POUND RIDGE — Residents would see a 3.4 percent tax increase under the town’s preliminary budget.

The proposal would spend roughly $7.1 million for the general and highway funds, a $146,003 decrease from 2010, according to a town budget synopsis.

While spending is going down, the town is also decreasing the amount of surplus it has set aside in 2011 to help pay for town operations.
The 2010 budget appropriated $850,000 in surplus, while in the proposed 2011 budget, the amount of surplus used would drop to $500,000, said Steve Conti, the Pound Ridge finance director. The town’s goal in the coming years is to lower its reliance on surplus to fund expenditures, Conti said.

“At $850,000 a year, the fund balance would be zero in three to four years,” Conti said.

There are number of areas where the town will save money next year. The departure of a retiring highway department employee, for example, will save the town about $90,000, Conti said. The budget plan also calls for a wage freeze for town employees.

But the town faces rising expenses in other areas. The cost of providing health care to employees is expected to go up by $32,000 in 2011 and town contributions to workers’ pensions will increase $51,000, Conti said.

Deputy Supervisor Jonathan Powers said that amid a challenging budget environment, town officials have been scouring the budget lines looking for savings.

“It’s a modest tax increase,” Powers said. “Because we haven’t laid off any employees, there’s no reduction in services to the town.”
The tax rate for the general and highway funds is $11.81 per $1,000 of assessed value. For the owner of a home assessed at $179,629, the town average, the annual tax bill would be $2,121.44, or $69.86 more than 2010.

While the tax rate to pay for the general and highway funds is on the rise, the amount residents will pay for the land reserve tax will go down in 2011.

That’s because the land reserve tax temporarily declines for the next two years under a ballot initiative , passed this month, that renews the open-space levy for an additional 10 years.

The open-space tax is typically $1 per $1,000 of assessed value, but in 2011 it will be 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
The public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 8 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Town House, 179 Westchester Ave.

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A group of Pound Ridge residents want the town board to defer making decision on a plans by T-Mobile’s for building a cell tower in Scotts Corners until a task force can be established to develop a new strategy for the town’s cell tower placements.

The 29-Acre Preservation Association is leading a group of residents who are expected to make their case for the task force during tonight’s public hearing on T-Mobile’s tower construction.

Association member Melinda Avellino said Pound Ridge needs a committee that can create a town-wide cell service “overlay” and evaluate all “new and existing equipment sites or plans, and ensuring that all application and zoning requirements are met by the applicant.”

“We believe that taking a proactive approach is necessary to ensure the responsible placement of cell service equipment that best protects its citizens,” she said.

Tonight’s hearing, scheduled for 7 p.m. at the town house, gives the board, as well as the public, the opportunity to review and comment on T-Mobile’s application for the special use permit it needs to construct a 130′ tower at the Pound Ridge Lions Club Ambulance headquarters on Westchester Avenue in Scotts Corners.

Aside from engineering and construction details, T-Mobile’s presentation will include an overview of the criteria used to select the ambulance corps location from among the 20-plus sites it considered for the tower — a process that began in 2007.

“We’ve invested three years and a lot of money working with town planners, engineering and building consultants to get this project in front of the public,” said Jane Builder,  Senior Manager of External Affairs for T-Mobile’s northeast engineering division. “We’ve been sensitive to the various concerns throughout the entire process, and approval from the board will mean cell service for this part of town is finally close to becoming a reality.”

Tower Location Lacking Consensus

But all time and money spent did not keep the board from voicing concerns over the ambulance corps site at its regular meeting last month. According to Deputy Supervisor Jonathan Powers, those concerns center around the topographical features of the location.

“On the one hand it limits the height of the tower and consequently the amount of service coverage,” Mr. Powers said. “On the other, the location and height of the tower will have a definite visual impact.”

Mr. Powers said the board was concerned enough to request that T-Mobile further explore the possibility of building a tower on an alternative site, on a tract of land owned by Oceanus Navigation, located on the opposite side of Westchester Avenue, near the top of Hemlock Hill Road.

He said the Oceanus Navigation location had been on T-Mobile’s list of possible sites and because the property’s elevation was much higher, it could accommodate a 170′ tower and significantly greater service coverage.  The site had been eliminated from consideration because after a year trying, T-Mobile had not been able to secure an agreement to lease the land from its owner.

At the board’s insistence, however, T-Mobile agreed to conduct a balloon visualization test on the property.

The 29-Acre association members present at the meeting reacted by openly challenging the board’s ability to act in the best interests of its constituents.

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