Where do we begin with the latest installment of the state of the county address?
We could be snarky and point out that the personal pronoun “I” was used 83 times, “children” 15 times, “safety” nine times, “child” eight times, “property tax” once and “business” five times, but just in passing, not in direct reference to the economic state of businesses in the county.
The speech by County Executive Andy Spano was heavy on quality of life issues and light on the more important issues that have an impact on businesses and residents of the county ”“ taxes, economic incentives to attract and keep businesses, health-care costs, utility costs. Even the Tappan Zee, whose future plans will impact the entire run of the Interstate 287 corridor, just got a passing mention.
The speech was a great example of the nanny state at its best.
You had to endure 30 minutes of talk on Wi-Fi, a police helicopter, the ShredMobile, online pedophiles, fake IDs, teen gangs, childhood obesity, a video on how patients should act when visiting a doctor”™s office or hospital to get the best care, before you got to something interesting ”“ creating livable communities.
It appears Spano is borrowing a page from Gov. Eliot Spitzer”™s campaign, in which he suggested creating a New York affordable housing land trust program “whereby New York state would contribute public land to development projects that support higher density development.”
Spano wants to create “the first ever housing land trust in New York state,” promising that “any new affordable housing funded by the county remains affordable forever.”
How, may you ask, is that possible?
“The nonprofit Housing Land Trust would take ownership of any land that the county purchases on which the affordable housing would be built, and would then lease it to developers for continuous and renewable terms. In this way, the homes would be affordable permanently,” Spano said.
Uh-oh, get ready for “but.”
“But to make a significant difference, we need local municipalities to join this effort. To my elected colleagues: Please, take a look at the land you own that might be suitable for housing and consider donating it to the land trust. If we all work together, we can achieve affordability in perpetuity.”
There”™s no argument that affordable housing or the more politically correct and positive resonating “work force housing” is lacking. Now, for our own “but,” as in: But who”™s going to pay for this initiative? The overburdened taxpayer and business owner?
Affordable housing isn”™t a problem just in Westchester. Across the state line, Connecticut lawmakers are looking at something called the First-Time Homebuyer Trust Fund Act. It would set up a fund for those who meet the requirements and enroll in the program. The portion of earnings that enrollees would normally pay toward income tax would instead go into the trust fund, which would be managed by the state treasurer”™s office.
The Business Council of Fairfield County is also pitching a bill to the state General Assembly that contains incentives for municipalities to add affordable housing. Municipalities would first need to create an Overlay Zoning District, which would allow housing densities of at least six single-family units per acre or 20 multifamily units per acre, and set aside 20 percent of the housing in the zone as affordable to households earning 80 percent or less of the area”™s median income. In turn, these zones would receive incentives.
We”™ll watch to see how those bills fare during the legislative session.
Back here in Westchester, you had to hear about Metro Cards, the Empire State Games, tourism and a corrections program to let “inmates re-enter society in a positive way,” before you heard that he is “ever mindful that county residents pay high property taxes.” And with that in mind, he said the county will hold itself more accountable.
“I want our taxpayers and those who use our services to feel comfortable that they are getting the best deal.”
No argument from this quarter.
Speaking again, we hear about using less paper, an “Internet phone” system for emergencies, a GPS tracking device for cop cars, a digital license plate reader and the creation of Web sites to “help local firms increase their share of global trade.”
And then it”™s about revamping the county”™s Web site, the county”™s cable program, civil confinement laws for sex offenders and then global warming, a fluorescent lightbulb giveaway, leafblower noise and emissions, “going green,” the homeless situation, Indian Point, Con Ed”™s dropping the ball last summer and finally the Tappan Zee Bridge project; 182 words filled with so many adjectives that it reads like a school assignment where the kid is padding out each and every sentence.
Author! Author! Dismiss the author!
Distilled, its thrust is that whatever alternative is selected for the bridge, it will have a major impact on the region. Just like many of these initiatives will have on our wallets.
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