Bronxville Insider: Mayor Mary Marvin Weekly Column: Mayor's Column Week of May 31, 2022.

 MEMORIAL DAY SPEECH: May 30, 2022.

Good Morning and Welcome to the 100th Annual Memorial Day Parade and Commemoration – Can you believe it?

I am grateful to all who came before us in our Village for the foresight in recognizing the importance of honoring our fallen heroes with such a public demonstration of thanks.

As it is said, we don’t know them all, but we owe them all.

This morning, I welcome our clergy, our police officers, Department of Public Works Staff, our firemen, my fellow colleagues in government who are here in an incredible demonstration of bipartisanship to honor those who served, to all of the organizations who marched with us we are thrilled that you participated and you are welcome every year, our Grand Marshals, Si and Vicki Ford; 50 year residents who came back from Minnesota just for today, thank you for your decades of service to Bronxville; to our young people who are our future and finally and most importantly to our Veterans who we thank - not only for their individual service, but what they represent – what it means to have character, integrity, honor and courage. The nature of the enemy changes but we are blessed that the character of the men and women who serve and fight for America never does.

I believe we need Memorial Day to bear witness to heroes and there is no better place to find heroes than in our country’s military - past and present. Serving our country is the noblest of professions and love of country and devotion to freedom must never be deemed old fashion.

As Thackery said, “Bravery does not go out of style.”

Our Grand Marshals Si and Vicki Ford will be speaking to you later in the ceremony but I must convey the Village’s heartfelt thanks for their 50 years of service to the entire Eastchester, Tuckahoe and Bronxville community – from leadership roles at Lawrence Hospital, the Bronxville School, Janssen Hospice, Board member of the Eastchester Fire District, Town Councilwoman for 17 years, Sarah Lawrence College, Eastchester Youth Council, Christ Church, ECAP in Tuckahoe, Westchester Arts Council and dozens of additional organizations who benefited from their goodness – they are the definition of service.

Memorial Day … From soldiers shivering and starving at Valley Forge, to the doughboys in the trenches of France, to the sailors at Midway, to the platoons in the jungles of Vietnam, to mountain patrol in Afghanistan, we honor you all. Our military has demonstrated acts of courage on every continent and are laid to eternal rest all over the world.

But I do wonder if they would think we are doing enough to honor their sacrifice?

Would they be proud of the way we are conducting our lives? Thanks to their sacrifice, we don’t speak with one voice but are we listening to each other?

Thomas Jefferson spoke words more than 200 years ago that seem more needed and more powerful right at this moment in history. Jefferson said, “A difference of opinion in politics should never be permitted to enter into social intercourse or to disturb its friendships, its charities or its justice.”

Let us respect the sacrifice of those we honor today by committing to reinforce the ties that bind us, not divide us as a nation.

For in a recent Pew Research poll, Americans, as a people, were found to be more optimistic, more generous, more compassionate, more empathetic and most value togetherness more than any other citizens of the world. We are one in so many fundamental ways.

Let us ensure that America will always be the land of hope. For we are compassion.  We are excellence. We are valor.

We can send a message today that to be a hero like those we honor today, we answer the call to emulate their lives of optimism, love of country and respect for our fellow man. As Daniel Webster said, “May their remembrance be as lasting as the land they so honored.”

So on this Memorial Day, may God bless those who made the ultimate sacrifice, watch over those men and women protecting us at this moment and in days past; may he comfort those who still endure the pain of loss and may he never cease to shed his grace on a United States of America.

God Bless America!

Bronxville Insider: Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin: Mayor's Column Week of May 23, 2022.

Mayor’s Column: May 23, 2022.

In response to my column highlighting the fact that one in six residents of Westchester County are food insufficient despite our County being the third richest in the country, the Trustees and I partnered with our Congressman, Jamaal Bowman, with leadership coordination from Deputy Mayor Bob Underhill, to hold a food drive. The response from the Bronxville community was overwhelming and the amount collected was in the hundreds of pounds of food which went directly to Feed Westchester, the umbrella organization that distributes to our neediest neighbors.

