Members of the Rockland County Legislature have issued a statement regarding the proposed 2009 county budget submitted by County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef.

The plan increases spending by about $30.3 million, from about $684.2 million this year to about $714.5 million next year.

The proposal increases the amount of money to be collected via the county property tax by about 9.85 percent, from about $54 million this year to about $59 million next year.

Here is the Legislature’s statement:

New City, NY (October 24, 2008) – Rockland County Legislative Chairwoman Harriet D. Cornell, Vice Chairman William L. Darden, Majority Leader Michael M. Grant, and Budget and Finance Chair Ilan S. Schoenberger made the following statement today regarding County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef’s 2009 Executive Budget:

“While we certainly recognize that difficult times call for difficult choices, as elected officials we have a responsibility to ensure that the choices that are made are the right ones.  Over the coming days and weeks we will continue the budget review process that we began several weeks ago and further analyze departmental spending and revenues in an effort to pass a balanced budget that is both fiscally prudent and financially sound.

With a cloudy economic future ahead of us, it is more critical than ever that the budget we received from the County Executive contains accurate projections when it comes to the generation of revenue. We are all aware that sales tax revenues, upon which the county depends, have slowed considerably.  We will closely scrutinize the budget and ascertain how the spending cuts that were proposed affect the delivery of vital services and programs to Rockland County residents.  Knowing that Rockland taxpayers are already struggling to make ends meet, we will closely examine the property tax increase that was proposed by the County Executive.

Today’s turbulent economy has put the county in a tenuous financial situation, yet with a balanced and pragmatic approach we can help chart the right course, steer our county’s finances back on track, and protect Rockland families.”

I attend most of the County Legislature’s meetings, held the first and third Tuesday’s each month. They are interesting for the most part, but can get a little dry.

Well last night was anything but. A simple public hearing and subsequent vote on a law to mandate recycling programs for plastic bags turned into an all out snit-fest.

It all started when Legislator Gerold Bierker, C-Bardonia, called for motion to table the resolution until it could be heard by the Solid Waste Management Authority. (Keep in mind that the SWMA doesn’t recycle plastic bags.)

The only votes of encouragement he got were from the five members of minority parties (the sixth—Legislator Doug Jobson, R-Stony Point—was absent.) So Bierker’s motion got shot down by Dem power.

But the motion then causes Legislator Ilan Schoenberger to remark that no member of the minority parties had brought up the SWMA issue previously and that it was a display of party-line voting. He also noted that if a minority member had sponsored the law along with him and Legislator Connie Coker, D- South Nyack, it would have passed smoothly.

Which then led Bierker to comment “that when the lower tier votes, it’s a called a party line vote. But when the Democrats vote I presume it’s called democracy in action.”

Ding! Round Two.

Raphael Ziegler, chairman of the Rockland County Taxi and Livery Coalition, said he’s disappointed that legislators once again tabled a proposal to make Rockland County the sole licensing agency for taxis, limousines and the like.

Legislator Ilan Schoenbeger, D-Wesley Hills, and Vice Chairman William Darden, D-Hillcrest, said at last night’s meeting that more time was needed for discussions with Spring Valley, which does not want the county’s plan to mean a crush of new taxis operating in the village.

“I think Spring Valley had plenty of time to work this out,” Ziegler said. “I think they should have done this a long time ago.”

The plan was first introduced in the spring of 2006. To become the county’s sole licensing agency, the county needs home-rule legislation from the state. Currently, state law allows towns and villages to license livery service companies on their own.

Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell, D-West Nyack, has made a few changes in the committees and their leadership.

She created one new committee on economic development to be headed by Majority Leader Michael Grant, D-Garnerville. The committee will deal with the “stimulus, development and revitalizaton of Rockland County’s economy” according to a new release issued by Cornell.

Newly returned Legislator Alden Wolfe, D-Suffern, has been named chair of the Government Operations Committee, a spot formerly held by Grant. And Legislator Jay Hood Jr., D-Haverstraw, will replace former Legislator David Fried as the chairman of the Public Safety Committee.

Returning to their posts are:

Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, D-Wesley Hills: Budget and Finance

Legislator Connie Coker, D-South Nyack: Environmental

Vice Chairman William Darden, D-Spring Valley: Rules

Legislator VJ Pradhan, D-Nanuet: Planning and Public Works

Legislator Philip Soskin, D-Monsey: Multi-Services

That leaves two Democratic legislators, Joseph Meyers from Airmont and Jacques Michel from Spring Valley, without leadership positions. The two are new to the Legislature this year.

The Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic Action Fund endorsed the following candidates for Rockland County Legislature:
—Michael Diederich, D, District 1
—Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, D-Wesley Hills, District 4
—John Fellas, D, District 5
—Legislature Vice Chairman William Darden, D-Hillcrest, District 8
—Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell, D-West Nyack, District 10
—Legislator VJ Pradhan, D-Nanuet, District 14
—Legislator Connie Coker, D-South Nyack, District 17

The latest piece of campaign literature to come out of the District 12 County Legislature race contains an error that some say really isn’t an error at all.

