The Secor Homes Civic Association, Inc. requests Town Board intervention into the review process for evaluating the budgetary allocations between unincorporated Greenburgh and the villages.
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SECOR HOMES CIVIC ASSOCIATION, Inc. P.O. Box 550, Ardsley, New York 10502 April 7, 2005 Dear Honorable Members of the Town Board: I respectfully request intervention of the Town Board regarding the establishment of a budget committee charged with reviewing the allocation of Part A and Part B of the Town’s budget and making recommendation on same. You have all received the series of communications between me and the budget committee chairman, appointed, I understand, by Mr. Feiner. I believe that Mr. Feiner erred in appointing a chair that is neither independent nor impartial regarding whether certain taxes in Greenburgh should be levied on unincorporated residents only or on the entire Town, including the six villages. As you are aware, I had requested appointment to the budget committee and both Mr. Feiner and his appointed chair declined. That well may be within their right, and I take no offense at not being part of the committee. However, Mr. Feiner’s chair, in his first communication to me, characterized me as lacking impartiality merely because I am a civic association president. I suggested otherwise and pointed out, correctly, that the chair, himself, is neither impartial nor independent having intervened in the legal suit, Bernstein v. Feiner, on behalf of himself and the six villages. His intervention, which the Mayors of the six villages did not choose to join (nor did they intervene directly in the case) is confirmation of his inability to lead an allegedly impartial review of the allocation of Town expenses between unincorporated residents and village residents. I attach for your review and attention the full text of the appointed chair’s Affidavit to the New York State Supreme Court in the County of Westchester, and a detailed letter he submitted to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Both documents confirm the appointed chair’s bias. Excerpts follow:
Mr. Rosenberg sought to intervene in a lawsuit on behalf of village interests, as is his right. Mr. Rosenberg cannot now purport to be either fair or independent in a committee process requiring balance. He, therefore, should resign from the committee, or the Supervisor should remove him. Further, Mr. Rosenberg’s subsequent ad hominem attacks on me notwithstanding, I believe that his intemperate, and, frankly, condescending, communications to a longstanding civic leader, demonstrate he has little understanding of the complexities of this Town, and the issues he will face. But the real issue is that a committee of the Supervisor is a private, advisory committee for the Supervisor, and it is not governed by the open meetings law and can meet and decide without public input. If the Supervisor wishes to go forward with this committee, so be it. But the taxpayers of the Town Entire should not be footing the bill for meetings, staff, and the many expenses resulting from group meetings, without the appropriate safeguards for public input and involvement required by State and Town law I understand that the Town Board plans to retain, through an RFP process, an independent consultant to review the allocations to Part A and Part B budgets, and make recommendations to the Board. This consultant should study the issues independently of any committee, particularly one not governed by the open meetings law. Accordingly, the independent consultant should in no manner “staff” this private/advisory committee or be required to interact with the committee. Otherwise, the Town Board would be reneging on its fiduciary responsibility to represent and protect, impartially, all of the Town’s residents. Sincerely, /signed/ Carol
A. Wielk, President |