A chill wind gripped White Plains on a recent Friday afternoon, ending a late-fall mild spell and signaling the imminent change of seasons. A fitting scenario, perhaps, in a city set to witness a changing of the guard when it ushers in a new administration Jan. 1.
Mayor-elect Adam Bradley, zipped up in a parka, looked out over the city Dec. 11 as a photographer braced himself against the gusts to capture the assemblyman at the corner of Mamaroneck Avenue and East Post Road.
The city”™s incoming chief is himself bracing for some chilling challenges he will face when he takes office next week ”“ a $13.9 million budget deficit topping the list. But Bradley promises to tackle them head on and make some tough choices, including possible layoffs, to rein in government spending and reduce operating costs in the city of his birth.
Bradley, 48, is currently a member of the New York state Assembly for the 89th District, which covers most of the city of White Plains as well as towns and villages in northern Westchester. He is an attorney, specializing in family law, who also served as an assistant county attorney in Westchester. And he is no stranger to the county seat; he was born at White Plains Hospital and raised in the city.
When Bradley takes the reins it will mark the end of an era for White Plains. Outgoing Mayor Joseph Delfino, who decided not to seek re-election after 12 years, was regarded as pro-development and is credited with ushering in more than $1 billion in projects to the city. Among those are Louis Cappelli”™s towering City Center and Renaissance Square projects, which include a mix of retail, residential and office space.
In recent times, however, as has been the case in many other downtowns, White Plains has suffered setbacks. The city is facing fiscal challenges with a $13.9 million deficit in its $158 million budget. One glimmer, however: A recent report from Moody”™s Investors Service maintained the city”™s Aa1 rating, but with the asterisk of a negative outlook.
White Plains has seen its retail base contract, as a number of stores closed shop on Mamaroneck Avenue and two large retailers ”“ Fortunoff and Linens ”™n Things ”“ filed for bankruptcy. Tax revenues are down. On a positive note, the city in recent weeks completed the sale of $4.1 million in property to two health-related businesses. Overall, however, development has slowed.
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It”™s a tall order for the new administration, but one Bradley says he is committed to taking on.
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In a wide-ranging interview at the Business Journal”™s offices Dec. 8, Bradley talked about the state of the city and his plans to “restore fiscal responsibility.” Part of that calls for reducing the size of government by not filling certain vacant positions, making fewer appointments and seeking commissioners who can fill dual roles. In keeping with that, Bradley has named as his chief of staff John Callahan, a former city attorney, who will also serve as the city”™s corporation counsel.
Bradley also reflected on his seven years in the state Legislature and offered his perspective on the state of the state. Following are edited excerpts. For the entire interview, go to our website westfaironline.com.
In addressing the city”™s fiscal challenges, your plans include consolidation. How will you proceed?
Bradley: “First, let me explain when I say that I”™m going to ”˜address”™ it. I don”™t have a choice. My commitment when I ran for this office as someone who”™s lived in this city almost his entire life is I want to make sure that my daughters, who are 4 and 6, have the same opportunities that I had in this great city. And if I fail, that”™s not going to be possible. So it”™s really important that I succeed and that I do the difficult things that are going to be necessary to make sure that (the) future is bright for the city. So, your question ties directly into that, what do I intend to do in order to at least start the process of accomplishing that? Well, one thing is consolidation. I need to figure out what services can be rendered more efficiently by consolidating departments or services within departments in the city.”
What happens on Day 1?
“In an immediate sense I need to figure out how we can restructure services, figure out how we can consolidate services, figure out which appointments I don”™t need to fill because, basically, 75 percent of these costs are personnel costs, if not more. And when I don”™t fill a deputy position that”™s paid $140,000, say, between that and the benefits you”™re looking at at least $200,000 in savings.”
You”™ve been critical of the current administration”™s fiscal policy. How do you intend to tackle the fiscal woes?
“Well, first let me say that I”™ve seen this problem for a while. The city”™s fiscal policy over the last number of years has been a very flawed one. Even when the times were going well, you don”™t sell off capital assets yearly to balance your operating expenses. Unfortunately, that”™s what the city”™s policy has been. Then we had the economic downturn. Now, obviously, if you”™ve been already running at a deficit because you”™re selling off capital assets to balance your operating costs each year, you”™re not going to be well-situated for an economic downturn. And they have spent down the fund balance so that I”™m basically inheriting a city that has a fund balance (of) maybe up to $5 million, but $3.1 million of that is encumbered, which means that there”™s really only a $1.9 million fund balance. Only two-and-a-half years ago the fund balance was $28.4 million, so look at the amount of money they used. And there was really no effort to reduce expenditures in any meaningful way. The council attempted to mitigate some of the problems in the last budget, but the executive branch really hasn”™t done much in the city to do that.”
