Clarifications of the West Haven Taypayer Initiative

The West Haven Taxpayer Initiative (WHTI) , which organized the Taxpayer's Rally has been surprisingly silent over the past week.

However, according to an August 2nd West Haven Voice article entitled "Apology sent to Picard", Robert Symmes wrote a letter of apology to Mayor Picard for the inclusion of Brent Coscia as a speaker at the rally. Apparently, Mr. Coscia is NOT a member of the WHTI.

Brent Coscia apparently was indicated by media coverage as the del facto Rally organizer, and had several disparaging quotes published. The West Haven Voice article states:

Coscia, who was a strong supporter of the administration of former Mayor H. Richard Borer, Jr. and a former official on various boards and commissions, has never been known for his political tact. Much of what he said that night turned into a personal attack on the mayor, prompting critics to call the effort an attempt at “Picard bashing.”

Coscia was cited in follow-up reports in the local press as a spokesman for the WHTI. In one report he threatened a recall attempt of the mayor and Corporation Counsel Peter Barrett if the latter declared the initiative petitions invalid.

Robert Symmes indicated to the mayor that he believes the problems stem from decades long financial mismanagement, and pointed to the $94,000 of unused DECD grant money owed to the state from 35 years ago as an example. He went on to reportedly write:

"We wholeheartedly agree with your viewpoint that the level of city debt must be reduced. Our sole point of contention with your administration is the effect your solution will have on the taxpayers,"

The goal of the WHTI was reiterated as lowering the mill rate and increasing the funding for education and police force, and Symmes indicated that he would continue to pursue those goals.

Mayor Picard indicated a willingness to work with Symmes in the WH Voice piece, but continued to state that no solutions were being presented to date -- only goals, and he would like to see what plan Symmes has to replace the $10 M that would be lost by lowering the mill rate from 27.98 to 24.5, as well as where to find the additional funds to restore the educational and public safety budgets.

$10 million is no minor amount... but as I've discussed in this blog (which is not directly associated with the WHTI), there are places that we can cut some chaff, and I think that there are MANY opportunities to boost revenue. I look forward to seeing what Mr. Symmes has to offer, too.

Worth Watching: NJ's Special Session on Property Tax Reform

New Jersey, in response to having the highest average property tax levies in the nation, highest per capita property taxation, 2nd highest in terms of reliance on property tax for raising government revenues, and 3rd in terms of a percentage of personal income, is taking the radical step of a special legislative session on Property Tax Reform.

Four joint commitees were formed, and will meet throughout the summer:

1. JointLegislative Committee on Public School Funding Reform


2. Joint Legislative Committee on Government Consolidation and Shared Services


3. Joint Legislative Committee on Public Employee Benefits Reform


4. Joint Legislative Committee on Constitutional Reform and Citizens Property Tax Constitutional Convention

What is particularly interesting is that they are approaching this from two directions - not only are they looking to reduce property taxes, they are also looking at reducing the budget.

One item on the table is shared services between municipalities, to consolidate and reduce overhead. However, in doing so will also increase unemployment, which is something that news reports to date seem to be ignoring.

One PhilliBurbs article entitled "As property tax reform talks begin, possible tax changes emerge" also explores potential ideas that are on the table:

• More sales tax and income tax moneys being directed towards education
• Income tax surcharge for education
• base school taxes on a flat rate across the state
• base school taxes on a statewide development plan, reducing taxes to encourage growth in certain areas
• Consolidate school districts into 21 county-based districts and collect county-based school taxes
• higher property tax for land, less for property tax for buildings
• allow local sales taxes

Homestead Exemptions to Property Tax

According to the Wikipedia entry for Homestead Exemption,

Homestead exemption laws typically have three primary features:

1. They prevent the forced sale of a home to meet the demands of creditors;
2. They provide the surviving spouse with shelter;
3. They provide an exemption from property taxes which can be applied to a home.

