I hope everyone enjoyed the Independence Day fireworks as much as I did. The beautiful weather more than made up for the one day delay in the show. I would like to thank Joe Archino and the entire Recreation Department for putting together another great display. Additionally, thank you to the FACE Committee and all the Penguin Plungers who made the event possible. Lastly, thank you to the Volunteer Fire Department, Ambulance Corps and Police Department for keeping us all safe.
A few updates for you:
Unpaid Parking Ticket Lookup
The Village has been using an automated ticketing system for a number of years which has helped us run more effectively and efficiently than ever. Our automated system even allows those with unpaid parking tickets to pay them online. We have just extended this convenience by implementing a new parking ticket lookup system. Just have your plate number handy and you’ll be able to see if you have any unpaid parking tickets issued by the Village of Irvington – and, of course, pay them online. Here’s a link to the new online lookup and payment tool: http://ow.ly/yFgTg
Overnight Parking Discussion
For the past 50 years, the Village has had a restriction on overnight parking on nearly all Village streets. Specifically, the law on our books limits parking to no more than 1 hour between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. This prohibits overnight parking for all practical purposes. However, some streets are exempted from this prohibition and, interestingly, for some streets there is a prohibition on some days of the week and not others. A link to this convoluted code is here: http://ow.ly/yExyx
My colleagues and I on the Board of Trustees would like to discuss these regulations more completely to see if there is still a need for them to exist. We have yet to identify a legitimate reason for these regulations, although one may exist. We plan to review the history of these regulations at our worksession on July 16 at 7:00 p.m. in Village Hall and we would be happy to receive input from our residents.
Property Inspections
The Town of Greenburgh along with the City of Yonkers and Town of Ossining are undertaking a revaluation of all properties for assessment purposes. In order to complete the revaluation, it is necessary for a representative from the appraisal firm, Tyler Technologies, to inspect each property in those communities. Inspections are currently taking place in the Town of Greenburgh and its Villages, with inspections expected to begin in Irvington later this month.
At the July 21 meeting of the Board of Trustees, representatives from Tyler Technologies and the Town of Greenburgh Assessor’s Office will make a presentation about the upcoming property inspections and the revaluation process. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Village Hall.
More information about the Greenburgh Reassessment Project can be found here: http://ow.ly/ys28J
Leaves
For those that did not follow the budget process closely, the Board of Trustees enacted a budget that eliminated curbside pickup of loose leaves. Residents will be required to bag leaves in biodegradable paper bags or open containers for collection. Although many may view this as a significant cutback in Village services, I think it is important to point out that the budget did not make any cuts in our Department of Public Works budget, despite the change in leaf pickup method. As you’ve probably seen over the years, picking up loose leaves required a significant amount of labor and equipment. By only picking up leaves in bags, we will be able to better use our resources to address more pressing infrastructure issues like potholes, sidewalks, and drainage. I personally feel that it is more important to address these pressing issues rather than mobilize large crews to chase leaves around! I’m sure I will be writing about this topic a few more times before the fall, but I wanted you to know early so you could plan accordingly.
I hope to see you around the Village, please never hesitate to contact me with thoughts and concerns.
Brian C. Smith
bsmith@irvingtonny.gov