June 29, 2011:  This week's column is devoted to news and notices that are "season specific" for the Village as well as a look at the front-burner issues that the Trustees and I are currently discussing with department heads.

Texting While Driving:  We have observed a great increase in the number of people texting while driving.  Hard to believe since it is more dangerous than phoning while driving:  texting is currently only a secondary offense according to controlling state law.  This means that a police officer cannot pull a driver over for texting unless first stopped for a different legitimate violation.  In contrast, officers can pull a driver over for talking on a cell phone as a primary offense and issue a $75 ticket.  There is currently a bill before the state legislature to make texting a primary offense and we endorse this amendment to the law.

Break-ins:  Spring has also brought a rash of break-ins to unlocked cars in driveways, with residents losing pocketbooks, glasses, and GPS systems.  Please remember to lock your car at all times as this is a crime of opportunity.

E-Alert:  We share the above kind of police information routinely via our electronic alert system.  Currently, approximately half of Village residents have given us their e-mail addresses.  We encourage everyone to call Village Hall and register for the e-alert system as it is a terrific way to disseminate information that is urgent and time-sensitive and keep residents alert and in the know.  E-alerts are particularly helpful for updates during weather emergencies.

Ban on Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers:  As in previous years, our ban on gas-powered leaf blowers went into effect on June 1 and extends until September 30.  We are working on changing the current legislation to incorporate a significant mandatory penalty fee with a doubling and tripling escalation clause based on the number of violations by a homeowner or a landscape company.  Currently, the fine levied is insignificant enough that landscapers are simply absorbing it as a cost of doing business.  The ban clearly needs to have more teeth to encourage compliance.

Village and School Taxes:  June is also, unfortunately, synonymous with Village and school tax bills. Taxes may be paid without penalty until June 30.  Thereafter, a 5% charge is placed on the balance.  If you have not received a tax bill, call Village Hall and we can either send you a hard copy or e-mail one.  As in past years, in an effort to save time, money, and paper, your bill will have the stub for the second-half payment of taxes enclosed.  Kindly keep this for your future payment.  We will remind you via announcements and e-alerts when the second-half payment is due in early 2012.

Permits for Improvement Projects:  Spring also brings an uptick in home improvement projects, most of which need permits from the Village's Building Department.  If you are in doubt as to the need for a permit, call Village Hall before commencing any work, because the consequences are significant.  If unpermitted work is discovered, the permit fee automatically doubles, and there is an additional $250 filing fee added for every permit required.  Also, remember to close out valid open permits filed with the Village when work is completed.  Permits that are not closed out when complete cause a "red flag" and hinder property refinancing or sale.

Large Construction Projects:  We have also been reviewing some of the issues that have arisen from large private construction projects that are often long in duration.  Problems include the proliferation of construction vehicles parked all day on residential streets, damage to Village property when trucks are too large to navigate our streets, and the digging up of our paved roads by private contractors.

Street Repairs:  We are also having problems with the quality of street repairs done by the various utilities throughout the Village.  It is extremely frustrating to undertake a quality repaving program only to have a Con Ed or Verizon rip up the newly paved street and then cover the excavation with tin plates and/or subpar resurfacing.  The problem has been exacerbated in the past few years as utilities, in a cost-cutting measure, disbanded their in-house resurfacing departments and now farm the work out to subcontractors.  Often these subs want to "bundle" a group of repairs before doing the work, hence the unreasonably long periods between excavation and repair.

It is my view that, save for emergency repairs, new permits should not be issued to any utility until they have properly repaired previous projects in our Village.  Our legal counsel is currently researching our ability to require this.

Cost-Cutting Measures:  In an effort to cut costs through volume discounts, we have joined our colleagues in Tuckahoe and Eastchester to purchase office supplies in addition to our joint purchasing of curbing and paving materials.

Merchant parking permits are currently up for renewal with a deadline of July 1.

Capital Improvement Plan:  The major decision confronting the Trustees this summer is whether to embark on a capital improvement plan.  We did not have one in the last fiscal year due to money constraints, but given the extremely low cost of borrowing money, the time may be opportune to embark on even a modest improvement program.  However, we cannot make any decisions until after the state legislature decides whether to institute the proposed 2% tax cap.  Based on state-mandated pension cost projections, we already believe we may be above the 2% ceiling for the budget next year.

Compounding this, the current tax cap bill does not exempt the cost for debt service to make municipal infrastructure repairs--again an example of this tax cap legislation serving as a disincentive for communities to make needed and responsible long-term repairs.

We will continue to work on these issues throughout the summer months and we will keep you informed of our progress along the way.