Sent out by Preserve Ramapo in support of Airmont Trustee Joseph Meyers, the back side of the glossy mailing talks of Legislator Patrick Withers’ support from Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence, former Assemblyman Ryan Karben and Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, D-New Square.

D-New Square?

Schoenberger has never lived in New Square. He lives in Wesley Hills and has since the early 1980s. The village of New Square is included in his legislative district.

That was not a mistake on the mailing, he said.

“I think it’s an attempt on their part to appeal to the people who are anti-Semitic,” he said.

I’ve tried to reach Preserve Ramapo Chairman Robert Rhodes, but my phone message wasn’t immediately returned. I’ll update once I hear from him.
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UPDATE: Rhodes said that he knows Schoenberger lives in Wesley Hills, “but he has always been the representative from New Square.”

When I told him about Schoenberger’s comments that the mistake appealed to anti-Semitic supporters, Rhodes said he was “full of [doody.]” Except he didn’t say “doody.” Sorry- it’s a family newspaper.

Rhodes also said that Schoenberger has made a career out of calling his opponents anti-Semitic.
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Withers, D-Suffern, and Meyers are vying for the Democratic nomination for District 12. The primary is Sept. 18.

Legislators David Fried, Ian Schoenberger, Philip Soskin, Bruce Levine Patrick Withers and Vice Chairman William Darden, all Democrats from Ramapo, have issued a press release stating that they are planning to draft legislation that would call on County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef to investigate whether the county could acquire the New York Country Club in New Hempstead.

But Donald Tracy, the New City lawyer of country club owner Joe Cho, said today that his client has already signed a contract with S & G Golden Estates and that he was amused by all the recent political attention paid to the property.

The only way the county could get the 165-acre property now is through condemnation, he said.

“It makes good political rhetoric, for the constituents,” he said of the legislators’ push, “but it’s highly impractical.”

The Rockland Conference of Mayors last week voted to ask the county to buy, or acquire the property through condemnation.

“It sounds ridiculous,” Tracy said.

Jenn Profenna, a spokeswoman with the county executive’s office, said today that Vanderhoef had not received any details from the Legislature.

The Rockland County Legislature has a new picture up on its Web site with all the legislators and with everyone’s head on his or her own body.

Several media organizations—starting with The Journal News, thank you very much—got a chuckle last week out of a doctored Legislature portrait that had new Legislator Jay Hood Jr.’s head put on former Legislator Roman Rodriguez’s body.

You can compare the pictures and read more about that on this Inside Rockland blog.
I think the new picture looks nice. It was taken before this week’s Legislature meeting in the new chambers. Everyone’s smiling and most everyone is color coordinated (Ilan Schoenberger and Teddy Dusanenko didn’t get the memo about dark suits!)

Legislator Ed Day said he did not accept anything from a county vendor last weekend when his campaign was treated to a fundraiser at the Nyack home of Carl Wortendyke, a principal of Cal Mart Enterprises. Cal Mart is a county vendor.

“Cal Mart is a county vendor,” Day said, “Carl Wortendyke is not.”

Day, R-New City, has been outspoken in his support of a 1997 county law that prohibits candidates running for county office from taking more than $100 from any entity that does business with the county. He recently proposed amendments to the law that included prohibiting candidates from taking any money from county vendors.

“I think what this is, this is a reach by some of my political enemies,” Day said.

He noted that while the fundraiser was hosted by Wortendyke, his campaign paid for the catering and the invitations. And that hosting a fundraiser does not count as an in-kind contribution according to Election Law.

Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, D-Wesley Hills, said that this is part of the problem with the 1997 law, which many have called unenforceable.

“It’s a very difficult area,” he said.

“I think Mr. Day will have a better understanding of how difficult it is.”

Schoenberger said he heard about the fundraiser from “a buzz going around.”

As for Day’s response about Wortendyke himself not being a vendor, Schoenberger said, “I guess I can make any excuse he wants and that’s a very fine splitting of hairs.”

Legislators Ilan Schoenberger, D-Wesley Hills, and Bruce Levine, D-Montebello, could have some thinking to do the Legislature approves a proposal to prohibit county legislators from being employed by the county or a Rockland town or village. Schoenberger is the Ramapo finance director and Levine is the Spring Valley village attorney.

The proposal, introduced by Legislator Patrick Withers, D-Suffern, isn’t aimed at any one legislator, but would eliminate the appearance of impropriety that comes with legislators holding both positions. The county already has a “two-hat” rule that prohibits legislators from also holding elective office in a Rockland town or village.

The proposal calls for the amendment of the “two-hat” rule to take effect in January 2008 so that anyone seeking election or re-election could make a decision before mounting a campaign.

Schoenberger, for one, agrees with Withers and is supportive of the idea. Levine, who had not heard of the proposal until he heard of it from The Journal News, said he thought Withers was proposing this on behalf of the political structure in Ramapo.

This structure, is said is threatened “because I present a challenge, a daily challenge to the system, to the way the county has operated,� he said.

Levine already has one person gunning for his spot next year—former Legislator Alden Wolfe. Levine soundly defeated Wolfe in last year’s primary. Wolfe recently announced his campaign to get his seat back and among his chief concerns was the fact that Levine is answerable to both the people of Rockland County and the village of Spring Valley.