Bedford Hills Fire Tax Higher Than Expected

The construction of a will result in an increase in space for the department by 2012, but has already led to an increase in tax bills for residents of the hamlet—an 82 percent increase to be exact—which has caught some residents by surprise.

In 2010 an owner of a $500,000 home in Bedford Hills paid the fire district $283, according to Amy Pectol, Bedford's receiver of taxes. This year, they paid $511—an increase of $225, more than double the estimate made by the fire department.

Last fall, Santo Curro, fire commissioner in Bedford Hills, the expansion would cause bills to rise by "$100 per year, for a home with a market value of $500,000," he said in October.

So why were the estimates so off?

Curro referred Patch to Jack Lang, who served as fire commissioner at the time of the special election needed to approve the expansion costs. He said in order to calculate the estimates they consulted with several banks and estimated increases based on the construction costs using the prevailing interest rate over a 30-year payoff.

"The unpredicatability was the interest rate, which has changed," he said. "And the economic climate changed. And then the department shortened the payoff to 20 years. The only thing we could count on when making our estimates were the construction costs."

Lang said though the new scenarios may have increased the tax rate, the shorter payoff saves money in interest payments.

The $6.9 million expansion was presented to district voters in December 2008, and with a vote of 148 to 18, the referendum passed. The special elections drew just two percent of the 4,004 eligible voters in the fire district.

There have been some grumblings around town—Pectol's office has logged a handful of calls and complaints, she said— but though many residents interviewed for this story said they didn't anticipate the increase, most said they supported it.

"I didn't know about the votes and I don't know that we were underserved," said resident Michael Gelligan, a father of two children attending the Rippowam Cisqua School. "But if it's for public safety, I'm happy to pay for it."

Bedford Hills resident Luke Vander Linden said he was surprised, but not angry. "I see the work being done on the firehouse every day when I pass it and I assumed it cost something," he said. "I think there's no question that fire protection is one of the most basic services we need and it shouldn't be substandard in any way. I hear the fire alarm going off all the time so I know it's a very busy place."

No complaints have been filed to the fire department directly, said Curro.

Curro said he believed the time lapse between the vote and the contstruction contributed to residents' surprise. "Unfortunately it was so long ago that when they see the building and get the bill, a flag goes up," he said.

While some residents may be upset about the lack of publicity surrounding the vote—Matt Garrity there seemed to be a general lack of awareness around it, and "very few checks and balances for the department"—the size of the increase in an economic recession may be tough to swallow, especially when compared to other fire districts (Katonah had a reduction of -.2 percent, and Bedford Village had an increase of 4.2 percent) and the general town budget, which had an increase of 2.2 percent.

"Could the timing be better for a tax increase? Of course," said Vander Linden, who lived in Katonah at the time of the votes. "Hopefully after this big capital expense, all three fire departments can work together to keep costs down while not affecting service."

The work on the 7,168 square-foot addition is on-track, under budget and should be completed in 2012, said Curro. The addition includes extra space for fire apparatus, a new fitness room, unisex bathrooms, and an emergency command center. The plan also calls for completing upgrades such as installing a sprinkler system and making the building handicapped accessible, he added.

Bedford Hills resident Andrea Thompson said she had no problem with the increase.

"Our fire department members put their own lives at risk to protect my family, and every family, home and business in our town. And they do it without pay. I fully support whatever taxes are necessary for the expansion."