Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee Rules 
That Croton Democratic Party Engaged in Unfair Campaign Practices

Ruling on a complaint by mayor-elect Gregory Schmidt, the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee has found “unfair” statements made by the Croton Democratic Party in both a mailer and online during the last week of the recent Village of Croton-on-Hudson elections. This is the second consecutive election in which the committee has cited the Croton Democratic Party for unfair practices.

The most recent complaint relates to Gregory Schmidt’s record on taxes during his previous terms as mayor from 2006 to 2009. For details see the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee finding here.

For a copy of the 2014 finding see here.

In the finding, the Westchester Fair Campaign Committee states that its mission 

“. . . is to promote a climate in which candidates conduct honest and fair campaigns. The Committee encourages candidates to conduct campaigns openly and fairly, to discuss issues, to refrain from dishonest and defamatory attacks, and not to use campaign materials that distort the facts.

The Committee does not sit as a censor of political discussion nor as a body to enforce election law or make legal decisions. Its task is to accept written complaints about alleged unfair campaign practices and to determine whether the action complained about is indeed unfair. Among other things, the Committee will consider to be unfair any campaign practice that is a misstatement of a material fact or that misleads the public.”

For additional information on the committee see their website: www.faircampaignpractices.org

The Truth the Wiegman Dems Don’t Want You To See

The Wiegman Dems are up to their old end-of-the-campaign dirty tricks again, mailing residents a card (now posted on their Facebook page) that paints a false picture of Greg Schmidt’s actual record on taxes. The real tax-raisers were the Wiegman Dems! Click the graphic below to learn the truth the Wiegman Dems don’t want you to see!

For more information on Greg Schmidt’s record of true fiscal sustainability click here.

Unions Support Croton United

The Building and Construction Trades Council of Westchester and Putnam Counties, N.Y.—AFL-CIO has endorsed Ken Walsh and the entire Croton United slate. This Building Trades Council represents the interests of over 35,000 construction workers in 36 unions, most of whom work and live in Westchester and Putnam counties.
 
The following Unions are affiliates of this Building Trades Council:

  • Asbestos Workers Local 91
  • Metal Polishers Local 8A-28A
  • Boilermakers Local 5
  • Millwrights Local 740
  • Bricklayers & Allied Crafts Local 5
  • Operating Engineers Local 15
  • Bridge Painters Local 806
  • Operating Engineers Local 30
  • North East Regional Carpenters Local 279
  • Operating Engineers Local 137
  • United Cement Masons’ Union Local 780
  • Painters District Council No. 9
  • Dockbuilders Local 1456
  • Operative Plasterers Local 262
  • Electricians Local 3
  • Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 21
  • Electricians Local 363
  • Resilient Floor Coverers Local 2287
  • Elevator Constructors Local 1
  • Riggers Local 197
  • Glaziers Local 1087
  • Road Sprinkler Fitters Local 669
  • Ironworkers District Council
  • Roofers & Waterproofers Local 8
  • Iron Workers Local 40
  • Sheet Metal Workers Local 38
  • Iron Workers Local 417
  • Sheet Metal Workers Local 137
  • Iron Workers Local 580
  • Teamsters Local 456
  • Building Laborers Local 235
  • Teamsters Local 813
  • Road Laborers Local 60
  • Teamsters Local 814
  • Lathers Local 46
  • Tile, Marble & Terrazzo Local 7

If Others Can Do It, Why Not Croton?

Croton United would like to extend its congratulations to the Town of Cortlandt on the completion of the town’s two-year, $4 million road repaving project. That work was performed with funds appropriated in the town’s highway budget and did not require a cent of borrowed money. It was a pay-as-you-go project and did not add any town debt. In fact, the town announced that it’s debt is “the lowest it’s been in thirty years.” 

Source: Town of Cortlandt press release

Source: Town of Cortlandt press release

Similarly, the Croton-Harmon School district has completed about $15 million in capital projects over the past six years, also without any need for borrowing and increasing its debt.

So, as has been demonstrated by the two government entities closest to Croton, prudent fiscal planning and management can result in needed capital projects moving forward without burdening their constituents with an ever increasing debt load.

