Newly elected White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach says the worst is behind Westchester”™s capital city as it looks to turn the page on the nastiest economic downturn since the Great Depression and any taint left from the scandal-plagued administration of former Mayor Adam Bradley.
In an interview at White Plains City Hall, Roach, a cancer survivor, touched on what led to his election as the city”™s chief executive and what”™s in store in terms of its finances and ability to attract new business.
An attorney with the Mamaroneck law firm of Mead, Hecht, Conklin and Gallagher, Roach took over as acting mayor in February following the resignation of Bradley, who was found guilty of domestic violence-related charges brought by his estranged wife, Fumiko. Bradley was later sentenced to three years”™ probation.
In March, Roach captured more than 50 percent of the vote in a special mayoral election against former Common Councilman Glen Hockley and White Plains businessman and former NFL offensive lineman Bob Hyland. Roach, a Democrat and member of the city”™s Common Council for nine years, will serve out the remainder of Bradley”™s term through the end of 2013.
Roach, who lives in White Plains with his wife, Elizabeth, and two children, Henry 11, and Lawson, 8, lost a very close race for the New York State Assembly this past November to Robert J. Castelli, R-C-TXP.
City reviews $146.7M spending plan
The Common Council is reviewing a $146.7-million 2011-2012 city budget that calls for a 6.7 percent property tax increase. Roach said although the budget, prepared by the city”™s budget office, seeks the elimination of 39 positions, those cuts will not involve any layoffs of city workers.
Roach said he had a limited role in the preparation of the budget and he expects the Common Council ”“ which currently has six members (all Democrats) with a seventh to be appointed soon to fill his vacancy ”“ to tweak the spending plan to perhaps lower the property tax increase.
“Last year we started out at 18.6 percent and brought it down to 6.9 percent and that was with real savings and not with anything magical (budget gimmicks),” he said. “What I want to try and avoid is (to) do anything that would kick the can down the road and cause us to continue to accrue debt for operating (expenses). You don”™t really want to do that, you would rather handle everything in this year because we think that in the coming year in the next budget cycle we will be in a much better position.”
Roach said he believes the economy is improving nationally and in White Plains, which now boasts a population of 57,000. “We have seen sales tax figures go up, we are seeing more interest in the retail spaces downtown,” he said.
Retail, office market plans
Roach said the turnout for the recent soft and hard openings of the new Dick”™s Sporting Goods at the Source at White Plains (former Fortunoff space), was impressive. He also noted the addition of Raymour & Flanigan, scheduled to open this month at the Source. Both retailers signed leases for a floor at the shopping center or approximately 56,000 square feet each.
Roach said that in talking with the staff at Dick”™s Sporting Goods, the business generated the first weekend “exceeded their expectations.”
He hopes to be able to “leverage their success to try and get some other people that were maybe on the fence about coming to White Plains” to lease space in the city.
In the few weeks he has been mayor, Roach said, the city is fielding more inquires for retail space.
The city”™s office market has taken its share of hits over the past few years. The downtown vacancy rate has been on the rise and stood at nearly 16 percent at the end of last year. The vacancy rate for office space outside the central business district crested to 23.4 percent at year-end 2010, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
The mayor thinks the tide is turning and he can play a role in helping bring in new business.
“I have told the building owners that I have spoken to that their vacancy is my vacancy,” he said and added that if a building owner has a prospective tenant, “I will drop everything because I believe one of the most important things a mayor can do is to be a face for the city and to sell the city to potential investors and businesses.”
Property taxes remain an issue
Roach said that if a 2 percent property tax cap were in place now, it would have a significant impact on the 2011-2012 budget.
He noted that the increase in city pension costs is estimated to account for roughly half of the proposed 6.7 percent property tax increase: “That is very substantial. You owe that like the rent, it is not negotiable.”
The 2 percent property tax, which has passed the state Senate and is now before the Assembly, would have a major impact on city services, he said.
The mayor said that if it were possible he would like to institute a property tax increase of less than 2 percent even without the passage of the tax cap bill in Albany. However, that will be difficult, especially when the city faces mandated increases in pension and health care costs that far exceed the inflation rate as well as certioraris filed by commercial property owners that have resulted in significant declines in revenue, he noted.
”˜We are moving forward”™
Roach recalled the day in February when he got the call from Chief of Staff John Callahan to come to City Hall to take the reins from Bradley, who was announcing his resignation.
While prepared for the possibility, Roach said he was “shocked” when he got the call. When asked if he felt his administration needed to work to remove any taint that might exist, he responded, “From the moment of that press conference, in my mind we are moving forward. We are starting fresh. We need to make sure everybody knows that.”
He has since met with all department heads and has received tremendous support from city staff, he said.
Since taking office, Roach said, he has heard from city residents that there is a sense of relief some stability has returned to city government.
“I think we strike while the iron is hot,” Roach said. “This economy is turning around and I want to devote as much energy as possible to the economic side of this to make sure we have a sound business footing going forward.”
Seeking an IDA for the city
Roach said he believes the worst of the economic downturn is in the city”™s rearview mirror. He credited tough decisions in the past few years involving layoffs, increased health care contributions by municipal workers, a .25 percent increase in the city”™s sales tax rate and other cost-cutting measures with helping begin to turn around the city”™s economic fortunes.
“My feeling is that we are coming to an uptick in the economy and now is the time to make hay,” he said.
Among the mayor”™s initiatives is seeking state approval to establish Industrial Development Agency in the city. The Common Council has already passed a home rule resolution and bills are pending in the Assembly under a bill sponsored by Castelli and in the Senate under a bill proposed by Suzi Oppenheimer.
The city has utilized incentives offered through the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency, which has received some revenue from the projects it has induced. The mayor hopes with its own IDA the city will secure those fees instead.
He said he is planning to use his 24 years as an attorney to work with businesses or developers interested in investing in the city. And while he will look to negotiate good deals for the city, he will do so in a non-adversarial manner.