Homestead exemptions for property taxes often mean that a fixed dollar amount of a primary residence's value isn't taxed. So, for instance, if there is a $100,000 homestead exemption, a $300,000 home would be taxed on $200,000, where as a $150,000 house would be taxed on $50,000.

In states with Homestead exemptions, sometimes the exemption is applied automatically, and sometimes it has to be applied for, particularly in those states where the exemption only applies to a certain portion of the population, such as seniors.

The idea of providing such an exemption to seniors is appealing; it can solve the problem of ejecting those who have been long term residents from lifelong homes. However, the void of payment generally has to come from somewhere. Often, municipalities that have a homestead exemption make up for it with a sales tax (sometimes known as 'HEST' - homestead exemption sales tax). In some states, this is applied to necessities such as food, clothing, etc. - which means that the populations who don't own property end up subsidizing those who do (and in locations without qualifying factors for homestead exemption, it can mean that the richest benefit and the poorest lose out).

California's Proposition 13 and the Impact of Property taxes

There is a fascinating Wikipedia read on the Impact of Property Taxes. In part, it says:

Property tax has been held to be regressive (that is, to fall disproportionately on those of lower income) because of its impact on particular low-income/high-asset groups such as pensioners and farmers in drought years. Because these persons have high-assets accumulated over time, they have a high property tax liability. However, their current income level is low. Therefore, a larger proportion of their income goes to paying the property tax. In areas with high real estate appreciation (such as California in the 1970s and 2000s), there is often little or no relationship between property taxes and a homeowner's ability to pay them. The regressive nature of the tax was a common argument used by supporters of California Proposition 13. Others, however, have argued that property taxes are broadly progressive, since people of higher incomes are disproportionately likely to own property. These two points of view are not completely incompatible - it is possible for a tax to be progressive in general but to be regressive in relation to minority groups. As a result of these contradictions, some economists have called for the abolition of property taxes altogether, to be replaced by income taxes, consumption taxes such as Europe's VAT, or a combination of both.

Certainly, in West Haven, there is a large number of people who are pensioners who cannot afford to pay their newly inflated property taxes.

Proposition 13 (a.k.a. "People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation") was a Ballot Initiative in California, passed in 1978, that had two main effects. The widely popular affect was that it reduced and caped taxes, reducing them by an average of 57%. However, the initiative also put in terminology that required two-thirds majority in both legislative houses for future increases in all state tax rates or amounts of revenue collected, including income tax rates. This effectively tied the hands of the Legislature with respect to providing services and infrastructure demanded by the public.

Under Proposition 13, property taxes are limited to 1% of the accessed value until the property is resold, and the can only incrase by a maximum of 2% per year. This means that if the value of the property increases dramatically (like our revaluations here in West Haven), or if inflation outruns the 2% rate, there can be quite a large difference between a current owner's taxes, and what a new owner would be taxed.

Proposition 13 has greatly helped seniors, who live on a fixed income, and assists in guaranteeing those who have lived long term in a house can continue to do so. However, it has hurt first time homeowners, as it has caused a shortage of affordable housing. Turnover in housing often creates dramatic increases in taxes, and this can lead to placing new home ownership out of the reach of young wage earners, particularly those with less income.

Unfortunately, lack of property tax income has meant that towns and cities have often had to create 'special accessments' for projects such as sewers, education, road maintenance, etc., which are services that were previously paid for by property taxes... basically, the money has to come from somewhere, and Proposition 13 hasn't cured that problem.

Creative Revenue Streams: Cracking down on Curbside Brush?

According to this July 26, 2006 WFSB news report (just in time for all the wicked weather that passed through), West Haven is now cracking down on curbside waste. Apparently, tree contractors were discarding tree waste through the general trash collection.

$100 fines will be levied for:

• large amounts of brush
• brush not bound
  
• brush put out days before collection
  

West Haven tax $$$ at work - for beach sand???

According to this July 28th WFSB report, $500,000 of sand was recently put on the beaches... and it will wash away again. This year's sand, imported in 11,000 truckloads from Cape Cod, was paid by West Haven taxpayers.

