Statement from the Croton Village Board

At last night’s Village Board meeting, Mayor Schmidt read a statement from the village reaffirming the community's commitment to protecting and upholding the rights of all people, and pledging that the village will remain the same welcoming, diverse and tolerant community that it it has always been.

“In recognition of the increased challenges faced by ethnic and religious minorities in our nation we condemn acts of violence against these people and affirm that we, as a Village Board, condemn any acts of unlawful discrimination, violence and intimidation that target differences in national origin, race, gender, sex, religion, disability, or political viewpoint across our nation. Such acts run counter to the rights and freedoms upon which our country was founded and to the core values of the Village of Croton. Croton is committed to fostering welcoming communities and an equitable, diverse, and inclusive society.”

The comparison is stark. The choice is clear.

The issues have been debated, doorbells rung, fliers distributed, and on Tuesday we will vote in a crucial election that will determine the future of Croton. We will have the opportunity to, once and for all, dismiss the last vestiges of the ethically challenged Wiegman administration from the village board and make the necessary transition to Croton United’s Mark Aarons and Dan McNatty. Two seasoned professionals of unquestioned integrity who will bring decades of legal and financial management experience to the board. And who will ensure that you continue to receive the highest level of village services while your taxes are maintained at the lowest possible level.

“While partisan passions are running high on the national level this year, it is essential that we recognize that national parties and partisanship have no place in local government. We must separate our party loyalties from our concerns over how our village will be managed.

If we can do this, there will be no question that Mark Aarons and Dan McNatty are, by far, the superior choices for Croton Trustee. They will continue the process of restoring open, responsive, ethical, and financially sustainable government to all of the citizens of our village.”

Mark and Dan, working with Mayor Greg Schmidt and Trustees Bob Anderson and Ken Walsh, will ensure that your right to question board members is never again taken from you. That village finances are professionally managed and that Croton’s massive debt is reduced in a responsible manner.  That all current and future programs and projects are effectively planned, scheduled, and evaluated and that the village never again takes on financial commitments that it cannot reasonably afford. That discussion and debate among board members are encouraged, not prohibited, and that differing opinions are welcomed to ensure that the best solutions for all of the residents of Croton are ultimately agreed upon.

Or you can vote for the other guys. The folks whose total lack of financial acumen saddled you with the Gouveia albatross that will drain village funds for as long as we can foresee. Whose undisciplined borrowing, including borrowing for operating expenses, made Croton one of the most indebted villages in all of New York State. Who reversed decades of village practice and prohibited you from questioning your village officials. Who operated behind closed doors, suppressed debate, and voted unanimously on essentially every issue. Who paid taxpayer funds to sitting board members, at times under highly questionable circumstances. And who were so often less than forthright in discussing village actions and issues with you.

The comparison is stark. The choice is clear.  

While partisan passions are running high on the national level this year, it is essential that we recognize that national parties and partisanship have no place in local government. We must separate our party loyalties from our concerns over how our village will be managed.

If we can do this, there will be no question that Mark Aarons and Dan McNatty are, by far, the superior choices for Croton Trustee. They will continue the process of restoring open, responsive, ethical, and financially sustainable government to all of the citizens of our village.

You will find them on Row I under Croton United in the lower right hand corner of your ballot. The Board of Elections may have placed them at the bottom of the ballot, but they are far, far above the competition when it comes to experience, competence, and integrity.

Sincerely,
Joel E. Gingold

The Devil is in the Details

Last week there was a letter to the editor in the Gazette which stated that I was found to have engaged in an unfair campaign practice. The assertion was made by candidate Brian Pugh 24 hours prior to a scheduled hearing before the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee. I was over a thousand miles away at the time and not able to appear to defend myself. The nature of the claim was that at the debate held October 13, I stated that “If I remember correctly . . .” Ann and Brian supported borrowing 8 million dollars, and when the Croton United board came on board they reduced it to 1.5 million dollars.
 
The 2015/2016 bond amount was indeed set at 8.5 million and that borrowing did take place, but the 2016/2017  borrowing by the Croton United controlled board was 1.5 million. I’m not sure how this was an unfair statement to make with the full ability my opponents had to clarify the point before the public at the debate, which they attempted to do, but only obfuscated the matter further.
 
