Behind The Wizard’s Curtain

400 Greenburgh property owners are delinquent on their taxes. That says a lot about the condition of the Town’s finances and especially our residents’ financial condition. The foreclosure process will finally begin for those property owners who haven’t paid their property taxes during the last 15-years. Mr Feiner has been at the helm for the last 22-years. Hmm, why did it take fifteen years for this to finally be exposed? What this says is that under Mr Feiner’s and his various Town Boards’ watch, our residents were continually being punished by this expanding group of incompetent leadership with ever-bugeoning tax increases, fees, and regulations. It is estimated by Town Hall officials that at least 320 property owners will receive foreclosure notices for a total of approximately $22M – $1M per year in office! As posted before on ABG, we have little faith that our Town administration will be able to handle 300+ foreclosures when the one foreclosure of Frank’s Nursery has still not been resolved!

Our Town needs management – period. We have been without capable management for years – this just reinforces what many have known. We do have a lot of good people working for the Town and doing a good job in spite of the Administration and their incompetence. There was a big hullabaloo when Al Regula was retiring and that his department would be shaky at best with his departure. As time proved, it was just the opposite. The same thing was said about the Fairview FD when then Chief Robert Mauro announced his retirement. Then Mr Feiner concocted a way to get rid of our very good and honest comptroller, Mike Kolesar after Mr Kolesar went public with Mr Feiner’s illegal actions. While this was a terrible loss to the Town, the deputy comptroller was promoted and has proven to be capable. As good people leave either voluntarily or otherwise, voters must ask why? Conversely, as less competent employees get appointed or promoted, the same question is required. In the Democratic Primary campaign, Bob Bernstein suggested investigating the possibility of hiring a professional Town Administrator. He and others were onto something and this helps make the case for proceeding with one.

Residents have lived through and are continuing to live through Supervisor-induced tax nightmare after nightmare, guilty verdicts and fines like never before. As Mr Feiner’s house of cards is slowly dismantled and exposed, the lamestream media continues to write “puff” pieces about him and print his lies verbatim on their bird cage liners. It’s a confluence of his agenda and the media’s apparent agenda. Coupled with a similar academia agenda that molds young minds from an early age, a predestined outcome is ripe for their desire that government is the answer. What ever happened to teaching all sides of an issue and teaching young minds how to make a responsible and informed decision?

ABG is not suggesting Mr Feiner got together with teachers and colluded to warp young minds, although nothing he does surprises us anymore. ABG also acknowledges that many in academia try to teach as best they can without an agenda, but know there are other teachers with an agenda utilizing a captive audience of malleable young minds to further it. The result is blind partisanship as opposed to compromise and working ethically to rationally govern for all. Special interests have lobbyists pushing their agenda. Politicians are pushing their agenda. Political parties are not only pushing their agenda, but they are also pushing back against the opposing party(s) like we’ve never before witnessed in our history. In tandem with this is the public’s “willful ignorance” and/or indifference. When we add the newly graduated into media positions, the agenda is freshly and ably entrenched and subsequently promoted. Consequently, when a qualified community activist such as Bob Bernstein challenges Mr Feiner, in this case in the Democratic Primary election, he doesn’t stand a chance against “Boss Tweed”. Now we’ll step down from our soapbox...

There’s certainly no question that many residents are delinquent on their back taxes. ABG wonders if it is the property owners who are delinquent or if its our politicians who are the real delinquents? Tax delinquency happened for a number of reasons. Mr Feiner has championed numerous Greenburgh policies through increased taxes because he can, often adding programs we cannot really afford. These programs whether with merit or without, perpetuate the taxing stress to everyone. He appears to have forgotten that many in the Town are not as fortunate to make the six figure salary he does.

In Unincorporated Greenburgh, just under half the area is tax-exempt for whatever reasons. It especially hurts those on fixed incomes or disabilities that don’t allow them to “play along” with Mr Feiner’s bad decisions. They are forced to cut from their household budgets, do without, move or default on their taxes. Mr Feiner’s solution is to implement a tax amnesty program so everyone can pay their back taxes and all will be well in Oz again. The delinquent tax list that was started and grown for the last 15 years under Mr Feiner’s administration is not all his fault. Gasp! Did we actually say that? Sadly, we did. It’s also the fault of the assorted members of the various Town Boards working with him during that time. They had the ability to do the right thing but also chose to “play along” when they should have exhibited some backbone and stopped him. Ultimately, its our fault because we enable the perpetuation of it by endorsing the status quo.

Greenburgh residents are hurting. Of course, some are doing just fine and remain willfully ignorant because Mr Feiner’s bad policies and decisions haven’t caught up to them yet. Give it time. This outstanding tax deficit is a good example of how bad things really are behind the wizard’s curtain. Greenburgh residents deserve better leadership but that will be impossible if voters don’t start thinking differently and vote better people into office. We also need term limits. Mr Feiner is proof of what happens by having too much of one thing. Greenburgh residents must and need to act differently if we are to get out from under this morass. It’s never too late to have A Better Greenburgh.