Budget
In a separate email, you may have seen that our Tentative Budget for 2019/20 has been released. A summary of the budget and a link to the full budget document is available on the Village web site. If adopted, the budget reflects a slight increase to the tax rate of just under one-tenth of one percent. For an average property owner with an assessed valuation of $1,186,600, Village taxes will increase by approximately $7.11.
Please take a moment to review the budget summary. The Board of Trustees will continue a public hearing on the budget on Monday, April 15, 2019 at 7pm in Village Hall. I look forward to any comments or questions you may have.
Goose Talk
For many people, “goose” is a 4-letter word. For anyone that has visited one of our beautiful parks, you have likely encountered Canadian geese and you are certainly familiar with what they leave behind. Our Parks Department and our Parks Superintendent Joe Archino, have struggled mightily over the years to solve the goose problem in our parks.
Unfortunately, this email isn’t about how we solved a problem. It’s more about highlighting the often Herculean efforts the Recreation Department has made over the years to attempt to solve the problem with some successes and some failures.
For over 20 years, we’ve been using a launcher pistol to make a noise that makes it uncomfortable for the geese to stay in our parks. It’s one of the few methods that has worked over an extended period of time. Over the years, we’ve tried many different ideas – Sprays, balloons, Mylar tape, trained dogs, red pepper, black pepper, grape Kool Aid, lasers, screamers, bangers, fake dead geese, rubber and cardboard coyotes, different types of lights and more.
We have signs posted in the park about our use of the launcher pistols. Some park users are startled by the sound, although we do our best to warn people ahead of time.
One of the main problems, aside from the fact that the geese don’t seem to migrate much anymore, is that they like low cut grass. Our parks are filled with it. Just like humans, the geese seem to like the river, too. We’re fortunate to have two beautiful parks on the Hudson River and the geese show their appreciation every day!
Again, I wasn’t writing to tell you that the goose problem has been solved. I wanted you to have a sense of what our capable parks staff are battling every day to make our parks comfortable for our human visitors and uncomfortable for the geese.
And Finally…
I want to congratulate Coach Gina Maher and the Irvington Varsity Girls Basketball Team on capturing the New York State Class B Federation Championship, their fifth overall championship and fourth in the last ten years. Plans are already in the works to honor our champions – details coming soon.
Sincerely,
Brian C. Smith, Mayor
bsmith@irvingtonny.gov