Eastchester REVIEW THE
March 31, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 13 | www.eastchesterreview.com
Tuckahoe Independents call for vote recount By CHRISTIAN FALCONE Editor-in-Chief
Beer Fest of Westchester hit the County Center on Saturday, March 25, where hundreds of beverage options were on display for sampling. For coverage, see page 10. Photo/Andrew Dapolite
Bronxville, Tuckahoe propose 2017-18 municipal budgets By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer Administrators for the neighboring villages of Bronxville and Tuckahoe say that while they strive each year to craft municipal budgets that stay below the state-imposed tax cap, they are more focused on ensuring that the budgets are fiscally responsible. Bronxville Administrator Jim Palmer and Tuckahoe Administrator David Burke agreed, however, that those two goals don’t always coincide. This month, the villages released their tentative budgets for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, which begins on June 1. But those villages responded differently to the state’s requirement to increase
the amount of money raised by taxes—known as the tax levy— by no more than 1.15 percent or be forced to pass legislation to override that requirement, known as the tax cap. The tax cap tells municipalities how much they can increase the tax levy by, usually the lesser of 2 percent or the rate of inflation. Tuckahoe’s overall budget for fiscal year 2017-2018 is $12.4 million, $7.9 million of which would come from property taxes. About $9.6 million of Bronxville’s $16.1 million proposed budget would be funded by property taxes. In Tuckahoe, the tentative budget proposes a 1.14 percent tax levy increase, a $159,000 increase from last year’s levy. However, property taxes in the
village would be reduced by 1.37 percent, as property values have increased in the Tuckahoe for the first time in at least a decade. Meanwhile, Bronxville’s tentative tax levy increase is more than double the cap at 3.22 percent; the proposed property tax increase is 1.47 percent. The village board in Bronxville adopted legislation to override the cap in February. Palmer said that while the village will cut what expenses are feasible to get the tax levy increase closer to the cap, what he and the Bronxville village board are more focused on is maintaining a budget that will provide responsible services. “We will absolutely do a thorough review of the budget over the course of the next month,
but I do think [the board] will do what’s fiscally responsible and prudent, and be less focused on trying to get it down to that 1.15 number,” he said. Bronxville has overridden the cap every year since the tax cap was imposed by the state in 2011. Last year, Tuckahoe also overrode the cap, which was just 0.12 percent. In Tuckahoe’s budget, remaining under the cap would have meant the village could only collect $9,000 more in taxes from the previous year. Palmer added that remaining under the cap last year would have been nearly impossible for Bronxville as well. “That wouldn’t have covered our overtime for the snowstorm,” he said. BUDGETS continued on page 8
In the aftermath of what was one of the tightest and most hotly contested elections in village history, third-party slate the Tuckahoe Independents have formally requested a recount. According to a member of the Tuckahoe Independents, who wished to remain anonymous, the process employed by Tuckahoe Village Clerk Camille DiSalvo on election night, March 21, in tabulating nearly 50 absentee ballots is what led the independent candidates to formally challenge the results of the election, which saw the Republicans make a clean sweep of the three seats in play. Mayor Steve Ecklond and trustees Tom Giordano and Greg Luisi all secured an additional two years on the village Board of Trustees with their win. “We are not ascribing bad intent, as much as maybe clerical insufficiency,” the source told the Review. “Who verified the village clerk’s numbers? As a matter of formality, is there a check on the village clerk’s tallies?” Republicans fended off two full slates in a race that turned out approximately 1,100 voters, nearly 800 more than when the same Republican trio ran for re-election in 2015. Melba Caliano, who topped the Tuckahoe Independents ticket as its mayoral candidate, was only 51 votes shy of Eckland’s total, and all six trustee candidates were separated by merely 63 votes.
INSIDE EFD names new chief Story on page 8.
On election night, Caliano’s team had two representatives at the Tuckahoe Community Center serving as poll watchers. However, according to Caliano, only one set of results from one of two electronic voting machines was provided. The Tuckahoe Independents are also claiming that they did not receive totals for absentee ballots. “I telephoned Camille’s office that night and left a message and said that I am formally requesting a recount,” Caliano said. Within two days, Caliano said she received a report from DiSalvo and while it appeared that the final numbers held up to scrutiny, she has since asked to examine all absentee ballots. A source who was present at the Tuckahoe Community Center when polls closed on election night refuted Caliano’s claims, telling the Review that tally tapes from the two electronic voting machines were printed and offered to poll watchers who were present. The nearly 50 absentee ballots, which were sealed in envelopes, were then opened and tabulated manually by election inspectors, not the village clerk. RECOUNT continued on page 9