Change in Bond Debt: Town of Cortlandt vs. Croton

Debt is in millions. Source: www.openbooknewyork.com (Office of the State Comptroller)

Yet the Wiegman administration in Croton seems incapable of this kind of fiscal management, and piles debt upon debt upon debt for the citizens of our village. While Cortlandt and the School District are able to fund major projects without borrowing, the Wiegman Dems feel obligated to borrow such trivial amounts as $4,000 for fixing a light pole, rather than including such expenditures in the expense budget where they belong.  

Source: Town of Cortlandt 2015 Master Plan committee meeting minutes

Source: Town of Cortlandt 2015 Master Plan committee meeting minutes

If our neighbors can make major capital improvements without massive borrowing, why can’t we? All it takes is a firm commitment to fiscal sustainability and the initiation of intelligent long term planning and financial management practices. It's obviously an achievable goal, but the Wiegman Dems patently refuse to follow such a path.

When elected, the Croton United Team’s first priority will be the get the village’s fiscal house in order. The examples that surround us show us that fiscally sustainable policies can work when there is the willingness and discipline to do so.

The Facts are Very Clear, and Clearly Damning

This letter was published in yesterday’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor:
I was unable to attend the candidates debate at the village library, but I read the Gazette’s report on the forum with great interest. As I read the article I was struck by Dr. Schmidt’s condemnation of the Mayor’s decision “to accept” government health insurance benefits and Trustee Slippen’s comment that it is easy for others to judge the Mayor’s decision without having had the same “opportunity” offered them.     

I see it a little differently. The Mayor did not “accept” “the opportunity” of receiving health insurance—the Mayor, in concert with our former Village Manager, engineered it! The facts are very clear, and clearly damning. When Obamacare kicked in, the Mayor saw an “opportunity” to obtain a personal benefit for his “volunteer” public service and then claimed to be working 30-32 hours a week; a work schedule that conveniently qualified the Mayor for health coverage, but is (i) inconsistent with our model of local government (employing a full time Manager) and (ii) incredible and preposterous on its face. No Ms. Slippen, obtaining health care benefits at taxpayer expense was not an “opportunity” offered our Mayor—this was a opportunity the Mayor worked and schemed to exploit (with the help of some and silence of others, but that is another letter). 

And, although Dr. Schmidt condemns the Mayor’s efforts to exploit his volunteer public service position for personal benefit, for me there a more troubling, sinister aspect to the story: The facts are now clear that the Mayor tried to cover up his scheme to get free health care. It’s sad, but true. First, the true part: Concerned citizens (label them as you will) filed a FOIL request for access to the public budget to get the facts (how quaint!) and . . . the pages of the public budget listing expenditures for health care were redacted—for the first time in village history! Coincidence? I don’t think so. Legal? Absolutely not.

But don’t take my word for it, ask Robert Freedman, Chair of the NYS Committee on Open Government. I did. And in response to my question at an open forum at Village Hall (with the Mayor and Trustees present) Mr. Friedman was befuddled and unable to conceive of any scenario that would result in denying access to any portion of a public budget. Oh yes, and the sad part: The Mayor thought he could deny citizens/taxpayers the right to public information (that would reveal his scheme) and the Village Trustees, (former) Village Manager and Village Attorney sat silent. To state the obvious: The Mayor’s brazen, lawless and irresponsible behavior did not occur in a vacuum.

The Mayor’s scheme to cover up his scheme to obtain health benefits (based on implausible and demonstrably fictitious time records) is a disgrace and an insult to anyone who believes in honest, open government. And the silence of the Mayor’s fellow board members on this issue is equally troubling; it’s suppose to be a system of checks and balances. There is an election coming very soon and any incumbent trustee that continues to accept or excuse the Mayor’s actions to (i) use public monies for his personal benefit and (ii) thereafter cover up his scheme by denying a legitimate FOIL request to a public budget does not understand public trust placed in your hands. 

Very truly yours, 
Rick Turner 

“Our village debt balance has increased too rapidly”

This letter was published in today’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor:
As a resident and taxpayer of the village of Croton-on-Hudson, I’ve watched with interest the dialogue among the candidates for mayor and trustee, particularly in the area of fiscal health for our village.