Likewise, the prom dress drive demonstrated the enormous generosity of residents and every young woman was able to have a dress to go to the prom. A big thanks goes to our Police Department which initiated the drive.

The food insufficiencies in Westchester prompted me to look into, not only the donation of food, but how we can limit our food waste and divert the excess to neighbors in need.

Worldwide, 1.3 billion tons of food will be thrown away this year and the United States contributes mightily to this total.

Our households are the biggest source of food waste in the United States as we throw away an estimated 19.4 million tons of food every year.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, food worth more than $160 billion is wasted yearly. Reducing food waste by just 15% would be enough to feed more than 25 million Americans annually.

Getting food from farm to table uses 10% of our country’s energy supplies, 50% of our land and 80% of all freshwater consumed, yet 30% of the crop harvested goes uneaten. 
The same uneaten food is the largest component of solid waste rotting in our landfills and producing record methane emissions. Methane is particularly dangerous because it can uniquely migrate significant distances carrying molecules of such toxins as pesticides, paint thinners and dry cleaning fluids.

Bottom line, our food waste policy is consumer driven – we live in a culture addicted to a desire to eat perfectly shaped, unblemished, “pretty” food. Many are obsessed by the aesthetic versus nutritional quality of our food; this image is reinforced by all the current cooking shows, and gourmet magazines where only “camera ready” products are used.

According to multiple consumer surveys, Americans also want to see an abundance of a product on the shelf, especially fresh foods. A majority of consumers do not want to buy from near empty displays. As a result, supermarkets have no incentive to order close to the margins, rather adding a little more to the purchase price to create the abundant effect by over purchasing.

The major culprit in food waste relates to our national desire to purchase ready-made food for convenience. Prepared foods cannot be repackaged or frozen by law or allowed to be kept even one day to redistribute. But based on demand, the appetizer platters, specialized salads and rotisserie chickens are here to stay.

In addition, Americans, like most of the world’s populous, is very confused by the “use by” “best before” packaging dates and often throw away food thinking they are avoiding food borne illnesses. The “use by” date actually tells you when food is no longer safe to eat vs. a “buy before” or “best before” product adds another 5 to 7 days to food life.

When we waste food, we also waste labor, effort, investment in precious resources including the water, seeds and feed that go into producing it, not to mention the resources for transporting and processing food – all of which contribute greatly to greenhouse gas emissions.

The French lead the way in food conservation, being the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food.

The French law requires markets to donate surplus food to charities and food banks with violations resulting in fines reaching $100,000.

France also requires the private sector to recycle their organic waste if they produce more than 120 tons per year and this number has been lowered yearly to not just include supermarkets, but now companies in the hospitality and food service sector.

The rules come directly from the French Senate and it is a national, top down campaign.

The result is the French throw away an estimated 5 to 6 million tons of food per year versus our 19.4 million tons.

A very unusual provision of the French legislation requires food banks and charities to share a legal obligation to stock donated foods in proper hygienic conditions and distribute with “dignity” – defined as only giving out at accredited centers where human contact and conversation is fostered vs. street or truck handouts.

To help alleviate the problem at our local level, you can join our new composting program and save your food scraps, which then recycle into nutrients that return to the soil for future crops. In addition, supporting family farmers and small businesses nearby not only benefits the local economy but fights pollution by reducing delivery distances for trucked-in products.

The Village Trustees continue to work with our very active Green Committee to tackle this issue at the local level.

Bronxville Insider: Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin: Weekly Mayor's Column.

 

MAYOR’S COLUMN: MAY 9, 2022.

 

As is custom, when the Trustees and I are discussing new initiatives that will have a direct impact on residents, it is incumbent upon us to give you a preview of the conversations that have begun. 
 
