Commentary: Guest Columns for 2008

State Aid: Getting MORE for Mam'k Schools by Emily Saltzman

Fighting Fire With Cooperation by Ned Benton

Columns from 2006 and 2007

Columns from 2005

Columns from 2004

Columns from 2003 and 2002

State Aid: Getting MORE for Mamaroneck Schools

(May 8, 2008) Last year, the contentious discussions over Mamaroneck’s school budget revealed that many residents were frustrated with their entire local tax bill and with the lack of state support . That motivated a group of local residents to create MORE, Mamaroneck Organization for Revenue Enhancement, to coordinate lobbying efforts to secure more state aid for our school district. What we’ve learned since last year is: state aid is a highly complex and political subject.

You start with math. In order to compute the amount of state education aid a school district will receive you simply calculate the following: .50 [District Actual Value per Pupil /$426,800] + .50 [District Income Per Pupil/$136,600]. Still with me?

The 2008-2009 budget just adopted by the state is $121.7 billion of which $41 billion is for education. Those are huge numbers, and it can be hard to understand why our schools receive so little of it.

In a nutshell, school aid in New York State is designed to help "equalize" expenditures so that schools in districts with less property wealth can provide a quality of education as high as that in districts with greater wealth. A district's wealth is determined by aggregate property value as well as the adjusted gross income (AGI) of its residents.

The complex formula described above is how a district's wealth is computed. Our district's Combined Wealth Ratio is three times the state average. Although Mamaroneck does receive some extra funding for our special education and English language learner populations, our property and income wealth render us eligible for little state aid, since most aid dollars are distributed, according to a report by the NYS Department of Education, "in inverse proportion to each school district's ability to raise local revenue for education." In fact, according to the Westchester Putnam School Board Association, compared to all the other counties, Westchester gets the least back for every tax dollar sent to Albany.

Of course aggregate wealth figures do not take into account the range of incomes and property wealth in a relatively diverse school district such as ours. In addition, although our relative wealth is higher than average for New York State, so are our costs. Local taxpayers do get a bit of a break through the STAR tax exemption program, but we get little help elsewhere. For 2008-2009, we did not receive any “high tax aid,” which is computed with another complicated formula that takes the tax levy with condominiums divided by AGI.

Many school districts on Long Island also have high property and income wealth but get more school aid - and the reason is politics. The New York State Senate is controlled by the Republicans, and there are Republican state senators from Long Island. The electoral success of these senators is critical to the Republicans maintaining a majority in the Senate - and extra school aid is a great way to guarantee re-election , especially in a high tax area like Long Island. Southern Westchester does not have any Republican senators. Ironically, Long Island residents seem to complain just as much about their property taxes as Westchester residents!

Although the math and the politics seemed stacked against Mamaroneck, there are some signs of hope. Elected officials are well aware of the public's increasing anxiety and frustration over property taxes. As soon as he took office, former Governor Elliot Spitzer created two commissions to examine property tax reform and local government expenditures. A final report from the Property Tax Reform Commission is due on May 22, and its chair, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi has expressed hope that its recommendations will lead to lower property taxes.

Officials are taking the issue seriously, and the public is playing some role. Many elected officials, such as Senator Jeff Klein, Assemblywoman Sandra Galef and Assemblyman Greg Ball, have been seeking ideas from citizens to lower property taxes. Recommendations include looking to income and sales taxes to support schools, eliminating unfunded mandates, capping teacher benefits and requiring districts to share some services.

Assemblyman George Latimer answered the loud cry for help from Albany by obtaining an additional $250,000 for the Mamaroneck schools. He and other Assembly members from Westchester County are working together to lobby Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to address Westchester's school aid situation.

There is much work to do to convince state leaders that our district should get more aid, especially in tough economic times. If you are interested in joining the effort to lobby for more state and federal aid for Mamaroneck schools, contact MORENY2008@gmail.com.

Emily Saltzman is the coordinator of MORE. She works for an Albany-based government relations firm

FIGHTING FIRE WITH COOPERATION

by Ned Benton

In Larchmont Village and the unincorporated part of the Town of Mamaroneck – zip code 10538 - we have excellent firefighting apparatus, many capable volunteer and career firefighters and good firefighting infrastructure. But overall effectiveness is impaired by poor inter-municipal cooperation.

Every home and business in 10538 should have excellent fire protection, but many do not. The problem is not funding – it’s lack of cooperation between the Mamaroneck Town Council and the Larchmont Village Board.

The two boards are meeting on February 4th to discuss inter-municipal issues, but fire protection is not on the agenda. We have already heard the following excuses: 1) It’s been that bad for a long time. 2) The other government has the fire department problem. 3) The other board has to ask first. 4) The firefighters don’t get along. 5) We need a state-funded study. 6) A study will take years. 7) We’d rather cooperate with another community.