Being part of the financial industry for the last 11 years and a CPA since well before that, I’ve seen what can result from a high debt load. In moderation, debt is OK. Most homeowners wouldn’t wait to save enough to buy their home with cash. But there’s a limit to how much debt is sensible, and so we try to keep our credit card and other debt balances low. For our village, no one is saying it is not prudent to use debt for vital projects with long-term value. No one is saying it is not prudent to take advantage of low interest rates when they exist. The issue is one of discipline, and knowing when enough is enough. Over the last few years our village debt balance has increased too rapidly, and not always for projects that were vital enough to warrant the use of debt.

Some in our village have claimed that it is irresponsible to compare family finances to municipal finances. That is true to an extent, but for a scary reason. At home you keep your debt manageable because you know what you can afford to repay. A municipality doesn’t have that problem. If it has higher debt payments, it can just raise taxes to pay them. And no, the tax cap does not prevent this. If the debt recently approved by the village board is actually issued, the estimated $900,000/yr of additional debt payments would raise our village property taxes over 8%, an increase that would stay with us for years to come! That’s on top of increases for salaries and other village expenditures. Are you ready for that?

I’m confident that Greg Schmidt, Bob Anderson, and Ken Walsh of the Croton United team will approach debt responsibly, and keep our village fiscally strong while still preserving critical infrastructure. While the debt issue is important, it is not Croton United’s only focus. I encourage you to go to their website and see their positions on many of the important issues facing our village.

I hope you’ll join me on November 3 in voting for the Croton United team. They each bring different strengths and experiences to the table and as a team, I think they will be an effective group in bringing fiscal restraint back to our village.

Todd Freebern

Voting for Croton United

The Board of Elections has released this year’s ballot. Croton United’s candidates are running on Line I, the final line of the ballot. To cast your vote for our slate, please be sure to mark all three candidates’ names.  

Please remember that if you usually vote at the Grand Street Firehouse, you will be voting at the high school this year.

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

The Issue of Ethics

This letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor,
The honesty and integrity of our elected officials matter. They matter a great deal.

As with any effective leader, there were those who disagreed with some of the actions Greg Schmidt took as mayor. But never, ever, did anyone question his honesty, his integrity, or his ethical behavior.

By contrast, Mayor Leo Wiegman has a long history of well documented instances in which he has lied to the public, as well as to his fellow board members. In addition, he falsified his time records (also well documented) in order to force Croton taxpayers to pay over $22,000 for his health insurance, adamantly defended his “right” to these benefits, and only relented when public pressure became too great for even him to withstand. Croton United would be pleased to provide anyone who doubts this with full documentation.

And with his becoming Executive Director of Sustainable Westchester and his ownership of the Croton Energy Group, there is at least the appearance of conflicts of interest if not actual conflicts themselves.

But, of course, Mayor Wiegman rarely loses his temper, so, according to the Wiegman Dems, that makes all of these actions perfectly OK.

And what were the reactions of Trustees Andy Levitt and Maria Slippen when the mayor’s actions were exposed? At best, total silence, and at worst, support for the mayor, which only encouraged him to commit further breaches of the public trust. Perhaps that’s why they’ve become known as Leo’s Lap Dogs.

Worse yet, under the mayor’s tutelage, they, too, have begun to mislead the public. Mr. Levitt with his erroneous statements regarding the village’s bond rating and tax rates during Mayor Schmidt’s administration. Ms. Slippen with her claims of credit for initiating the televising of board work sessions, when she and her colleagues forcefully opposed it, again until public pressure became too intense. And if I understand correctly, it was Ms. Slippen who was the prime mover behind the new policy that prohibits you, the citizens of Croton, from directly questioning board members at public meetings.

Upon election, Greg Schmidt, Bob Anderson, and Ken Walsh will reinstate your right to question the board. Might some such exchanges become heated? Probably. Might voices on both sides get raised from time to time? I expect so. For the very essence of democracy is the discussion and debate of strongly held ideas and opinions.  But they will never lie to you, nor will they ever divert your hard earned tax dollars to their personal benefit.

So who do you want to represent you? To be the face of Croton to the outside world? A man of unquestioned honesty and integrity, or one who will do almost anything to get his own way, even if he repeatedly steps over the ethical divide.

And who do you want as trustees? Those who will insist that all village officials be held to the highest ethical standards or individuals who will condone anything their leader does, however questionable it might be.

The choice is yours. Exercise it well.

The honesty and integrity of our elected officials matter. They matter a great deal.

