Yesterday members of the Greenburgh Town Board approved a resolution asking the N.Y.S. Legislature to amend NYS law dealing with future efforts by residents of sections of unincorporated Greenburgh to incorporate as a village. Bills designed to better address the impact of incorporation have been introduced for a number of years. To be clear, the proposed Home Rule Legislation is not Edgemont-specific. It was drafted to ensure that any additional efforts for areas in the Town of Greenburgh would require a process which included a Community Impact Statement, delineating the effect such incorporation would have on the proposed incorporated area as well as the remaining territory of the Town.
Edgemont’s petition and referendum is in the hands of the N.Y.S. Court system, which will make a determination based upon the merits of the Article 78 proceeding that was instituted by members of the Edgemont Incorporation Committee (EIC). Whether the petition they filed is found sufficient to schedule a referendum is not in my hands or other town officials, it is in the hands of the New York State Courts. The Town Board will, of course, abide by the order of the court.
Should Edgemont become a Village, the remaining Town could sustain a devastating fiscal blow in the amount of nearly $17MM in lost revenue. A significant number of jobs and services would be lost and property tax increases would need to be considered in both the remaining unincorporated area as well as by the newly incorporated village. Should additional petitions be filed to incorporate other unincorporated areas, the cumulative effect would be even more devastating to the town.
Some blog posts on Edgemont sites claim that improper notice was given of the meeting yesterday. Even though work was still being done on the resolution, I personally walked over to the Town Clerk's office on Thursday and advised that I wanted to give at least 24 hours’ notice before Friday’s meeting. We scheduled the special meeting at 2:45 PM on Friday, 24 hours after I spoke to the Clerk’s Office. Nevertheless, for the avoidance of any doubt and to ensure we are following the letter and spirit of the law, the Town Board has decided to re-notice the meeting and reaffirm their votes tomorrow (Sunday) evening, at 8:30 PM, at Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh NY 10607. No other business will be entertained at tomorrow’s special meeting.
PAUL FEINER
