Degiorgio Clears Name – Let’s Move On

City Council candidate Mario Degiorgio has been posting responses on YonkersRising concerning allegations made by some of our fellow bloggers.  Degiorgio has addressed the allegations, and without any further proof of evidence to the contrary, we should move on and blog about the campaign.

Degiorgio currenlty is running on three party lines — Democrat, Conservative and Working Families. He is waiting to see who his opponent will be between Republicans John Rubbo and Dennis Shepard.

One additional issue that was raised by a poster concerned the fact that Degiorgio has both the Conservative and Working Families lines, and the fact that both parties basically stand for complete opposite ideals on issues like abortion and gay marriage.

Degiorgio addressed those concerns also.

Now that Degiorgio’s feet have been held to the fire, all candidates who take both the Conservative and Working Families party lines should be challenged. There’s a bunch of candidates in Westchester who have both party lines, lets call them to this task as well.

Petioning Begins: No Surprises; Primaries Coming in September

The petition season is well under way in Yonkers and across the county. So far there have been no surprises, including any efforts to get referendums on the ballot — is Rethinking County Government waiting, or taking a pass?

In Yonkers, democrats and republicans alike are out getting their required signatures to get on the ballot. We hear that so far, all of the interested candidates are getting more than enough signatures, which will result in some primaries.

Yonkers dems are heading towards two very interesting primaries, for City Council in the Second District, and for County Board in the 17th, both representing southwest Yonkers. At the Yonkers Dem convention, Wilson Tererro was nominated to be the candidate for the Second Council District, and Jose Alvarado was nominated for County Board.  

In the Second Council District, to replace Sandy Annabi (who is term-limited on the council and running for County Board) Tererro is joined by Virginia Perez and Jose Roman. Perez, running as a team with Annabi, has enough signatures and will be on the ballot. We spoke with Roman at a recent council meeting, and he also has more than enough signatures to get on the ballot.

Roman’s experience in the district as a community organizer gives him the benefit of knowing many of the voters in the second. Perez is an attractive candidate whose main issues about crime and gangs also resonate with the residents in southwest Yonkers.

Tererro is also a strong candidate, with strong ties to the Latino business community, and who is getting the help and support of the Yonkers Dem Party and Chairman Ken Jenkins.

This one can go anyway, with all three having a legitimate shot, and remember whoever wins the primary wins the election in this huge Democratic majority district.

In the Fourth Council District, to replace Liam McLaughlin, Republicans Dennis Shepard and John Rubbo both have enough signatures to get on the ballot, meaning a GOP primary in September. Shepard will have the support of the Yonkers GOP and Chairman John Jacono, while Rubbo will run as the outsider. We also keep hearing the Rubbo will get the Independence Party line.

The 17th County Board race pits Annabi vs., Alvarado, both experienced elected officials. Alvarado has the support of the Yonkers Dem Party, and has the full support of County Executive Andy Spano.

Annabi is running as the outsider, but knows the district after representing it on the council for eight years. She is an enganging campaigner, and together with Perez, is making a lot of noise with their effort to join forces and mount an insurgent campaign

Again, all other candidates out getting signatures with all getting on the ballot.

Yonkers Council Passes Budget, Amicone Vetoes, Council Expected to Override

The Yonkers City Council met last Saturday and approved a budget for the city’s fiscal year, which begins July 1. The council voted 5-2 on an $896 million spending plan, with councilwomen Sandy Annabi and Joan Gronowski voting no.

The council’s budget took Mayor Phil Amicone’s proposed budget and cut an additional $7.1 million to reduce the mayor’s proposed 6.6 percent property tax increase to 5.75 percent. The council cuts also eliminate the need to increase the unpopular income tax surcharge.

Significant details of the council’s budget statement include:

“Recognizing that our proposals will have a direct impact on city services, we, nevertheless, have concluded that the budget we have outlined strikes the appropriate balance between what our citizens need and should expect for city government and what they can afford in these difficult times.
     We have identified areas of spending that were of concern, including overtime spending in excess of budget appropriations, and the use of city vehicles and cell phones by city employees. But most of all, we have simply recognized what every household in Yonkers has learned in recent months. We simply have no choice but to make do with less.

     The adjustments we are proposing will permit the following:

• The authorization of 1,958 full-time municipal employees (seven less than the mayor’s proposal), approximately 100 full-time library employees and funding as requested by the Yonkers Public Schools;
•  Funding for all uniformed vacant positions in the Police and Fire departments permitting new classes of rookies to join the public safety workforce this summer;
• Maintaining twice a week garbage pick-up and all other services currently performed by our Public Works Department;
• Maintaining our Parks Department at full compliment; and
• Maintaining all existing services to veterans and seniors.

We accomplish this with a spending plan that is $896 million. This plan is $7.1 million less than the mayor’s amended proposal, reduces the proposed property tax increase to 5 and 3/4 percent property tax increase and eliminates the need for a 50 percent hike in the income tax altogether. We are able to accomplish this by decreasing the funding for the Yonkers Public Schools by $1 million. The mayor has indicated that the trustees will utilize an additional $1 million from surplus funds available to the schools.

We have also reduced city departmental spending by enacting a 2 percent cut in non-personnel appropriations in all departments saving $860,000. Police and fire department overtime appropriations have been reduced $ 2.2 million and $800,000 respectively as described in alternative plans submitted by the commissioners with their proposed budgets. Funding for non-uniformed vacancies has been removed for a savings of $650,000.

Other departmental reductions that have been implemented are as follows:

• Continued elimination of the ranger program – $500,000;
• Reduction of targeted appropriations in non-personnel accounts – $540,000; and
• Reduction of $100,000 in the city wide fuel account. It is anticipated that the administration will eliminate upwards of 50 vehicles currently utilized in non-public safety areas.     

 This budget also shifts funding for affordable housing subsidies, $1.2 million back to the grant budget under the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) for year 36. It is anticipated that stimulus funds from the federal government will restore programs anticipated to be funded with year 36 CDBG funds.

The capital budget as proposed is $124 million. The council, upon deliberation and reflection on the amount of debt that the city has incurred during recent years, has decided to approve a capital budget of $47 million, providing funding as follows:

• Resurfacing and bridges                                                $2 million
• Library                                                                  $494,000
• Animal Shelter Reconstruction                   $2 million
• Ashburton Avenue Renewal                       $14.6 million
• Yonkers Public Schools                                  $ 28 million”

This statement was made by council members Liam McLaughlin, John Murtagh, Patricia McDow and Dee Barbato and Council President Chuck Lesnick. 

On Wednesday, Mayor Phil Amicone vetoed the budget, primarily because fo cuts to police overtime, which he said would negatively affect the safety of Yonkers residents. The City Council will now call a meeting, yet to be set, to vote to override the mayor’s budget. If the same five council members who voted for the budget vote to override, then the budget passed by teh council will become the city’s budget for the new fiscal year, starting July 1.