Let’s compare this to the statement that Brian Pugh made at the January 21, 2015 village board meeting concerning the controversial acquisition of the Gouveia property. He stated that the Gouveia financial analysis was “appropriately conservative.” He stated that the “historic performance of t-bills is 5%” and therefore we should have $50,000 income per year from the million dollar endowment that Gouveia gave along with the property. Anyone who’s trying to earn any kind of income on their savings knows that there’s no t-bill now or that existed in 2015 paying 5%. 
 
In fact, the village is now earning less than 1/2% on the million dollar endowment, which doesn’t even pay for the lawn care maintenance, let alone any other item. The Gouveia financial analysis touted by Mr. Pugh as being conservative showed that the expense of widening the driveway, and putting in a gravel parking area was going to be less than $15,000. The village board just approved a contract of $218,000 for this item. Does Mr. Pugh now think that his touted estimates were “conservative”? (See the table below for a comparison of the estimated v. actual costs and revenues.)
 
My approach to Gouveia had I been on the board: The village board would have looked at all likely expenses and invited contractors to provide estimates BEFORE agreeing to acquire the property. What type of board acts without getting appropriate information before making a decision that results in acquiring a white elephant? We now own property whose taxes have been eliminated from our tax rolls; have a house that requires many expensive upgrades to make it usable to the community (think things like ADA bathrooms; ADA access; fire exits; fire alarms, etc.) and we’ve already committed to spending more than 20% of the million dollar endowment, and haven’t budgeted or begun any of the house renovations. Gouveia was a colossal mistake by the Wiegman/Gallelli/Pugh board, and could have been avoided with deliberative scrutiny, which is what you’ll get with an expanded Croton United village board.
 
I hope that I and Dan McNatty can have your vote on November 8th. You can find us on the ballot, all the way to the right on Line I. 
 
Mark Aarons
Candidate for Croton-on-Hudson Trustee

Greg Schmidt: I Urge You to Vote for Mark Aarons & Dan McNatty

For the past year it has been my honor and privilege to serve you as your mayor. And during that period, I believe that the village board has made substantial progress in returning open, responsive, ethical, and financially sustainable government to Croton. But much work remains to be done.
 
To best meet these challenges I ask you to support Mark Aarons and Dan McNatty for the village trustee positions being contested this year. Mark and Dan will bring decades of real-world legal and financial experience to the board. Experience that will be invaluable in formulating, assessing, and implementing the policies, programs, and projects that will ensure that we maintain the highest level of municipal services while keeping your taxes as low as possible.
 
Through Mark’s service on the Planning Board and Dan’s work on the Financial Sustainability Committee, they are both fully familiar with the issues currently facing the village and will be able to hit the ground running the day they are sworn in. And they will each bring a lifetime’s worth of new ideas and insights to the board’s deliberations that will do much to ensure that every aspect of an issue is appropriately considered and will keep Croton moving in the right direction.
 
I look forward to working with Mark and Dan in the months ahead and, with your help we can, together, continue our efforts to provide to you the municipal government that you truly deserve.
 
Once more, I urge you to vote for Mark Aarons and Dan McNatty on November 8.
 
Sincerely,
Greg Schmidt
Mayor, Croton-on-Hudson

How to Vote for Croton United

Croton United’s candidates are listed on Line I (the final line of the ballot—see image below) in columns 10 and 11 (the last columns of the ballot). To cast your vote for our slate, please be sure to mark both candidates’ names—Mark Aarons and Dan McNatty.

Also, if you or a someone you know need a ride to the polls on Election Day please contact us at info@crotonunited.org and we will make the necessary arrangements.

FUN FACT! You may wonder why our candidates are listed on the Libertarian Party line. Since Croton United is not a political party the Westchester County Board of Elections is not required to give us our own line. When the ballot is crowded, as it is this year due to the presidential race, the BOE has to find an empty space to list our slate. Mark Aarons and Dan McNatty may be at the bottom of the ballot, but they are far, far above the competition when it comes to experience, competence, and integrity.