In this case, it’s about joining many of our sister communities in enacting a tree ordinance.  We are conducting extensive research as individual trustees, with tremendous help from members of the Green Committee, in order to learn best practices and frankly learn in some cases, what not to do.  We will be relying heavily on the Green Committee and the Bronxville Historical Conservancy who both treasure trees from both a climate and historical perspective. 
 
At the outset, it is important to start a collective village conversation in the hopes that we all join together to make a thoughtful community based decision about what are really shared assets – our one square mile inventory of trees.   
 
At the outset, it is helpful to think about viewing trees on our property as not ours alone, rather, that we are mere custodians of an aggregate landscape for all generations to come. 
 
The impetus at this time for considering an ordinance is the fact that we continue to lose our tree canopy at a much too rapid rate to storms and some choices made by private property owners.  In the past five to seven years, we have lost upwards of 50 municipal trees due to all the unprecedented storm and wind events.  We are sadly confident that the number is equally similar on private property.

Like any other village laws, anything we enact will be a balancing act between the rights and desires of private property owners and the needs and benefits to the greater community.  I know we can all agree on the importance of our tree stock, understanding all they do for our environment. 
 
As example, they buffer climate change through carbon retention, reduce flooding and erosion, retain moisture, support wildlife, filter our air and produce the oxygen we breathe.  They offer visual privacy as well as creating sound barriers.  In our downtown and parking lots, they also help to reduce the heat on blacktop islands. 
 
Just the very presence of trees creates a neighborhood or a place to rest, hang a hammock, sit under and have a picnic or read a book.  We can also just respect the sheer majesty of some of our village trees, the fate of which is a responsibility that we should shoulder together. 
 
We all understand that some trees need to come down and there’s every reason to cull those that are diseased, hollow, dead, dangerous, or tilting towards a dwelling. 
 
A possible permitting process as to the removal of trees is just one component of a tree preservation process.  We also need to have a strong policy of replanting trees and only indigenous ones. 
 
What we plant in our yards and our public spaces has tremendous impact on the number of insects, birds, and other wildlife that our local ecosystem supports.  We just have to be so careful that our trees are not ornamental or invasive.  Scarsdale and Irvington actually prohibit the planting of any trees in this category as most plant specialists say that a property must have 70 to 80% native plants to support local wildlife. 
 
Like many of our neighbors, we did not anticipate needing a tree ordinance but climate factors and building preferences have brought it to the fore.  We have always required a landowner to obtain a building permit to put up a fence but not clear-cut stand on trees.  And ironically, we mandate that you mow your lawn if you have left for the summer and do not properly maintain it yet we don’t have anything on the books that would mandate us having you care about decade old trees.  Not to be overly dramatic, but we do currently allow 100 year old trees to come down without any repercussions.  It is clearly time for reexamination. 
 
Some of the factors under consideration include:

• The best method of judging when a tree needs a permit to avoid subjective opinions or over regulation.  The most optimal method seems to be an objective determination by age, species, and caliper. 
  
• We will also need professional assistance to determine if a tree under consideration is indeed diseased beyond redemption. 
  

In many communities, when a tree is allowed to be removed, property owners are required to donate an amount of money to a tree fund to be used for municipal trees. 
 
So many additional factors are currently under consideration and I encourage you to reach out to us with your thoughts, ideas or any professional expertise you have to share. 
 
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.  The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb

Bronxville Insider: Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin Weekly Column: Mayor's Column May 2, 2022.

 

Mayor’s Column: May 2, 2022.

The Village staff and trustees have been working on the 2022–23 budget, department by department, since February. We held a budget work session on March 28th with a public hearing on April 11th, leaving the public comment period open until April 22nd. The budget we passed on April 25th will become effective on June 1. It has a property tax levy of $11,321,400 equating to a tax rate of 3.5064 per $1000 of assessed valuation, resulting in a levy increase of 3.75%.

Translating into real dollar terms for the Village, the median home value of $2.2 million will see an increase of $26.08 in the Village portion of your total tax bill for a village tax amount on a home of this value of $7714.08 to provide municipal services.

