Whither Westchester? Part 2: The High Cost of Villaging

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Westchester residents pay the highest taxes of any county in the United States. That’s an incontrovertible fact. Why this is so—and why residents do nothing about it—is less easily understood. Many Westchester residents pay four levels of taxation. Croton is one of the communities that levels an extra layer of taxes as a result of having been incorporated as a village in 1898.

The impact of the four layers of taxation is acknowledged in the February 2010 Newsletter published by the Village of Croton-on-Hudson and intended to keep residents informed: “The property taxes each Village resident pays during the year are distributed to four entities--the School District, the Village (of Croton-on-Hudson), the Town (of Cortlandt), and the County (of Westchester).

“The amount of your School, Town and County tax bill is based upon the Town’s assessment of your property value. Your Village tax bill is based on the Village’s assessment of your property. Village taxes are the second largest component of your yearly taxes, with the School taxes being first and the County and Town taxes representing smaller portions.”

The most significant piece of information in the above extract is: “Village taxes are the second largest component of your yearly taxes.”

In 1788, there were twenty towns and no incorporated villages and cities in the newly constituted Westchester County. Today there are nineteen towns plus twenty villages in eight of these towns, and six cities independent of the towns. Three of the nineteen towns have organized themselves as anomalous town/villages, usually for political advantage.

One of the consequences of municipal incorporation is that every village soon acquired the appurtenances of business corporations—including an elaborate management structure. In fact, the heads of incorporated villages were originally called “President” until the title of Mayor was adopted, in part to avoid confusion.

Council-Manager GovernmentMore recently, Croton adopted the council-manager form of government, an outgrowth of government practices of the late 1800s and early 1900s. when political “machines” blighted municipalities with the abuses of the Spoils System (“to the victor belongs the spoils”). Under the council-manager system, all governmental authority rests with the board of trustees,
except for certain duties that are assigned by law to the manager. However, the manager is hired by and can be dismissed by the entire board.

Under the council-manager form of government the body called city council or village council, board of selectmen or board of trustees) is responsible for the legislative function of the municipality such as establishing policy, passing local ordinances, voting appropriations, and developing an overall vision for the city, town, or county. The elected body appoints a manager to oversee the administrative operations, implement its policies, and advise it. If the position of mayor exists, the duties are usually primarily ceremonial.

Although the popularity of council-manager government has continued into the 21st century, the system as practiced has changed over time, particularly in communities that have grown more politically contentious. Their elected officials increasingly see themselves as political activists responding to a constituency and resolving civic issues rather than as trustees performing a public service and simply identifying the issues to be studied regardless of any political agenda, as in the traditional model.

The High Cost of Villaging
The chief disadvantage of municipal incorporation is that it is both expensive and duplicative. A string of villages stretches along the Hudson between Yonkers and Peekskill. Anyone driving north along the old Albany Post Road that links these villages is hard-pressed to discern where one village leaves off and the next village begins. so uniform are they in the aspect they present to a motorist driving through. Each is also top-heavy with management superstructure and identical police, fire, garbage collection departments and equipment. One of these, Croton-on-Hudson, is a typical example of the council-manager form of government. The four members of the village’s board of trustees earn $3,000 annually for their services. The mayor is paid $5,000 annually. The disparity between policy-making village board salaries and that of the policy-executing village manager is startling ($17,000 vs. $160,000). Let us now examine the true cost of managing as exemplified by the annual salaries of Croton’s village management under this system. (Please note that this study is directed solely at job titles, not individual occupants of any job.)

Village Manager $160,000
Assistant Village Manager 93,215
Village Treasurer 108,150
Village Clerk 82,400
Deputy Treasurer 77,250
Deputy Village Clerk ­­ 45,000

The total of all these salaries is $566,015--well over a half-million dollars.

Croton is a village with a population of slightly less than 8,000 persons. If we now compare these salaries to a reasonable public service salary yardstick—the salaries of the governors of the fifty states, a surprising statistic emerges The village manager of Croton-on-Hudson earns more than the governors of 44 states! Just to put this statistic in perspective, the salary of the village manager of the village of Croton-on-Hudson is larger than that of the governors of such important states as Illinois (pop. 12.9 million); Washington (6.6 million); Connecticut (3.5 million); Maryland (5.7 million); Ohio (11.5 million); Massachusetts (6.5 million); and 37 other states. (Only the governors of California, New York, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania are paid salaries larger than Croton’s village manager.) Croton’s assistant village manager earns more than five governors in the U.S. Even Croton’s deputy treasurer makes more than the governor of the state of Maine. The following table tells the story.

Table 1: Salaries of U.S. Governors vs. Croton Management
California: $206,000
New York: $177,000
Michigan: $177,000
New Jersey: $175,000
Virginia: $175,000
Pennsylvania: $164,396
CROTON VILLAGE MANAGER: $160,000
Illinois: $155,600
Washington: $150,595
Connecticut: $150,000
Maryland: $150,000
Ohio: $144,830
Vermont: $143,957
Nevada: $141,000
Massachusetts: $140,535
Oklahoma: $140,000
Kentucky: $137,506
Wisconsin: $137,092
Georgia: $135,281
Florida: $132,932
Delaware: $132,500
North Carolina: $130,629
Iowa: $130.000
Mississippi: $122,160
Minnesota: $120,303
Missouri: $120,087
Rhode Island: $117,817
Texas: $115,345
Alabama: $112,895
Hawaii: $112,000
New Mexico: $110,000
New Hampshire: $108,890
CROTON VILLAGE TREASURER: $108,150
South Carolina: $106,078
Kansas: $105,889
Idaho: $105,560
South Dakota: $105,544
Nebraska: $105,000
Wyoming: $105,000
Utah: $104,100
Montana: $96,462
Arizona: $95,000
Indiana: $95,000
Louisiana: $95,000
West Virginia: $95,000
Oregon: $93,600
CROTON ASSISTANT VILLAGE MANAGER: $93,215
North Dakota: $92,483
Colorado: $90,000
Tennessee: $85,000
CROTON VILLAGE CLERK: $82.400
Arkansas: $80,848
CROTON DEPUTY VILLAGE TREASURER $77,250Maine: $70,00

How does the salary paid to Croton’s village manager stack up against salaries paid by other villages for the same job? Table 2 below shows the comparison. Note that the title may vary between village manager and village administrator in these figures arranged in ascending order.