Help Make Croton United: Vote for Aarons & McNatty

As the chair of Croton United, I ask all village residents to vote for Mark Aarons and Dan McNatty for Village Trustee in the November 8 election. Adding Mark and Dan to the board will further our ongoing efforts to return honest, responsive, inclusive, and financially sustainable government to Croton.

After six years of single party rule under the Wiegman/Gallelli/Pugh administration, the borrow and spend culture of the village was badly in need of a change. Over that period the Dems nearly doubled our debt load and made us one of New York State’s most indebted small villages. In fact, the village's independent auditor recently told the village board that our debt load is now double that of other comparable communities.

But change began last year with Croton United’s dramatic upset of the Croton Dems, in only the second election contested by Croton United candidates. And we heard you loud and clear!

You can help us continue this vital work by electing Mark and Dan, who will partner with Greg Schmidt, Bob Anderson, and Ken Walsh to keep Croton on the right path, and avoid returning to the days of profligate borrowing, focusing on pet projects, and ignoring you and your concerns.

Our goal is to put the priorities of residents first, providing and maintaining the highest quality village services, improving our infrastructure and safety, while keeping an eye on the bottom line—your taxes.

Vote for Mark and Dan on Row I—bottom-line candidates on the bottom row of the ballot.

Roseann Schuyler
Chair, Croton United

Dan McNatty: Gary Shaw’s Letter Crossed a Line

I am disappointed that people feel the need to make Village elections so personal. Croton is a small village and we all have to live, play, shop and commute together both before and after the elections. It’s great that there is a high level of engagement in the political process but I think that Gary Shaw’s letter last week crossed a line in publishing some of my personal financial information in a public forum.

“I am disappointed that people feel the need to make Village elections so personal. Croton is a small village and we all have to live, play, shop and commute together both before and after the elections.”

I understand that these are publicly available documents and he is within his “rights” to do so but is it the right thing to do? Does that fact that I’m trying to work out a modification with my lender mean that I don’t understand accounting and how to interpret financial statements? I don’t think so. I am acutely aware of the impact to people brought on by economic uncertainty and coupled with an increasing tax burden. The Board of Trustees can do it’s part to help all residents by ensuring that the Village implements prudent and sustainable financial practices. I’m running for Trustee because I want to help the Village and because I believe I’m qualified to do so. I hope I’ve earned your support and your vote.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking to people during the campaign and want to thank everyone for their support.  Whomever you support on November 8th, please make sure you get out and vote. As a “new” citizen, I’m excited to have been involved in the process and I’ve found it extremely interesting.

Regards,
Dan McNatty
2016 Trustee Candidate
Village of Croton-on-Hudson

Who Do You Want Watching Over Your Hard Earned Tax Dollars?

The shock of the incredible cost overruns on Gouveia Park continues to resonate through the village. How could the Croton Dems possibly have estimated costs so far below actual values and revenues so far above them? Was it just gross incompetence or were the numbers intentionally fabricated to mislead the public and forestall opposition to acceptance of the property? We’re still waiting for the Dems’ promised explanation.

But it should not have come as a great surprise to anyone familiar with the financial imprudence of the Wiegman/Gallelli/Pugh administration. Fortunately for all Croton residents, the Croton United board has reversed these careless practices. For example:

Comparison of Financial Actions Taken

Croton United	Wiegman/Gallelli/Pugh Administration
Village budget under tax cap (2016)	Village budget over tax cap (2014) in the first year it was applicable
Annual borrowing reduced from $11M (2015) to $1.5 M (2016)	Made Croton second highest indebted village in Westchester/Putnam/Rockland counties and put Croton into top 10% most indebted villages in all of New York State
Established the new Financial Sustainability Committee to provide professional advice and guidance to the board at no cost	Promised Gouveia Park would yield net-tax free operation but cost just to open Gouveia to public will exceed $250,000. Total lost tax revenue (village/town/school) = more than $40,000 per year.
More than doubled the interest rate received on most village bank deposits	Promised 3.00% return for Gouveia Endowment, but left money in checking account earning 0.2% interest
Revised Fire Dept. Rescue vehicle’s specs, saving village over $100,000	Borrowed money for operating expenses
Improved village newsletter at no additional cost to taxpayers	“Volunteer” village trustee’s stipend padded by $4,400/yr. for more than a decade to write newsletter

And the list goes on and on.  