The Mayor's office is petitioning the state for $1 million to replenish the sand annually...

I-95 Sawmill Road Interchange: Good news and Bad News

Well, the good news according to this July 21, 2006 New Haven Register article entitled Work Resumes at Sawmill Road site is just that - the state department of transportation has fired and replaced the apparently defunct L. G. Defelice Co. of North Haven who stopped work last November on the interchange, leaving things in a bit of a mess along the I-95 corridor of West Haven. The temporary replacement company is O&G Industries Inc., who has a great track record with the state.

About $5 million worth of the $21.19 million project remains. Most notably, the northbound ramp needs to be completed.

This work is extremely important to the renewed vitality of the Sawmill road properties; indeed, it is my understanding that the long delay in the start of the I-95 work also delayed start of contruction on the new Walmart, Hampton Inn & Suites hotel and Texas Roadhouse restaurant on Sawmill Road, all of which have now had their groundbreaking. I can't say I blame the property owners - why put money into the properties when the infrastructure is not yet in place??

Now for the bad news...

As a matter of concern, the bonding company for Defelice didn't pick a replacement company, as required by the state.

This is worrisome, because apparently Defelice owes the city $135,315 for extra-duty work performed by West Haven policemen.... and that is the bad news. Will be be able to collect this money? And how much will it COST us to do so?

Did we pay it back or not???

In the July 28, 2006 New Haven Register, there was an editorial entitled State tried to collect an old debt. This commentary was about the news item that:

The state Department of Economic and Community Development sent City Hall a letter July 10 saying that if the city did not pay back $93,500 in unspent money from grants dating to the 1960s for development of Savin Rock, it would cut off all future economic aid.

The editorial makes a good case that this deadline was extremely short, considering that the last time that the state tried to collect these funds was in 1994. It also stated that the grant records from the 1960's are no longer on file, and that the city is uncertain as to whether or not it owes this money.

My question -- did we pay it back, get an extension, or otherwise resolved this issue? Or are we cut off from future economic aid?

According to the July 25, 2006 New Haven Register article entitled Decades-old debts may lead to cuts in W. Haven grants,

Picard said the city won’t, and isn’t, in a position to pay a bill neither city records nor the state validates.

The article also states:

If the city loses state money, city Planning and Development Commissioner Eileen Buckheit said the planned West River Crossing development will be put at risk because the city needs "millions" to clean up the site before turning it over to a developer. The city is trying to land the United Illuminating Co. for the site.

Great. We have a project that could actually put some new business into the city of West Haven, and it's in jeopardy... or did we resolve the matter? WHY is the Mayor's office silent!??!!

It all comes back to taxes

I had an interesting series of correspondence from a reader who used to live in West Haven, which I'm republishing with his permission. He noted:

Some ideas for bringing down West Haven's taxes.

1. Get rid of the separate fire districts. I know this isn't some new revelation, but it's pretty silly that you still have all those fire districts and fire chiefs. (Not surprising in a town rife with nepotism.)

2. Lower taxes for business and retail establishments. There's a reason why business and industry goes to Milford and Orange instead of West Haven. If you give them tax incentives...they will come. This in turn will increase the city's grand list and eventually lower homeowner property tax.

3. Get rid of more multi-dwelling establishments. Borer had the right idea with the Hilton Drive project. It was a good plan, but it was poorly executed. Apartments drain the towns resources and infrastructure and don't contribute proportionally to the tax rolls.

4. Do not lower the salaries of teachers and administrators. The city needs highly qualified personnel. Remember, good school systems make for a desirable city. This in turn keeps property values high.

Finally, remember that you do get a lot of services in West Haven for your tax dollar.

In [the new town where I live], I estimate that I pay approximately $2500 less a year for a comparably priced home in West Haven. We don't, however, have municipal trash pick-up. We have a volunteer fire department, and we have a septic system and well, instead of sewer and city water.

