Forum Focus

Save the Date: The Scarsdale Forum presents Superintendent Dr. Thomas Hagerman and Board of Education President Pamela Fuehrer on the State of Our Schools, followed by Q&A on Thursday, November 19 at 8pm via Zoom.

All members of the public are welcome. Registration required here.

The County Fiscal Affairs Committee has the challenging task of studying the annual county operating and capital budgets, and issuing its review and recommendations in a short time frame. The Committee is planning to meet in November. Please contact Chair Richard Pinto, rpinto10583@gmail.com.

The Downtown Revitalization Committee met in October to discuss pending projects, including the revitalization of the Boniface Circle park and the general parking situation in the downtown area. The Committee is planning to meet in November to discuss a proposed Request for Proposal to be sent to landscape design firms to re-imagine the park at Boniface Circle, proposals to enhance parking for consumers, new retail opportunities, and pedestrian, bicycling and vehicular safety in the downtown. Please contact Chair Susan Douglass, susanudouglass@gmail.com.

The Education Committee Chair presented the Committee's recently released report, A Proposal for the Formation of a School Community Communications Committee, at the October 19th Board of Education meeting. The Education Committee looks forward to collaborating with learning community stakeholders on this important work. Please contact Chair Barry Meiselman, barwest2@aol.com.

Fiscal Affairs

Fiscal Affairs Scarsdale members attended a Board of Trustees Work Session on October 27, 2020.  Trustees and staff presented a review of the current fiscal year budget, including revised revenue projections that have improved somewhat but are still $2.4 million less than budgeted. There was also a discussion of fund balance and reserves. The Trustees and staff have begun planning the 2021-22 budget. They are anticipating continued substantial shortfalls in parking permit revenue and are looking at cutting expenses and possible service cuts to avoid increasing taxes. Trustee Crandall invited the Forum to provide its input before the draft budget is released in January 2021. The Committee plans to meet in November to consider submitting a report earlier in the budget process. For more information please contact Chair Anne Hintermeister, ahintermeister@gmail.com.west2@aol.com

The Membership Committee invites members of the community to join the Forum and participate in our committees and events. Please contact Chair Gabrielle Wise, greiffel@me.com.

The Municipal Services Committee has followed up on its traffic safety report recommendations to the Village Board, including that Scarsdale enact a lower, 25 mph speed limit on certain linear segments of roads under existing New York State law, and that the Village continue working with state legislators on area speed limit enabling amendments. Please send feedback to Chair Madelaine Eppenstein, meppenstein@eppenstein.com.

The Nominating Committee is asking our members to suggest the names of nominees to fill Scarsdale Forum officer and director-at-large positions. Any input should be submitted no later than Tuesday, December 1, so that the committee has ample time to recommend candidates at the February 11, 2021 Membership Meeting. Please forward suggestions to Chair Tim Foley, tim@commanderfoley.com, or one of the other committee members: Laura Liu, Jon Mark, Richard Pinto, and Karen Smith.

The Sustainability, Fiscal Affairs Scarsdale, and Municipal Services Committees are revisiting Village fall leaf collection. Switching from vacuuming loose piles of leaves to collection of bagged leaves was recommended in a 2014 Scarsdale Forum Sustainability report. The public safety, environmental, and budgetary reasons for making the change in Scarsdale are even more compelling now. The review will examine the success of leaf-bagging in neighboring communities that have adopted it, public safety and environmental issues, and the expense. Please contact FAS Chair Anne Hintermeister, ahintermeister@gmail.com.