VILLAGE OF RYE BROOK EXCEEDED
FY 2003 BUDGET BY ALMOST $1 MILLION

Rye Brook, NY (Feb 26, 2004) –

An examination of Village financial records by Rye Brook Together revealed that the Village of Rye Brook overspent its budget by almost $1 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2003. The adopted budget for the year was $11,014,940 but according to the audit conducted by the Village’s independent auditors, the actual expenditures for the year were $11, 956, 256.

" Following two years in which the Village’s tax rate increased by approximately 2.7% per year, the two years by the way in which I served on the Board and promised to keep the tax increases below the rate of inflation, the Village’s budgeted expenditures skyrocketed by more than 6% in fiscal 2003 and increased by another 7.93% in the present fiscal year that ends this coming May. Yet even with these large increases in taxes, the Village still can’t stay within its budget," said Lawrence Rand, the Rye Brook Together candidate for Mayor in the election to be held on March 16.

"If Rye Brook was run like a business, the shareholders would demand that the CEO be replaced for fiscal mismanagement. It’s time for the voters to do the same and put into office people who believe in watching how our money is being spent. It is time to put into office people who will tell their fellow residents, on a quarterly basis, just where we are in terms of meeting our budget goals and how we are tracking against that budget. It is t time for transparency and accountability with explaining how our tax dollars are being spent. Let’s do away with year end surprises and sticker-shock tax increases," he said.

" We won’t know until this fiscal year is over and the audit is complete how much this Administration is overspending its adopted 2004 budget, but now that we are nine months into the current fiscal year, we should be told how we are doing. I call upon Mr. Filipowski to give the residents a full accounting of where we are against that budget and to tell us now, before the next fiscal year’s budget is prepared and presented on March 19, what are the budgetary guidelines he and the Board have provided to the Village Administrator for the next fiscal year. Specifically, the Rye Brook residents are entitled to know now if they facing yet another round of tax increases that far exceed the rate of inflation," Mr. Rand said.

Rand also pointed out that the while the Village’s operating expenditures have increased by over 20% during the past two years, there has been a noticeable decline in Village services. "Everything from leaf pickup to snow removal to the issuance of building permits has become a hassle. When we are spending more and getting less, something is wrong. It’s time to make things right," he said.

The Rye Brook Together team of Rand and trustee candidates Joan Feinstein and Rick Buzin is committed to restoring fiscal responsibility and bringing transparency to the way Village government operates. "Our residents work hard for their money. Their elected representatives owe it to them to make sure their tax dollars are spent wisely," said Rand.

To learn more about Rye Brook Together, the candidates and their positions, please visit the website at www.ryebrooktogether.org. Through that site, you can also have direct access to the candidates and have your questions answered promptly.

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