Shortly after moving from West Haven, property values went through the roof. I really thought that the City had turned the corner and was on the road to prosperity. Let's hope that these tax increases don't retard the town's momentum.

Very astute and interesting observations, and I appreciate the correspondance greatly.

My thoughts:

I agree wholeheartedly about the consolidations of the fire districts. Unfortunately, as I understand it, the town government and the fire districts are entirely distinct and separate - the town council and mayor's office have no control over the fact that there are three separate fire districts.

I agree about lowering taxes for business and retail establishements -- to a point. I think they have to have 10 year incentives or the like. Part of the problem is that West Haven doesn't have a large enough commercial tax basis, and most of its land is used for residential properties. We need to get business into the town to share the tax burden, boost the economy, and attract visitors.

I agree about the multi-home properties statement. As I understand it, the shoreline new building moratorium in part was put into place to prevent Jimmie's from cashing out and relocating, and converting their restaurant into apartment buildings (SIGH!). The West Haven Land Trust's easement for the prevention of development on the shoreline was only chartered for 30 years - and it expired in 2006. (On a similar note, kudos to the city for cracking down on illegal apartments).

I feel that the teachers are (rightfully) well-paid in West Haven... cutting their salaries and benefits would only demoralize the staff, though, and we need to give reasonable cost-of-living increases.

We do get good services in West Haven, but we pay dearly for them.

My better half liked to say that in 1990, our taxes doubled, and all we saw for it was that our trash pickups went from twice a week (in the summer) to once a week.

We pay Regional Water Authority dearly for the water that we receive - it isn't free.

Sewers are included in our taxes, but our aging Waste plant is going to cost us *millions* to bring up to standards, and when we have storms, polutes Long Island Sound. There are even discussions to outsource to New Haven's system.

We do have a very good set of fire departments, but we have three chiefs, and pay much more than we should for retirement and benefits for all the extra administration.

The town that our reader has moved to has a area of just over 150% of West Haven's 10.6 square miles, but a population of about 1/4. For that town, I suspect that it really wouldn't be economically viable to have municipal septic and water for that distribution. Ironically, with such a larger population in West Haven (and theoretically, that means a smaller portion of the costs of the town), our taxes are much, much higher.

The value of residential properties did increase significantly - but we continued to lose businesses, and fail to bring new businesses to town. We spent money like it was going out of fashion, if you can believe the new mayor (who happened to sit on the City Council - why didn't he shout that out then?)

City Hall Close - Power Out?

It's clear that someone in City Hall needs some lessons in grammar. See this clip from WFSB about yesterday's power outage at City Hall - the sign on the door reads:

City Hall Close - Power Out

This is the second recent grammatical error from our City Hall; at the minimal Savin Rock Festival, there was another word misuse error....

West Nile and West Haven - What is being done?

According to an August 3 article from the New Haven Register (as well as earlier reports), mosquitoes have tested positive in West Haven for West Nile virus. What is West Haven doing in response?

According to the Health Department section of the City of West Haven's website:

In Environmental Health, the Department addressed the West Nile Virus problem by contracting to have a mosquito reduction program administered throughout the city.

However, it isn't clear WHAT this program is, or what year this was administered in.

No other information was found by a search of the site...

Auditors Revise 2004-2005 Results

According to an August 3 New Haven Register Article:

The city’s financial auditors on Wednesday released a revised 2004-05 audit revealing the city operated $5.28 million in the red last year instead of ending with a $6.12 million surplus.

The auditors, who volunteered to redo the audit after discussions with Mayor John M. Picard, found the $11 million difference because previous city officials allegedly "misclassified" capital bond money as general revenue and overspent certain school bonds.

Levitsky & Berney, the auditors for the City of West Haven 'volunteered' to redo the 2004-2005 audit ... yeah, right. Is this the same firm that we just paid the inflated $65,000 pricetag to audit the books after Mayor Picard came into office?

Isn't it 'ironic' that Mayor Picard was predicting that there would be an $11.2 million deficit for the 2005-2006 year, and this 'swing' is just about that amount?