The above is based on a Village taxable value of $3,228,772,575 representing an increase of over $100 million from last year. Taxable value has increased to its highest level in at least 10 years and reflects the strong housing market in 2021. Residential rental properties are also in high demand resulting in a reassessment and re-value of this property class.

We purposely reduced our use of fund balance as a method to lower the tax rate because we want to ensure that we maintain a healthy fund balance to provide maximum flexibility when we need to bond for capital projects. A very healthy fund balance translates into preserving our AAA bond rating, the highest a Village of our size can attain.

This budget, in both revenue and expenses, reflects the impact of Covid, the 2020 shut down and subsequent slow reopening effecting all our last three budgets.

The impacts are most visible on the revenue side as the shut down in 2020 affected meter revenue, ticket revenue, issuance and fines and even recreational fees.

Revenue growth in the new budget is projected conservatively, recognizing the continued uncertainty around our revenue streams with commuter parking a major variable.

Expenses in this new budget also take into account the increase in inflationary pressures and the direct impact it has had on heating oil and all fuels needed for cars and equipment.

We are projecting a revenue growth of 2.49% vis a vis our last budget, largely based on sales tax revenue and parking revenues.

Sales tax revenues are budgeted at $1,375,000, an increase of $75,000 over 2021–22. We are being relatively conservative given the reduction in the federal stimulus, the current rate of inflation and the Federal Reserve’s efforts to reduce the rate of inflation.

The budget does increase the off street meter revenue slightly to $425,000 and on street parking revenues to $900,000, as both are reflective of the slowly increasing growth of commercial traffic in the business districts. Parking permit revenues are being left unchanged due to the vagaries of resident commutation versus at home working patterns. Parking ticket revenues are budgeted at $785,000, an increase of $35,000, largely reflective of our court reopening.

There have been no increases in annual parking permit prices, meter rates or parking fines for the last several years and no increases are planned for 2022–23.

As point of information, parking permits account for $1.1 million or almost 50% of our parking revenues. Residents with reserved spaces make up half of the above revenue. While the commuter permit sales dropped off precipitously during Covid, our pivot to offering hybrid permits, (commuter parking for only a few days per week), along with the sale of some very limited non-resident rentals added to the bottom line. Merchant permits have remained relatively stable which is a good sign.

Building permit revenues have been increased by $25,000 to reflect the recent uptick in the volume of both residential and commercial construction projects.

Both the Police Benevolent Association and Teamsters have current contracts so departmental salary lines have been adjusted to reflect 2.95% and 2.5% increases respectively. Despite the increase, the Police Department’s overall salary line saw a minimal decrease due to the resignation and retirements of more senior officers and bringing new hires as second year officers.

 

The current mortgage tax revenues are strong and will easily exceed budget, however, we anticipate that rising interest rates in conjunction with limited housing inventory will result in return to a more normal revenue year.

The Village does anticipate receiving an ARPA payment of $327,000 but we did not fold it into operating as we anticipate using it for capital projects as it is only a one time revenue source.

We currently have an unassigned fund balance of 40.05% of our operating budget which is projected to be at 36.12% at the end of 22–23. This is an extremely comfortable position that would guarantee our AAA bond rating as we plan a very aggressive capital projects commitment in the coming years.

Our pension obligation for the 2022-23 fiscal year is going down by $130,000 which helps to offset some other budgetary increases. This decrease is directly attributable to the equities market performance as of March 31, 2021.

We receive but $64,710 from the State of New York despite all the taxes we send in their direction and all the unfunded mandates we must absorb. This number has remained unchanged for well over a decade.

On the bright side, we do anticipate being eligible to apply for more clean water funding for sanitary and storm sewer improvements and we anticipate receiving some additional monies for paving and pothole repair.

The above is a snapshot of the major budget drivers. To review the budget in its entirety, go to the Village website by clicking here. Going forward, I will offer a similar explanation of our capital project plans. I welcome your comments and observations directed to Mayor@vobny.com.