Reproduced with permission of The Journal News.
Letter to the Editor: Feiner should heed facts, not emotions
I would like to respond to Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner's recent letter. He obviously was not listening to what the community was saying at recent town meetings.
Members of the community are outraged at the 40 percent (and growing) or $2.2 million in tax-exempt properties in the Fairview Fire District. Mr. Feiner tries to focus on a small part and he refuses to look at the big picture. The latest proposed group home was the last straw.
In 1995, there were approximately 30 percent tax-exempt properties, and Supervisor Feiner's office was aware of the situation. Instead of helping to correct the unfair tax burden the community has to absorb, he continued to allow the tax-exempt properties to grow to 40 percent.
This constant erosion of our tax base has to stop. We have reached the point when we say "no more." Tax-exempt properties have an impact on the community by lowering the operating base for our schools and emergency services. Why should the community that Mr. Feiner represents have to suffer with fewer teachers or fewer new books or old equipment?
As an elected official, Mr. Feiner has an obligation to the community to let the facts guide his decisions. His emotions should not cloud the issue. This is not a personal issue, but a financial one.
MARY MURRAY-JONES
Greenburgh