Once again, it's politics as usual, as Mayor Picard tries to place blame on former Mayor Borer:

The mayor didn’t blame the auditors for failing to pick up on the alleged misappropriations, saying it may have been because of withheld documentation from former Finance Director Richard A. Legg and, by default, former Mayor H. Richard Borer Jr.

He said using capital funds was an easy way to pad the city’s budget to "artificially" keep the tax rate low.

According to former Mayor Borer:

Borer concurred with [former Finance Director Richard A. ] Legg that past councils approved every allocation of bond money.

Picard can make one of his "vast" allegations, Borer said, but said a careful look at the restated audit will show the difference is more of a "bookkeeping error that needs to be addressed" as opposed to a malicious intent to throw wool over taxpayers’ and auditors’ eyes.

Borer said some capital project bonds were put in the operating accounts before the state revised regulations in 1998, and that some outstanding bond money likely was still trickling in during 2004-05.

"This is not unusual in government or business as the world changes," he said. "If I was notified by the auditor, (city) financial adviser or finance director that money should have been handled in a different way then I would have done it, but that never came up."

Why does Mayor Picard continue to negatively compaign, when he is already elected in office? Instead of pointing fingers, why not try to address the real problems of over-inflated taxes that his consituents are now facing?

I love Legg's statement:

"I am not going to officially comment on it because this is politics and it’s crap," Legg said. "I’m out of it now, and I’m going to stay out of it. I did what was appropriate and what many (City) Councils agreed with, and I’m not going to sit here and defend it two years later."

Good for him... it IS politics- the ugly side of it.

Excessive Heat and West Haven "Response"

Due to the excessive heat, Governor Rell has opened all State Parks and Beaches, free of charge, to allow people to cool down. However, in West Haven, it's 'business as usual', and we continue to charge for out-of-town beach parking. Sadly, to me, this seems like profiting off of other people's misery - I'm disappointed.

What is West Haven doing for people to escape the heat? According to the above article:

To help residents of all ages beat the heat, the Allingtown Senior Center, 1 Forest Road, and West Haven Senior Center, 201 Noble St., is scheduled to open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and Wednesday. Residents also can cool off in the basement of City Hall, 355 Main St., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. today and Wednesday.

We're putting people in a basement??? What has been happening to seniors AFTER 8 pm? On Tuesday, several neighborhoods lost power due to the severe weather that passed through.

According to this New Haven Register article:

In West Haven, where 1,000 residents lost power Tuesday night, two nursing homes required emergency assistance when back-up generators failed.

At one home, the Marathon Healthcare Center of West Haven, two elderly individuals experienced "heat sickness and vomiting," said West Haven Fire Chief William Johnson, Jr. Both individuals were taken for treatment to area hospitals.

The other home, Haven Health Care, also lost power, and a pregnant employee had to be treated for nausea and dizziness.

Power was restored to both centers at 1:15 p.m., and an assessment team from the state Department of Public Health concluded no additional health issues existed at either center to warrant further evacuations.

Sigh.

Additionally, West Haven closed City Hall on August 2 as they had lost electricity. West Haven - home of more taxes and less services. That'll bring 'em in.

Fostering a Sense of Community

I was intrigued with today's New Haven Register article about Milford rejecting a film series on their green.

While ultimately, Milford rejected the free film series (which was to be sponsored by three local businesses), there were some interesting quotes there:

Recreation Director William McCarthy said that (...) it appeared to be a good idea to bring people downtown

[Susan] Ashelford said the movie night could have been a positive jolt for downtown.

... wouldn't it be nice to have another series of events (in addition to the concerts) that brought people downtown to West Haven? I think to make it profitable for the merchants, you need to get the merchants onboard, too, though! Some ideas:

• Hold a mini business fair at the edge of the event
• Bargains or freebees that you can only get if you get a stamp at the event on the green
• Allow venders at the edges of the green

In short, you have to make it worth the business's while! It's fun to have a sense of community, but we need to have businesses downtown to make it a destination.

