input your address to find personalized pick-up information, find out how to recycle or dispose of an item from the Recyclopedia and keep track of the collection schedule. The Food Waste Recycling program continues to be successful with over 300 food waste kits sold. Residents have recycled over 12,000 pounds of food waste which translates into 6 tons of solid waste the Town did not have to collect or pay to dispose of. There has been a great response to the program with lots of enthusiasm from residents. All residents of the Town of Mamaroneck and Village of Larchmont are encouraged to participate.

American Legion Larchmont Post 347 Commander Al Bender with Nancy and Village of Larchmont Mayor Lorraine Walsh

Veteran's Day 2017

Thank you to our Veterans for their service to our country and their continued service to the community. I was proud to attend our community's Veterans Day events on November 11th.

Town Councilman Ernie Odierna Celebrates his Retirement with Town Board

Ernie Odierna Retires

After serving 18 years on the Town Board, Ernie Odierna retired this month. Ernie served as Deputy Supervisor for 5 years and was instrumental in moving the Town into the computer age as well as being the idea man – the Monday evening concerts in Memorial Park were one of his many ideas. Ernie was honored by many local leaders at a retirement party that was enjoyed by all.

Dates you should know:

January Town Board Meetings
Wednesdays, January 3rd and January 17th at the Town Center Courtroom, 8:00 pm. Work sessions begin at 5:00 pm in Conference Room A.

January 3rd at 7:15pm -- Swearing in Ceremony of Supervisor and Town Board members will precede the Town Board meeting

Sunday, January 7th at 3:00pm -- Human Rights Committee Event commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Hommocks Middle,School

The Town of Mamaroneck is committed to fostering welcoming communities and an equitable, diverse and inclusive society.