Croton needs real-world legal and financial experience on the village board to ensure that we are examining all major village projects so that you get full value for your tax dollars. Mark Aarons and Dan McNatty have this experience.

VOTE FOR AARONS AND McNATTY!
MAKE CROTON UNITED!

Dan McNatty: “Financial Leadership and Vision”

I endorse Croton United’s Dan McNatty for Village Trustee. Not only does Dan have a long history of community service, including being a member of the newly formed Financial Sustainability Committee, but he also has twenty years’ experience as a professional accountant. He presently works for a large financial institution and helps manage a multi-billion dollar portfolio. He and his wife Hayley have been raising their two sons in Croton for ten years. He has previously volunteered for CHEF and AYSO and now wants to give even more to the village by being its Trustee.  Croton needs the sound financial leadership and vision that Dan can bring to the Village Board.

His opponent Ann Gallelli’s record of fiscal leadership has been horrible. Here are the facts. She and the former board under Mayor Wiegman helped to nearly double the village debt, and in the process spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on wasteful litigation that could have been avoided. Her so-called “planning expertise” has led to the village paying out over $1M in litigation settlements and legal fees related to the Exxon and Katz properties. She advocated for a change in the zoning law that put Croton on the map as one of seven municipalities in Westchester that are currently under the threat of even more litigation by the federal government for having restrictive zoning practices. Weeks before the prior election she voted for a long-term contract that made our village manager one of the highest paid public employees in Westchester County. 

Do we want this to continue? Dan McNatty has the professional experience to make prudent fiscal decisions that will allow our village to grow and thrive while keeping it affordable for us all, that’s why he has my vote on November 8.

Peter Schuyler

Dan McNatty on Financial Sustainability

With interest rates low is it a good time to for the Village to borrow? Not necessarily. There are many factors that need to be considered when a Village is deciding to fund expenditure with long-term debt. In addition to the rate, you need to consider what the money is being spent on. If it’s an asset then how long will the asset last for? We don’t want to be paying for items long after their use has ended. It is also important to consider the overall debt levels of the Village and the impact the incremental debt will have on principal and interest costs. According to the audited financial statements of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, there was $20m of debt outstanding in 2011 and $38m in 2016. This is an increase of 90% and does not include the $1.5m of debt issued in respect of the 2016-2017 budget. According to 2014 data from the New York Office of State Comptroller, Croton was ranked 7th (of 81) villages in the region for Debt per Capita with over three times the average level. This is not a ranking we should be proud of. I think it’s time to slow down the levels of debt increases and to acknowledge that we can’t (and shouldn’t) do everything at once. We need to get on a path to financial sustainability and I believe I can help get us there.

Dan McNatty
Candidate for Croton-on-Hudson Village Trustee

Mark Aarons: Let’s Promote Tourism

As a Croton resident I’ve heard for years that our village needs to stimulate greater economic activity. One of the initiatives that I will pursue if elected is to promote our village as an attractive, accessible tourist destination. We have the advantage of being located on the Hudson River, and being the first express stop on many trains coming from New York City.

During the Halloween season Blaze brings an estimated 130,000 people to Croton. We should seek to capitalize on that great event—and Lightscapes in the spring—by promoting our local restaurants; developing related activities for visitors; and providing some incentives for the opening of bed and breakfasts in our village.

In addition, we could seek to enhance the kayak rental area by offering rowboats and/or canoes; offering guided tours of Croton Point and the New Croton Dam; and promoting the rich history of Croton and the Native Americans that lived here. We could also work with the county and other organizations to enhance regional tourism with the creation of a multi-location tour pass (think Kykuit; Van Cortlandt Manor; Peekskill Lincoln Museum; Lyndhurst Castle; John Jay home, etc.).

