FIRE COMMISSIONER ELECTIONS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8TH FROM 3PM-9PM ONLY
* NEW LOCATION *
300 W. HARTSDALE AVE
SOUTH OF THE FARM, BETWEEN SECOR RD & RIDGE RD
The Poets Corner Civic Association wishes to inform you of an opportunity to cast your vote, regardless of party affiliation, for the position of Fire Commissioner on Tuesday December 8th at the Hartsdale Fire Station on W. Hartsdale Ave. Any resident of Hartsdale who is registered to vote, is eligible to participate in this Election.
What is this election all about?
A five member Board of Commissioners governs and is the only oversight for the paid Hartsdale Fire District. The Fire Commission, alone, decides what taxes you pay to support the fire services for our community of Hartsdale. The Town does not provide funding for the fire district; it only collects the taxes for them. They are a separate taxing entity as is our school district.
Five years ago, a Town of Greenburgh Citizens’ Commission issued a report on the operations of our paid fire district as well as those of Fairview and Greenville. Their findings were:
1) Compensation per employee in the 3 Greenburgh Fire Districts is 32% higher than peers in other fire departments in Westchester County.
2) We pay approximately 19% of our taxes to the Town of Greenburgh, which has 550 workers, yet we pay 16% of our taxes to the Hartsdale Fire District, which has 40 workers.
No one would question the extremely high quality of service from the Greenburgh Fire Departments, but the above statistics are noteworthy.
What can be done?
There are two candidates on the ballot for the 5-year term commencing on January 1, 2016.
Guy Novo, is the challenger. He has 38 years of experience as a tax attorney. He has been a Hartsdale resident for over 34 years and is an adjunct professor at St. John’s University School of Law. Guy is running for a position on the Fire Commission in hopes of reducing our tax burden while continuing the excellent level of service we currently receive.
Anthony Frasca is the incumbent. He has been on the commission for one year and led the firefighter contract negotiations – guaranteeing a 10% increase in salaries over a five-year period with zero (0) employee contributions for health benefits.
Let us know if you need additional information regarding this upcoming election, but most importantly, please exercise your right to vote. Note that voter turnout is historically low (less than 300 votes and sometimes only 40) so each vote really counts!
TUESDAY DECEMBER 8TH
FROM 3PM TILL 9PM
AT THE HARTSDALE FIRE HOUSE
SOUTH OF THE FARM, BETWEEN SECOR RD & RIDGE RD