Sincerely,
Joel E. Gingold

The Truth About the Schmidt Record

This letter was published in this week's issue of the Gazette

To the Editor:
Do you know that Leo Wiegman and Ann Gallelli voted in favor of a whopping 9.43% tax rate increase that I opposed while I was Mayor of Croton? Of course you don’t, because the Wiegman Dems are being deeply disingenuous when they make misleading statements about my proven record of lowering tax rate increases. They average the rate increases and knowingly neglect to mention that they voted in favor of 75% of them.
 
Here are the facts:

*2009-2010 shows the proposed increase when Mayor Schmidt left office

*2009-2010 shows the proposed increase when Mayor Schmidt left office

  • Tax rate increases steadily declined during my four years as mayor. My budget proposal when I left office projected an increase of under 2%.
  • I inherited my first budget from Democratic Mayor Bob Elliott, who left office with a proposed increase of nearly 12.5%. With only a few weeks to go before the budget had to be approved we cut it as much as we could and very reluctantly passed a budget with an increase of 9.91%. Leo Wiegman voted against this budget not because the tax rate increase was too large, but because it was too small. He wanted some of the cuts we made reinstated.
  • The budget with the second largest increase (9.43%) was passed by a 3-2 vote by the Dems, with Leo Wiegman and Ann Gallelli both voting in favor. I voted against this huge increase but that year the Dems had a majority on the board.
  • The Dems, including Trustee Gallelli, supported the last two budgets proposed during my administration, and they were passed unanimously, lowering the rate of increase to under 7% and then to under 4%.
  • The preliminary budget prepared when I left office contained a tax rate increase of just 1.86%. 

My record as mayor shows that I was successful each year at controlling tax increases while keeping borrowing in check, and did so prior to any legislative mandate imposed by a tax levy cap.  Mine is a record of true fiscal sustainability. 
 
By contrast, the Wiegman Dems brag about their tax record, but neglect to mention that during the Wiegman administration, they have also repeatedly imposed double-digit increases in the water rates, sewer rates and parking rates on village residents and have more than doubled the level of bonded debt owed by the village. 
 
Croton United’s candidates—Bob Anderson, Ken Walsh and myself—will set spending priorities, critically assess proposed expenditures, and change the current policy of dependence on unsustainable levels of borrowing. For more information, please see here. I thank you for your support this November.
 
Greg Schmidt 

BREAKING NEWS!

Croton United's position on the massive debt increase under the Wiegman Dems is the focus of LoHud's coverage of last night's debate: "Debt takes center stage in Croton race. . . . How much debt is too much for a village of 8,000?"

Read the article here.

Untrue and Unfair

This letter was published in this week's issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor,

Croton Dems chair Paul Rolnick opened this election season by promising voters that his party’s communications with the public would “consist of clear, fact-based information” because voters “deserve nothing less.”  He has already broken this promise. 

Here are the facts: Last year, Mr. Rolnick’s party was twice cited by the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee for making unsubstantiated and misleading factual claims about Croton United during the election of 2014.  This year, his party followed up on this dubious distinction by making demonstrably false and misleading factual claims concerning the Wiegman Dems’ financial record on three separate occasions. 

Now, having been confronted with the fact that he and his candidate Andy Levitt (along with Trustee Brian Pugh) have mislead the voters of Croton by repeatedly claiming that the village’s bond rating improved under the Wiegman administration (it did not), Mr. Rolnick has apparently changed his mind, preferring in his recent letters to rely on accusation and hyperbole to obscure his party’s financial record rather than deal with facts he does not like. 

Croton United believes it is possible to improve life in our village through prudent, fiscally responsible policies and sound management of village affairs.  We see other local governments, such as the Town of Cortlandt and the Croton Harmon School Board, achieving this goal without the same level of profligate borrowing exhibited by the Wiegman Dems.  

I urge all voters to learn the facts about what Croton United stands for, and about our vision for a fiscally sustainable, transparent and accessible village government for all residents of Croton.  Please visit our website at www.crotonunited.org, or go to our Facebook page for further information on our positions on the issues and to learn about upcoming events. 

Roseann Schuyler Chair
Croton United




Good luck, Ken!

This letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

Dear Croton Community,
Ken Walsh has been a Croton friend for many years now, but I’ve known him since he was our neighborhood paper boy in our hometown of Irvington. He moved in five doors down when he was in fifth grade and seems to be working hard ever since. He was a cashier at the local Howard Johnsons, a caddy at Ardsley Country Club, a CYO Teen Club officer and CYO basketball coach in high school too. Perhaps his work ethic comes from working with his parents, who owned a stationary store on Main Street for as long as I can remember. Possibly it comes from his philosophy of ‘paying it forward’ for the care and support he received as a child. There is no doubt that what he learned from his family and childhood have translated to his drive to volunteer and positively impact the lives of those he knows in Croton in his adult life.  

Ken is a thoughtful leader and a get-things-done type of guy. For example, he often calls my husband to talk about what was successful at the softball game they coached that day as well as to brainstorm ways to improve the team’s skills. He picks up the phone and calls people to get things done. But what I am most impressed with is his willingness to create dialogue and reflect in order to be successful. We often remark about how hard Ken works for Croton’s kids.

From an early age he has learned seek clarity through hard work, and he helps bring that clarity to those with whom he works and volunteers. It is no surprise to me that he wants to represent the people of Croton as a Trustee. From childhood, he has been hardworking and successful in many areas of his life and he would be an asset to us here in Croton.    

Good luck, Ken!
Vicki Barillaro

The Explosion of Debt Under the Wiegman Dems

Bond Debt Has Doubled Under Wiegman Dems

This letter was published in this week’s issue of The Gazette.

To the Editor,
I was surprised that in his letter last week, Croton Dems Chair Paul Rolnick did not offer an apology to Croton taxpayers for writing one of three separate letters to this paper falsely claiming that Croton’s bond rating had improved under the Wiegman administration (the other two were from candidate Andy Levitt and Trustee Brian Pugh). My statement that the Wiegman Dems misled the voters regarding the village’s bond rating is not an accusation; it’s a fact.
 
Rolnick is right that there are “challenges ahead,” but the most urgent and important challenge will be dealing with the financial consequences of his party’s explosion in borrowing. Croton United’s plan to end the profligate borrowing of the Wiegman Dems and to bring sustainable fiscal management back to the village is a true positive vision for the future of Croton.
 
It’s a fact that a few weeks ago the Wiegman Dems voted unanimously to increase Croton’s bonded debt by more than 33% (from $30 million to $41 million). This is in addition to the 50% increase in bond debt (from approximately $20 million in 2010 to over $30 million in 2014) that the Wiegman Dems had already run up. What’s more, they’ve budgeted for another $20 million in new borrowing over the next three years.
 
It’s a fact that information from the State Comptroller’s website for 2014 already showed that Croton was the second most indebted small village in Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland counties. The $11 million in new borrowing approved this year will likely make us Number 1, but I don’t think that’s a success the Wiegman Dems will be bragging about during this election season.
 
There are serious issues facing our village in this election, and Croton United is committed to discussion of the facts concerning them. We urge all residents to visit our website and Facebook page for more information, and on November 3rd, to support positive change for the village by electing the Croton United slate: Greg Schmidt for Mayor and Ken Walsh and Bob Anderson for Trustee.
 
Bob Anderson

What Does Croton United Stand For?

This letter was published in this week’s issue of The Gazette.

To the Editor,
It must be that Croton Democratic Chairman Paul Rolnick hasn’t been paying attention if he has to ask what Croton United stands for. So to save him the trouble of actually doing his homework, I’ll spell it out for him.

Croton United stands for sustainable fiscal management. For doing long range planning, setting priorities for projects and only initiating those that the village can actually afford. The Democrats stand for piling debt upon debt upon debt with no thought for the future until the village is run off a fiscal cliff.

Croton United stands for inclusive government. For encouraging the public to participate and for actually listening to, and considering, their ideas and opinions. The Democrats stand for excluding the public, except for their special friends, from their deliberations because they believe that it is a “distraction,” and even ignoring most of the recommendations of committees that they themselves have appointed.

Croton United stands for open, lively and respectful discussion and debate of all issues affecting the village. The Democrats stand for unanimously passing whatever laws and resolutions Mayor Wiegman wants with little, if any, discussion and no public debate.

Croton United stands for thorough analysis of all proposed actions and performing honest, comprehensive cost/benefit analyses wherever appropriate. The Democrats stand for ignoring the real costs of their actions so that they can unanimously approve their pet projects without concern over how they will affect taxpayers in the future.