Photo by Acroterion/Wikimedia Commons

The views from many vantage points in our village are breathtaking, and our village could be promoted as an accessible choice for city dwellers looking to get away to a charming, historic and scenic nearby weekend destination.  If I’m fortunate enough to be elected on November 8, you can count on me to promote these activities.

Mark Aarons

Ken Walsh: Why I Support Dan McNatty & Mark Aarons for Village Trustee

I support Croton United’s slate of Dan McNatty and Mark Aarons for Village Trustee. Here’s why:

Ken Walsh (left) and Dan McNatty (right)

Dan McNatty has worked in the financial industry for more than twenty years.  Most recently, Dan helps manage the Balance Sheet and Leverage Ratios for a large multi-national bank.  His knowledge and expertise will be a great asset to the board as we work to keep taxes low and levels of service high.  Dan has also given back to our village by volunteering his time with the Croton Harmon Education Foundation (CHEF), as an AYSO soccer coach and as a member of the Financial Sustainability Committee. Dan will offer sensible solutions to keep our debt levels and long-term financial commitments in check.

Ken Walsh (left) and Mark Aarons (right)

Mark Aarons is a VP-Deputy General Counsel for a regional retail chain.  Mark is instrumental making the retail stores be environmentally friendly and sustainable by putting solar panels on the roof and switching to energy efficient lighting.  Mark's legal and regulatory experience will help Croton encourage smart business development and keep our legal bills low.  In college, Mark was involved in the creation of NYPIRG, the nationally renowned environmental and social justice advocacy group.  Mark, a twenty-year resident of Croton, has also given a lot back to our village.   Mark was a member of the Croton Planning Board for five years.  Mark has also been a Cub Scout den leader, baseball and football coach, and a member of the Croton-Harmon school district transportation committee.

Both Dan and Mark are committed to Croton United’s nonpartisan approach to village government and share our commitment to do what’s best for all village residents.

For all of these reasons I hope that you vote for Dan and Mark on November 8th.  They are on the bottom row of the ballot—however they’re the top choice to represent us as Village Trustee.

Ken Walsh

Mark Aarons: Why I’m Running for Trustee

I’ve been asked by friends and neighbors why I’m seeking a seat on Croton’s Board of Trustees. I’ve been a resident of Croton for over twenty years. From my earliest days in the village, Croton’s local politics has been particularly nasty, even by political standards.   It seems that for as long as I can remember, people have asked why the local political scene couldn’t be more civil. After all, we’re all neighbors. Surely, we can get along over issues like zoning, paving roads, and maintaining parks, can’t we?

Yet, when it came to the various boards over the years, voting always seemed to follow political party affiliation. If the board was three Republicans and two Democrats, the vote seemed to always be three to two, with the Republicans voting together and the Democrats voting together. If the board was four Democrats and one Republican, the vote was four to one. It’s as though the success of the political party was more important than the success of the village. 

Frankly, I find that disappointing. I love this village, and have a high regard for the people that live in it…regardless of their party affiliation. This isn’t major league baseball where you root for a team, it’s the village that our children grow up in together; where we live and learn together. From my perspective, a village government should be concerned with doing the most amount of good for the greatest number of people without doing harm to its members. Partisan politics should have nothing to do with seeking out experienced people to assist in managing our local government.

I’ve seen our village government virtually throw money away on the adoption of policies or zoning practices that have led to over a million dollars in wasted legal expenses. I’ve seen construction contracts that have gone seriously over budget, and a village government unwilling to hold consultants’ feet to the fire when they’ve provided misinformation. I’ve seen this first hand as a member of the village Planning Board for five years, and as a resident over the last twenty years.

I firmly believe that as a corporate attorney who oversees the hiring of law firms to provide advice and counsel to my employer; who oversees litigation; reviews and negotiates contracts; manages the zoning process in the building of new stores; I can be a significant asset to the Board of Trustees. Decades of my practical experience in retail, zoning, construction contracting, litigation, labor negotiations and human resource management have been found useful by numerous client corporations over the years that I have practiced as an attorney, and I’m fairly certain that the municipal corporation known as the Village of Croton on Hudson could benefit by it as well. I hope to have your support on November 8th.