While I'm on the subject of making downtown West Haven a destination, let's also talk about the planned railroad station. What about a free or low-cost shuttle service to downtown? I'd love to see more arts in the city - why not a downtown art museum? I'd love to see small shops in the station - why not give people a reason to GET OFF the train in West Haven, instead of it just being a commuter's stop!

Things in West Haven that really would be worthwhile

While we're on the topic of Taxes, and City Services, I figured I'd mention a few things that really DO need doing.

• On Ocean Avenue (where people often dangerously speed), side walks need to be maintained for the whole length. There are sections of the road that do not have sidewalks at all!
• The seawall (from South Street through Baybrook) needs repairs in several places... and the Army Core of Engineers granite rocks that are protecting the sewer line need desparately to be reviewed and repaired as needed.
• Accessways to the water along the seawall need to be clearly marked, and maintained... this includes stairs!
• Street cleaning, litter cleaning, beach cleanup! This is our jewel, and we spend lots on sand... why not maintain what we have better! Why not get volunteers to help?
• Better utilize our beautiful public resources, such as the Grove, and the shoreline. Why isn't there a public dock in West Haven? Wouldn't a 'dock and dine' restaurant make sense?
• Bring back business to West Haven. We need to make West Haven attractive to businesses -- we need to particularly improve along the 95 corridor, and by the proposed Train Station. We should go after more big names. Why didn't WE get Stu Leonards? Please, no more housing there! We don't need houses -- we need businesses. Let's make the train stop a shopping destination!!!
  
• We need to improve the state of aging housing in our town. We should change zoning regulations to require larger property parcels in order to build new construction - we've become nothing but a suburbs... there is no business, no free land.
• Get the Riverfront project underway. We need to revitalize that area, too!
• Publicize what areas of town are zoned as historic areas... there is a lot of history in West Haven that is untold!
  

Power Outages and Fire Department overtime?

While at the Savin Rock Road Race, I talked with another taxpayer regarding the recent Friday July 28 thunderstorm that knocked down trees (including one that fell in front of Mayor Picard's home). In this taxpayer's neighborhood, lines went down, and his electricity went out at about 6 pm, and didn't come back on until 2 am.

During that time, there were West Haven Fire Department staff posted at either end of the road where the lines were down. As several neighbordhoods were impacted, and Fire staff and police staff were out assisting, one wonders how much overtime we paid???

Scaled Down Savin Rock Festival appears to have hurt 12th Annual Savin Rock Road Race

Attendance and number of runners were both down in today's Savin Rock Road Race. According to Chamber of Commerce sources, there were roughly 400 finishers of the race in ALL age groups, a number which was stated to be down from past years.

The JB Sports has a website which lists the winners for just the adult 5K races for past years (2000 - 2005 posted to date).

Results include:

Year	5K Racers	Title Sponsor
2000	392	West Haven Chamber
2001	346	West Haven Chamber
2002	337	West Haven Chamber
2003	328	West Haven Chamber
2004	291	West Haven Chamber
2005	364	Walden Spring
2006	300	Walden Spring

[Edited to add that the tally was 300. That's down somewhat, but the high heat might have kept people away].

Office of the Comptroller - Financial Planning

... why is there is $22,000 increase in the budget allocated to Finanacial Planning? In 2005/2006, $78,000 was allocated, and now there is $100,000 budgetted. Mayor Picard used to work for Amex Financial Planning - is there any connection there?

Costs of Corporate Council

I notice that this year, there's a significant increase in Corporate Counsel costs of 8.5% ($22,880) , as we now have to pay for Paralegal services (where in the past we have not)... this is a significant increase -- is it necessary? This amount alone would have more than paid for the $19,000 we supposedly saved by not having the full 4 day Savin Rock festival.

State Grants for Municipalities

I would expect that the mayor's office has fully investigated opportunities present by the list of grants provided by the state for Municipalities, but I present the link in case something has been missed.