Croton United stands for total transparency in government and keeping the public fully informed of what their government is doing in their name. The Democrats stand for secrecy and obfuscation. For forcing their constituents to file repeated Freedom of Information Law requests, and then not even responding properly to those requests.

Croton United stands for village officials who maintain the highest ethical standards. The Democrats stand firmly behind a mayor who falsified his time records in order to force the village to pay for his, and his family’s, health insurance premiums and who has been less than truthful on more than one occasion, not only to the public, but also to his fellow board members.

Croton United stands for campaigning on the facts associated with the issues in question. The Democrats campaign by misleading the electorate, as was confirmed by two citations from the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee confirming that they made misleading statements during last year’s campaign.

Those are just a few of the things Croton Unites stands for, Mr. Rolnick. If you follow our campaign closely over the next several weeks, you’ll learn a lot more about what we stand for and how we plan to ensure that, in the future, the village board will act solely in the interests of all of the citizens of our village.

Sincerely,
Joel E. Gingold

What a Weekend in Croton!

This letter was published in this week’s issue of The Gazette.

To the Editor,
What a weekend in Croton. We kicked the weekend off early with our second Croton United “Meet the Candidates” night on Thursday. Thank you to all who attended.
  
There were also a lot of activities on Sunday. The Fall Arts Festival was such a hit. The people that I have spoken with each had their own idea of the best piece of art. The Croton Historical Society also did a great job with the new exhibit, “Get Ready for an Earthquake, the Construction of New U.S. Route 9, the Destruction of Croton Landing” which was at the Municipal building. Seeing the pictures on the wall of what our great village looked like before Route 9 was built is worth a look. Listening to the many stories from the residents that lived here prior to 1955 of what Croton was like before Route 9 was built was both educational and interesting. My eight-year-old daughter liked looking at the pictures and eating the cookies.  There was even an outdoor mass at Vassallo Park. This was such an enjoyable way to celebrate mass. I hope this happens again.  

This is just one of many great weekends that my family has enjoyed in Croton over the last fifteen years. Thank you to the Croton on the Arts and the Croton Historical Society Council for hosting such great events for the public this weekend.  

Ken Walsh

Croton Dems: Ignorant of municipal finance or intentionally misleading the public?

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of The Gazette.

To the Editor,

Recent letters to this newspaper about Croton’s bond rating by Trustee and candidate Andy Levitt, Trustee Brian Pugh, and Croton Dems Chair Paul Rolnick demonstrate that they are either woefully ignorant of municipal finance or are intentionally misleading the public. 

In the July 30 issue of the Gazette Levitt wrote (and Rolnick and Pugh have essentially repeated), “Moody’s, the independent bond rating agency . . . raised Croton’s bond rating to Aa2 in 2011. That’s two levels better than the A1 rating during the prior Schmidt administration.”

This is totally false. Croton’s bond rating hasn’t changed in more than ten years. 

What Levitt, Pugh and Rolnick aren’t telling you is that in 2010 Moody’s recalibrated their rating system for all municipal bonds, cautioning customers that “this recalibration does not reflect an improvement in credit quality or a change in our credit opinion for rated municipal debt issuers.” All general obligation municipal bonds that had been rated A1 were automatically reclassified to Aa2 at that time.  

But don’t take my word for it. Moody’s explains the change here.

Only ignorance or election year spin can explain the rosy financial picture Levitt paints in his letter. 

He somehow neglects to mention the recent unanimous board of trustees vote to increase Croton’s bonded debt by more than 30% (from $30 million to $41 million)—a substantial increase that likely will not be looked upon favorably by either Moody’s or the NY State Comptroller’s office. When Moody’s rated a Croton bond issue at the end of 2014, it noted that the village already had a “higher than average debt burden.” 

The team that pats itself on the back for its “prudent” management also leaves out that even more debt is budgeted: $20.1 million in new bonds in FY 2017-2019. 

Croton United’s candidates—Greg Schmidt, Ken Walsh and I—believe we must immediately change the current board’s policy of driving the village’s balance sheet further into the red, and we will do so openly and transparently. 

We will end the current board’s policy of mortgaging the village’s future and will engage in thoughtful, fiscally sustainable village management.  The Croton United team looks forward to frank discussion of this and other substantive issues of concern with village residents during the course of the upcoming campaign. 

Bob Anderson