Mark Aarons

How to Vote for Croton United

The Westchester County Board of Elections recently started mailing this year’s ballot to voters who requested an absentee ballot. Croton United’s candidates are listed on Line I (the final line of the ballot) in columns 10 and 11 (the last columns of the ballot). To cast your vote for our slate, please be sure to mark both candidates’ names—Mark Aarons and Dan McNatty.  

If you are going to be absent from Westchester on election day or are unable to appear at the polls due to illness or disability you still have time to request an absentee ballot. Call the Westchester County Board of Elections at (914) 995-5285.

Also, if you need a ride to the polls on Election Day please email us and we will get you a ride. 

FUN FACT!

You may wonder why our candidates are listed on the Libertarian Party line. The answer is that despite what Brian Pugh and the Croton Dems have falsely claimed, Croton United is not a political party, so the Westchester County Board of Elections has to find an empty space to list our slate on the ballot they prepare for Croton.

Mark Aarons: “Vision, Knowledge, and Experience”

I support long time village resident Mark Aarons for village trustee over incumbent Brian Pugh. Mark, who is a respected attorney, has served this village for twenty years as a volunteer for the Croton Planning Board, the School District, the Cub Scouts and youth baseball and football. He has been a practicing attorney for 36 years, with specialized knowledge in contracting and regulatory issues, precisely the type of experience this village needs in a trustee. As a young man he was involved in the creation of NYPIRG, the nationally renowned environmental and social justice advocacy group. In contrast Mr. Pugh’s CV is bereft of real accomplishment. According to former town and village Democratic chair John McBride, Esq., Brian Pugh lacks “moral authority” and “creativity” and rather than being motivated by a desire to serve the public, his “only interest is winning elections.” I believe the village should be guided by trustees who have the vision, knowledge, and experience to do the best job our residents and who do so out of a genuine sense of service to the public. This is why Mark Aarons has my vote.

Peter Schuyler

The “grossly erroneous” Gouveia Park costs

All Croton residents should watch Joel Gingold expose the “grossly erroneous” cost estimates used to justify what he calls the “albatross” known as Gouveia Park—pushed by Croton Dems Trustee Ann Gallelli and fully supported by Trustee Brian Pugh (who said in January 2015 that the cost/benefit analysis was “appropriately conservative”). How “grossly erroneous” were the estimates? Here’s an excerpt from a letter from Joel that we will publish soon:

“They estimated the cost of the driveway and parking area as $12,000. But last night, the board voted to spend over $218,000 for this same work. A cost overrun of 1,800%, that will chew up over 20% of the endowment and we haven’t even looked at the costs of bringing the house up to code.”

See the short video of Joel here: http://ec4.cc/jfd3d69ca

Don’t Change the Subject!

Brian Pugh and the Croton Dems can’t dispute our principled, fact-based concerns about the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Program so they’re changing the subject. What does the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency gave Westchester Power an award have to do with any of the issues we’ve raised?

The answer is NOTHING.

If Pugh and the Croton Dems want to respond to the issues Dan McNatty and Joel Gingold discussed in their letters to the Gazette (see below) let them have at it—but please don’t insult the intelligence of the community by changing the subject.

Pugh, Gallelli & Croton Dems Make False Statements About Their Record

The Croton Dems have a penchant for making false and misleading statements in their campaign material and they’ve started off the 2016 campaign with a real howler. They attribute it to a “typographical error,” but even the embarrassing correction ad they ran in this week’s Gazette makes a false and misleading claim. Here are the facts:

The October 6 issue of the Gazette included an insert listing the alleged accomplishments of Brian Pugh, Ann Gallelli and the Croton Democrats. The insert included the following claim: “Enabling your Tax Freeze checks by meeting the Tax Cap (and better) for past 3 years.” This statement is false because the all-Croton Dem Village Board passed a budget for 2014-2015 which exceeded the tax cap.

To make matters worse, their correction ad in this week’s Gazette contains another false and misleading statement. They say “We inadvertently missed a typographical error, in which it was stated that the Village had met the tax cap for the past “3 years” instead of “2 years,” which is correct.”

