Hello Hartsdale Community,
We hope this email finds you well. We are sending out this newsletter with an important update on the 2024-2025 GCSD School Proposed Budget and BOE elections.
GREENBURGH CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
The 2024-25 District Budget and Board Of Education Vote is on May 21st from 7AM to 9PM at Woodlands MHS Gymnasium. Voter Information can be found on the GCSD website.
GCSD Budget
The 2024-25 GCSD proposed budget materials are available on the GCSD website. The proposed budget is $80,567,747 and proposed tax levy is $67,039,809, an increase of 2.71%.
What Does This Mean For Homeowners?
Since taxes are based on the value of your home, your taxes would go up or down based on the projected increase in the tax formula and the value of your home. As an example if your home was worth $607k in 2023 and has increased in value by 4.88% in 2024 to $636.6k, your school tax bill would increase by 4.51% (from April 16th Budget Presentation).
Board of Education Election
There are three opens seats for the Board of Education with three year terms from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027. The election will take place on May 21st. There are five candidates running for the open seats:
Christopher Macaluso
Kiana Washington
Rebeca Sampelayo
Adonia Manns
Christine Valin
Get to Know The Candidates
GCSD’s PTA held a Meet The Candidates Night on May 1st. The event with the candidates is available on the GCSD YouTube channel.
To supplement that, HNA extended an invitation to all the candidates for 1v1 interviews where they could share more about themselves and their candidacy. So far 3 of the 5 candidates, Adonia Manns, Rebeca Sampelayo, and Chris Valin, agreed to participate. You can watch the videos on the HNA YouTube channel.
If the remaining candidates choose to participate, we will post the interviews on the HNA YouTube channel and provide an update on the HNA Facebook page.
EDGEMONT INCORPORATION UPDATE
Back in March an impact study, commissioned by Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins, to examine impacts of an Edgemont Village incorporation to both the residents of Edgemont and the rest of the Unincorporated area of Greenburgh was released. The Town Board found the study greatly understated the effects of incorporation and submitted a detailed response. The following reflect some areas of greatest risk and uncertainty as stated by the Town Board:
1. Water and Sewer Infrastructure
2. Long Term Debt Liabilities for Unincorporated Greenburgh including: Capitol Bond Liabilities, Medical Insurance for Retirees, Outstanding Litigation and more
3. Report provided vague data analysis and forecasted only one year of impact into potential incorporation.
“Town Board expresses the following grave concerns and risks for our constituents in Unincorporated Greenburgh, including those in Edgemont.”
Background On Edgemont Incorporation
The Town of Greenburgh is divided in half. Approximately half the population live in six incorporated Villages (e.g. Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Tarrytown, Elmsford and Irvington) that have their own local governments and limited public services, like police. While the other half lives in the unincorporated area of Greenburgh that consists of hamlets contained mostly within one of three US census designated places (e.g. Hartsdale, Fairview, Greenville/Edgemont.) Edgemont activists have been working to incorporate for many years and in 2016, a group of Edgemont residents formed the EIC, “to inform residents on key issues surrounding incorporation, and take all necessary steps to hold a vote on whether to become our own village. The EIC believes “Edgemont would enjoy a representative and accountable government that shares equally in the benefits and burdens of self-governance.”
Edgemont has twice submitted petitions to Incorporate but were denied by the courts who struck down the petitions as insufficient. Once again, the EIC has been moving over the last 16 months to formalize self-governing plans, budgets and town maps to present to our Town Supervisor Paul Feiner for approval and ultimately bring the matter to a vote.
Unfortunately, under NYS law only Edgemont residents within designated EIC mapping would get to vote even though it would greatly and adversely impact Hartsdale and Fairview residents. Currently that impact could not even be considered in deciding the matter. Greenburgh residents seeing the economic unfairness and elements of racial inequality in the current law, petitioned NYS lawmakers to change the law to incorporate the impact of the larger community to the decision making process. In the new law, changes in the process would be put into effect and the impact to the community would be considered by an unbiased approval board before any vote could take place. But at the last minute Senator Andrea Steward Cousins and Assemblywoman Paulin put in an amendment to the bill that would exempt Edgemont from the new process through 2040.
In January, the Greenburgh Town Council hired legal counsel to oppose this amendment.
We expect the EIC to move quickly to get a petition to Paul Feiner who will either approve it or reject it to move forward to a vote. If it is rejected, we expect a round of appeals that will take a few years to get through the system.
HNA Role
The HNA Executive Leadership Committee strongly opposes the special treatment Edgemont has been given and any decision or vote that takes place without consideration of the impact to the entire Unincorporated Area of Greenburgh. We believe Edgemont Incorporation will lead to higher taxes and reduced services for Edgemont and Greenburgh as a whole with the greatest impact felt in Hartsdale and Fairview, and we believe the impact study utilized flawed data and assumptions, and in effect grossly understated the effects on all of Unincorporated Greenburgh.
HNA MEMBER INFORMATION
The Hartsdale Neighbors Association (HNA) is a group of passionate volunteers who are driven to improve our community. We foster neighborhood engagement and community-based problem solving, enhance civic awareness and provide a vehicle for community-based efforts. If you’d like to be more involved with HNA and join the Executive Board, one of our committees or other efforts, please contact us at info@hartsdaleneighbors.org.
IMPORTANT DATES
GCSD Board and Budget Vote – May 21
Greenburgh Town Board Meeting – May 23
Greenburgh Town Board Meeting – June 12
Federal, State, and Local Primary – June 25