Like Saint Augustine who once prayed “Give me chastity and continence, but not quite yet,” members of both boards claim to be in favor of fire department consolidation – but not quite yet.

Town Supervisor Valerie O’Keeffe and Councilman Ernie Odierna agreed, during last November’s Town supervisor debate, that consolidation would be a good idea - but Larchmont would have to ask first!

The obvious answer is for the Town of Mamaroneck Fire District (TMFD) to provide protection for all of 10538. Apparatus would respond from the nearest firehouse - Weaver Street and Larchmont Avenue - improving response times and delivering more paid and more volunteer firefighters – including consistent incident command - for every fire at every location. Savings in personnel and equipment costs could be achieved for both communities.

Let’s Face Facts About Fire Protection

If local leaders would candidly assess the facts, they would admit that each community – particularly Larchmont - has dangerous flaws in fire protection. The problems are obvious and serious.

Apparatus Delays: While both departments can deliver apparatus to most locations quickly, the glaring exception is the slice of Mamaroneck on Pryer Manor Road and in Dillon Park. TMFD apparatus drive from Weaver Street’s firehouse, over I-95 and across Larchmont, losing 2-3 critical minutes compared to immediate response from Larchmont’s firehouse. Delays are a serious risk for residents of those neighborhoods who pay for first-class protection and receive a delayed response.

Firefighter Delays: TMFD can deploy dozens of qualified firefighters, thanks in part to the mass of volunteers resigning from LFD and joining TMFD. But LFD’s roster of volunteers meeting minimum alarm response standards has dropped from almost 30 a year ago to just 8, which does not assure sufficient manpower to safely respond on its own.

While the mayor may be satisfied with the response to the recent fire at her home, LFD has consistently faced more serious fires, and the handful of paid and volunteer firefighters available cannot simultaneously command an incident, operate apparatus, connect and stretch hose, set up ladders for ventilation and rescue, search for building occupants and provide a rescue team. LFD cannot assure consistent compliance with basic safety and firefighting standards.

Dispatching Delays: It stands to reason that a single fire district could dispatch all of the apparatus and firefighting personnel needed at a fire more quickly than two separate agencies. We would skip the minutes it can take for the first department to invite the second department to help.

Mutual Aid Arrival Delays: New Rochelle can deliver aid to Larchmont in about ten minutes, as illustrated in the New Years Day fire. But during those critical first 10 minutes - when small fires must be contained, and victims of larger fires must be rescued - LFD alone cannot deliver the essential elements of an effective response.

Lack of Incident Command: LFD is now operating without deputy chiefs and must often rely on whoever is the ranking firefighter at the scene to coordinate teams of firefighters working in different locations, assess fire progression, call for additional assistance and initiate rescue operations if needed. Until enough qualified firefighters are at the scene, the ranking LFD firefighter faces unsafe command choices: join the initial attack (and forego coordination of the entire attack) or delay firefighting until aid arrives.

Regional Emergencies: Larchmont’s handful of firefighters cannot provide the scale of response needed in major storms or other widespread events. Mutual aid doesn’t work when neighboring departments are overstretched responding to their own emergencies.

Cost: Even before hiring a paid fire chief, Larchmont’s firefighting personnel costs (according to 2005 Comptroller data for NY villages) were the fifth highest per capita and second highest per square mile. LFD spent $400,000 more in firefighter salaries than TMFD, which covers 40% more property. Hiring a paid chief boosts LFD expenses, as would adding extra firefighters or deputy chiefs.

Let’s Cooperate With New Rochelle?

Mayor Feld wants to consider another option – joining a mega-district that would include New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Eastchester, Pelham and Pelham Manor. But our property tax share of the mega-merger budget could double what we are paying now in 10538. And what about response time - would it still take ten minutes for essential aid to arrive from New Rochelle?

Supervisor O’Keeffe has already taken a public stand against this type of merger plan. Larchmont’s leaders should be able to promptly make a similar assessment.

Cooperate … Now

On February 4th, the Town and Village leaders should face facts and admit that consolidation of fire protection is in the immediate interest of both communities. They should formally agree to begin taking concrete steps to enable TMFD to serve both communities while continuing to station firefighters and apparatus at Weaver Street and at Larchmont Village Hall.

If they need a model for leadership, they should look to the chiefs and members of the TMFD. In the face of provocative public comments, they have conducted themselves with the utmost professionalism. That is one more reason why placing fire protection for both communities in their steady, experienced and professional hands is the best choice.