The New Rochelle Citizens Panel on Sustainable Budgets suggested several ways for the city to increase its revenue—some took only local action, but others require the cooperation of the Legislature in Albany.
To that end, the City Council will discuss Tuesday a series of municipal revenue sources that it will suggest in its 2013 Legislative Program.
The council is meeting at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, and will have Citizens to be Heard at 7:30 p.m.
The suggestions include allowing the option of increasing the city's utility gross receipts tax, which the city has discussed before, from 1 percent to a maximum of 3 percent; creating a local real estate transfer tax of 1 percent, which the seller would pay at the time of sale; distributing the cost of fire hydrant maintenance, which is borne solely by taxpayers, to all water utility payers, and providing local employees with a state retirement incentive.
Also in the Legislative Program, which can be found in the council's agenda backup detail, are priorities that affect the city, including extending New Rochelle's 1 percent sales tax legislation, increasing aid and incentives for municipalities, reducing pension contribution rates, reforming binding arbitration, prohibiting unfunded state mandates, amending the property tax cap and enacting health insurance cost containment measures.
The agenda Tuesday also includes consideration of a resolution that would increase the cost of parking at New Roc City for the county's Department of Environmental Facilities, the acceptance of a grant that would help pay for an emergency generator for City Hall and bond resolutions to pay for new firefighting equipment and reconstruction of some sanitary and storm sewers.