What have you been working on with your transition team?
“We”™ve been talking about the fiscal condition of the city and we”™ve been trying to look at innovative ways to see what we can do in order to reduce some more costs. Whether that includes sharing with other localities, or maybe with the county and also figuring how we can do things with the school district. None of these are easy issues but we”™re at a time now where we don”™t have a choice. The taxpayers can only afford so much, but we have such a large gap in this city ”¦ and I still believe that it”™s going to grow.”
Do you plan any layoffs?
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“I certainly am not in a position where I can preclude them. The gap is so large. The city”™s budget deficit, even if you take the $14 million number ”“ which I think is low, I think it”™s larger than that ”“ that budget hole is larger as percentage of budget than the state”™s budget hole. But at least at the state level you had a governor who was making extremely clear we have a problem. We need to reduce expenditures. I”™m the one that”™s going to have to do that in the city, but I”™m inheriting a mess.”
Let”™s talk about pending developments. Bank Street, the high-rise apartment and retail project, has been stalled. Financing has been an issue. And the proposed senior-living community on the St. Agnes property. What”™s the status?
“As we”™ve all seen, there is a tremendous difficulty getting financing in this market. As far as the Bank Street property goes, we”™re going to do everything we can to work to ensure that it happens, but I can”™t sit here and say that I have a magic wand to make sure that there”™s money flowing so that development can start to move. I think when the economy picks up, you will see new projects, additional projects and Bank Street is obviously one that has already been approved. And as far as the North Street community, the council is moving quickly in trying to do everything possible to allow that to really get under way. Can everybody be perfectly happy? Probably not, but I know they”™ve made an effort to mitigate what were legitimate concerns initially raised by the neighborhood and now it”™s really just a matter of that economic engine again picking up, but I don”™t think the city in any way has been delaying that project. In fact, I think we would all benefit from that being a successful project.”
Starwood Hotels & Resorts plans to move from White Plains to Connecticut. There have been other relocations. What could the county do to enhance its retention efforts?
“There”™s always bad and good at the same time. The good news we got was that Reader”™s Digest is planning on moving a number of its employees who are currently in New Castle to White Plains (Westchester One). And Starwood isn”™t leaving until 2011, which means there is time and hopefully with that time we”™ll be able to mitigate that loss. It is very difficult, as you”™re aware of, to compete with the inducements that Connecticut is providing. And you already have many of the corporate officers of Starwood living in Connecticut, so you had that reality. Plus the incredibly strong economic inducements that we can”™t compete with and quite frankly I hope it works out for the state of Connecticut, but when your inducements become too large you”™re taking even some risks on that end.”
The city”™s downtown retail vacancy rates are hovering around 10 percent. What are you plans to lure smaller retailers here?
“I think that”™s important. As I said during the campaign that I ran: I was a beneficiary of the economic downturn in our downtown because for the first time in many, many years that I can remember there was a campaign headquarters in downtown ”“ my headquarters was in a downtown location. And the only reason that happens is because there are now available spaces in our downtown that haven”™t been rented.
“One of the dilemmas the city has faced is its over-reliance on its use of sales tax for operating costs. Sales taxes are the least reliable revenue source because they really go up and down with the economy. When you over-rely on sales tax on your operating side, you are creating the potential for very serious fiscal problems and, unfortunately, that”™s exactly what we”™ve seen happen. I”™m now stuck with no reserve fund.
“A couple of years ago, Moody”™s warned the city of White Plains in a specific report that it was over-relying on sales tax and that it was placing the city”™s fiscal position in risk. Moody”™s wasn”™t right on a lot of things ”“ that one was something they were right on. What they said was: You”™re at risk if there”™s an economic downturn. Boom ”“ they were dead on.
“This nut is so large that even if I find on the administrative end $2 million to save, in the gravity of this problem that”™s still just the tip of the iceberg. But that”™s one of the first obligations I have. I need to sit down and the unions need to understand that this is not a free rein anymore. We need to work together to save this city, as I”™ve said continuously. We need to share in the pain in order to share in the future gain, which we will have. I intend to do what”™s necessary to protect the future of the city.”
We”™ve seen some upsets in the recent election, including the unseating of three-term Westchester County Executive Andy Spano. What”™s your take on Rob Astorino”™s victory?
“People were ready for change. We have a deteriorating economy. People are frustrated and I think there was a message of change. I think Rob really ran a very skilled campaign highlighting the changes he intended to make. All of us have very difficult missions right now. We have a real fiscal responsibility to try to reduce the costs of government. I think that”™s what Rob”™s message was, and it”™s pretty much the same message I ran on.”