This is false and misleading because while it is correct that the Village has met the tax cap for the past 2 years, in the insert they claimed that THEY—Brian Pugh, Ann Gallelli and the Croton Democrats—had enabled “your Tax Freeze checks by meeting the Tax Cap.” The fact is that this year the Dems are in the minority and can’t claim that THEY passed the 2016-2017 tax cap-compliant budget.

The true tax cap compliance record of Brian Pugh, Ann Gallelli and the Croton Dems over the past three years would put them at 1-1, with one budget passed by the meeting the tax cap, and one exceeding it.

You may also find these two rulings by the Westchester Fair Campaign Committee to be of interest. 

• In 2015 see the document Schmidt v. Rolnick, Pugh, Slippen.
• In 2014 see the document Calcutti v. Croton Democratic Committee.

http://www.faircampaignpractices.org/fcpcfindings.html

Dan McNatty on the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Program

I’ve been reading some correspondence regarding the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program recently.  I am not in favor of the Village of Croton joining this program. I don’t believe that the Board of Trustees should choose how residents obtain their power—and forcing residents to opt-out if they don’t want to participate is unreasonable in my opinion. 

Residents can already choose from a number of ESCOs, including renewable sources and Con Ed Solutions—the supplier Sustainable Westchester currently utilizes for the CCA program. Additionally, the savings from the CCA appear to be minimal. There are no guarantees the CCA would be cheaper than other options over the long-term and based on the electricity prices during the last 12 months, residents would have saved approximately $1 per month.  

We should leave these important choices in the hands of our residents.

Dan McNatty
Candidate for Croton-on-Hudson Village Trustee

To Brian Pugh & the Croton Dems: Start Telling the Truth About the CCA Program

To the Editor,
Once again I find myself featured on the Facebook pages of the Croton Dems and Trustee Brian Pugh in connection with the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program. For his own political purposes, Mr. Pugh has declared me to be an expert on the CCA, but let me share some of that expertise with you anyway.  

Mr. Pugh claims that the CCA is providing “. . .  100% renewable power for less than the average ConEd price.”  But is that really so?

The answer is that we don’t know yet.  Because the CCA didn’t begin until this past May, and as electric rates vary widely over the year, we won’t know how well the CCA performed until next summer.  But we can make a pretty good estimate by considering ConEd’s rates over the past 12 months.

During that period, the ConEd rate varied from a low of 5.39¢/kwh in May to a high of 8.72¢/kwh in August.  The average for the year was 7.57¢/kwh.  That’s just 0.19¢/kwh above the CCA basic rate (~25% renewable) of 7.38¢/kwh.

If we assume an average CCA customer used 500 kwh/month or 6,000 kwh/year, that customer would have saved the munificent sum of $11.40 for the year, or 95¢ per month. WOW!!  95¢ a month!!  With that you could buy…  Is there anything you can buy for 95¢ any more?

A CCA customer who elected the 100% renewable power option would have paid a fixed rate of 7.68¢/kwh, a price that’s ABOVE the 7.57¢/kwh ConEd average rate.  So, Mr. Pugh, I’m afraid you’re wrong.  The CCA is not providing “. . .  100% renewable power for less than the average ConEd price.”

But the main reason that Croton isn’t participating in the CCA is that Mr. Pugh, Trustee Ann Gallelli and the rest of the then all-Dem board decided to violate the NYPSC order to conduct a community outreach program before committing to the CCA (as many other communities did), so very few Crotonites knew anything about the program.  That board felt they knew better than you did what’s good for you, and were prepared to force you into the CCA essentially without your knowledge.

The current board has a different philosophy.  They don’t believe that something as important as your electric supply should be changed without your understanding the new program.  And since there wasn’t enough time to conduct a real outreach program before a decision had to be made, they had to decline to participate.  

And I should point out that Croton is not alone. Cortlandt, Yorktown, Briarcliff Manor, Mount Pleasant, Pound Ridge, Harrison, Scarsdale, and Yonkers are among the many other communities that also chose not to participate in CCA.

So Mr. Pugh, if you are going to insist on plastering my picture all over Facebook, please stop quoting me out of context.  And please start telling the truth about the CCA program.

Sincerely,
Joel E. Gingold