October Newsletter

Hello Hartsdale Community, We hope this email finds you well. It’s been a few months since our last newsletter and much has been going on in our community and we have information to share on school and fire district funding, and more.     GREENBURGH CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BOND REFERENDUM Please mark your calendars and vote on a special bond vote on Tuesday, October 17,2023, at Woodlands from 7am to 9pm. The proposed bond is for $9.625 million and will be utilized for the much needed replacement of the roofs at four schools, and a new track and tennis courts at Woodlands MHS. The total cost of the project is $13.625 million and additional amounts will be funded out of the Capitol Reserve and a grant awarded by Andrea Stewart Cousins.   Why this is important? It is critical to maintain the roofs to maintain the aging infrastructure of our schools including work already done inside the buildings. In addition, it is important that the children in our schools have access to athlete facilities and be able to host athletic events. The HNA Executive Committee supports the bond and recommends that you vote yes on these improvements.  How will this affect my taxes?  A bond is essentially a loan that must be paid back with interest. It will increase school property taxes for homeowners by a nominal amount over the course of the loan, but the should amount to less than $200 a year per household.  For example, on a home valued at $558,100, taxes will increase by an estimated $119.11 per year. The added benefit is that district debt is utilized in the formula to determine state aid to the district, so increasing state aid should theoretically increase aid in coming years. The formula factors in variables such as: District debt, overall wealth of the residents of the district, and number of students in the public school system.  More information on the bond can be found on the GCSD website and YouTube channel.  HARTSDALE FIRE DISTRICT BUDGET 2023 The Hartsdale Fire District (HFD) will present the 2024 Budget Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 8:00 PM at Hartsdale Fire District Headquarters, 300 West Hartsdale Ave, Hartsdale, NY in a public hearing. The 2024 total appropriation of $15,200,522 represents a 3.6% YOY increase of $533,000. The 2024 total to be raised by real property taxes $14,041,654 represents a 4.4% YOY increase of $595,2400. The increase will amount to an average annual increase of under $50 per household.In comparison the 2023 total appropriation of $14,667,626 represented a YOY 8% increase of over $1.14 million The 2023 total raised by real property taxes $13,446,414 represented a YOY 5% increase of $638,773.  In 2024, the majority of the increase is going to fund increases in personnel benefit costs mandated by the state. The detailed 2024 Budget can be found on the HFD Website. The Budget was approved by the Fire District Commissioners at the September meeting. In 2022, the Fire Protection Tax represented an average 6.34% of your total property tax bill in the Town of Greenburgh.  OTHER NEWS Halloween and Fall Celebrations Join our community in the many fall and winter family fun activities including Spooktoberfest and annual Halloween Window Painting on E Hartsdale Avenue. Most events require advance registration.  A full list of factivities and sign up information can be found on TOG website.  New Rental Apartments Proposed on N Washington Avenue A new eight unit rental apartment building, (e.g. 4 three bedroom units, 4 two bedroom units, total 20 bedrooms) has been proposed at 45 N Washington Avenue. Although the plans are before the Zoning Board of Appeals for site variances, the land is already zoned multi-family and does not require a variance for that use to build the two story rental apartment building. The plans call for only 16 underground parking spaces and 2 additional outdoor spaces. There are no plans to include a guest parking lot on the site. Unfortunately, these plans do meet town requirements. Representatives for the property indicated that renters needing additional spaces and guests could park on Laurel Street, meter parking on Central Avenue or various lots off of Hartsdale Avenue. All of these solutions are some walking distance from the unit in an already crowded thoroughfare.If you have concerns for our future, we suggest that you write to Paul Feiner and the Town Board to make changes to parking requirements. 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 Hartsdale Fire District Monthly – October 10 Town Board Meeting – October 11 Spooktoberfest- October 14 Hartsdale Fire District Budget Hearing – October 17 Zoning Board of Appeals – October 19 Halloween Window Painting – October 22