Table 2. Salaries Paid to Village Managers
Dobbs Ferry: $79,029 (VC)
Buchanan: $110,902 (VM, VC, VT)
Briarcliff Manor: 116,966 (IVM)
Tarrytown: $120,184 (VA)
Ardsley: $130,534 (VM)
Elmsford: $135,000 (VA, VC)
Irvington: ($138,000 (VA)
Pelham Village: $142,225 (VA)
Pleasantville: $144,371 (VA)
Hastings: $157,188 (VM)
Ossining: $160,000 (VM)
Croton-on-Hudson: $160,000 (VM)
-------------------------------------------------
Title Code: IVM=Interim Village Manager; VA=Village Administrator; VC= Village Clerk; VM=Village Manager; VT=Village Treasurer.

Expressed in practical terms. Croton’s village manager’s salary costs every man, woman and child in Croton $20.20 each year. In terms of the cost per household, the figure is $54.96. Interestingly, Croton (pop. 7,919) pays the same salary ($160,000) to its village manager as Ossining, where the population (23,920) is three times larger. Croton’s per capita annual cost to residents for its village manager is $20.20; Ossining’s is a mere $6.59. Neighboring Buchanan’s village manager performs the additional functions of village clerk and village treasurer for a total salary of $110.902. Croton spends $350,550 for three persons to perform these same functions.

Village vs. Hamlet or CDP?The inevitable question becomes, “What do villages offer that other communities such as unincorporated hamlets and CDPs (Census-Designated Places) do not offer?” The answer is, “Little to nothing.” The community in Westchester whose junior and senior high schools are consistently chosen as “best in Westchester” by U.S. News & World Report is not Croton but Edgemont. Before you say, “Edgemont—never heard of it,” you should know that Edgemont is an unincorporated hamlet in the town of Greenburgh, and has no top-heavy village superstructure and extra layer of village taxation.

Similarly, the community to which Croton residents most often move for its quality of life and school system is Chappaqua. Again, Chappaqua is an unincorporated hamlet, not a village--but that only increases its attractiveness as a community, and removes the layer of village taxation.

Then there’s affluent Katonah, one of three unincorporated hamlets in the town of Bedford, and a destination for those seeking more-expensive homes. According to the Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index, Katonah ranked as the most expensive housing market surveyed in New York. In the tri-state area, it is only surpassed by Greenwich, Conn., and Ridgefield, N.J. As residents of a hamlet, those who live in Katonah don’t have to worry about an annoying extra layer of village taxes despite their ability to pay.

Another example of a prosperous non-village is Yorktown Heights, Its population closely matches Croton’s in size, but it is classified as a Census-Designated Place (CDP). Its residents get along very nicely without the burden—and onerous taxes—of a useless village superstructure.

What Can We Do?
The Commission on Local Government Efficiency created by the previous Governor to study ways to reduce the cost of government determined that a village is an inefficient and unnecessary form of government and should all be dissolved. Is there a way for the twenty villages of Westchester County, including Croton, to throw off the yoke of village bureaucracy and lower exorbitant village taxes? Indeed there is. Provision for the dissolution of villages is covered by New York State Law and allows them to be absorbed by the town in which they are located. Reduction of taxes by dissolution of a village will make homes more affordable and make the communuity more attractive to new businesses. Here are the steps Croton must take to accomplish dissolution of its village structure, as laid out in Village Law, Article 19:

(1) A petition signed by at least one-third of the registered voters residing in the Village must be submitted to Croton’s Board of Trustees requesting that a proposition for dissolution be put before the voters on the next general election.

(2) A public hearing must be held to discuss the proposed dissolution of the Village of Croton.

(3) In cooperation with the Town of Cortlandt, the Croton Board of Trustees must develop a plan for disposition of Croton’s assets, payment of Croton’s debts and the assumption of its services by the Town of Cortlandt. The plan will be part of the proposition of dissolution, which will go before the voters.

(4) At the next general or special election, the voters will be asked to vote on the proposition of dissolution. If approved the Village must be dissolved according to the approved plan within one year.

Reduction of taxes by dissolution of the village will make homes more affordable and make the communuity more attractive to new businesses. There’s nothing revolutionary about the concept of dissolution. It would merely mark a return to the original township plan of Westchester’s founding fathers. The Town of Cortlandt already performs for residents of Cortlandt outside the villages of Croton and Buchanan (and the city of Peekskill) many of the village services that would be transferred.

All that we get for living in the village of Croton and paying high village taxes is intrusive micromanageent and the ability to say that we live in a village. Big deal! There is little that village government does in Croton that the Town of Cortlandt does not do—and does better. Several other villages in New York State are in the process of dissolving. What is Croton waiting for? We should either start the wheels of dissolution in motion or stop complaining about high village taxes.