See:
http://westchester.lohudblogs.com/2013/12/17/greenburgh-approves-6-5-million-settlement-mount-vernon-congregation
http://westchester.news12.com/news/greenburgh-agrees-to-6-5m-settlement-with-mount-vernon-based-church-1.6633089
http://westfaironline.com/59778/greenburgh-agrees-to-6-5m-settlement-with-church
Stymied by Greenburgh government officials in its attempt to build a church and school on land purchased by the church in Greenburgh, the church had filed suit in federal district court claiming that Greenburgh had violated the church's constitutional rights. The church prevailed in a decision that was scathing in its appraisal of the conduct of Greenburgh town officials. The trial court's decision was completely affirmed on appeal.
For the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal's decision, see
http://rluipa-defense.com/docs/Fortress%20Bible%202d%20Cir.pdf
According to the town board and reports, only $1 million of this settlement is covered by the town's insurance. The remaining balance will have to be funded by the property taxpayers of Greenburgh directly. This past Thursday night, the Greenburgh town board approved financing $5.5 million of the settlement payout by issuing a bond that will be repaid over ten years.
http://abettergreenburgh.blogspot.com/2014/01/super-majority-passes-amended-amended.html
Repaying the $5.5 million ten year bond's principle and interest will be borne solely by unincorporated Greenburgh property owners (i.e., "TOV" or "town outside villages), which is essentially Fairview, Hartsdale and Edgemont. According to Bob Bernstein's Greenburgh Update on Facebook, the cost of the settlement to unincorporated homeowners will be about $17 per 1,000 of each home's assessed value. I calculated the average assessed value of the 19 homes on my block of Mercer Ave. between Finlay and Lakeview and, according to Bernstein's calculation, these 19 homeowners will pay at least $349 per home to fund the Fortress Bible settlement, presumably paid out over ten years.
Even though village voters (i.e., residents of Tarrytown, Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Elmsford and Ardsley) typically deliver close to 40% of the Democratic party primary votes received by board members, villagers will not pay the price of their elected officials' actions on the Fortress Bible matter. To my understanding, this means that while, for example, Mercer Ave. residents will pay $349 per home to fund the settlement, the one town board member who lives in the villages (Diana Juettner) and who voted (1) in favor of the settlement and (2) that the costs will be borne only by unincorporated property taxpayers, will pay $0 toward the settlement.
I wrote to Greenburgh Councilman Francis Sheehan - who is the sole board member who lives in Hartsdale and will bear personally bear the costs of the settlement - to ask for his explanation of his vote in favor of the settlement and allocating all the costs solely to unincorporated Greenburgh residents. He gave me permission to post his response:
Dear Mr. Weinfeld:
You may have noticed that the Town Board amended the bond resolution immediately prior to its adoption last night (1/9/14). The resolution that was before the Town Board was ambiguous as to who would pay the principal and interest. However, the Town Attorney (who also lives in the unincorporated area) stated at the Wednesday night Town Board meeting that, notwithstanding what the resolution may state, only the Town Outside Villages (TOV) fund would be used to pay the settlement. In the interest of transparency, the Town Board amended the resolution prior to adoption to remove the ambiguity so the public and the purchasers of the bonds would be more fully and accurately informed.
As both candidates for supervisor, Paul Feiner and Bob Bernstein, agreed during last year's campaign, the Fortress Bible lawsuit is related to land-use/zoning decisions that solely affect property in the unincorporated area (Town Outside Villages) and they further agreed that any settlement related to that land-use issue should therefore be solely charged to the Town Outside Villages (TOV) fund. The candidates did not agree on much during that campaign but they agreed on that determination, as do I and the other members of the Town Board. The bond resolution adopted last evening is consistent with that reasoning and that determination.
Ten days in, it may be a bit late but I wish you a healthy and happy New Year,
Francis Sheehan, Councilman
Town of Greenburgh
In fairness to Mr. Sheehan (and Mr. Morgan and Mr. Jones), he was not a board member at the time the prejudicial decisions were made that prompted the successful litigation from Fortress Bible Church accusing the town of violating its constitutional rights. Only Paul Feiner and Diana Juettner remain on the board from that fateful time in the early 2000s.
[correction: Gary writes in that Councilman Morgan lives in unincorporated Greenburgh (North Elmsford) and consequently his property will be subject to increased taxes to pay off the bond. Diana Juettner is the only board member will get away without paying].
