Schmitt Tries to Find Balance
As the ballots are tallied and the polls finally come to a close, the residents of Carmel and Mahopac will finally discover which candidate will fill longtime board member Robert Ravallo’s position and who will take ownership over Putnam County Legislator Anthony DiCarlo’s vacated seat.
With the focus narrowed in on a heated race amongst Peter Creegan, John Lupinacci and Jonathan Schneider, many residents have forgotten about one of the most important races of all—Carmel Town Supervisor.
Though he ran unopposed during this year’s election season, Supervisor Kenneth Schmitt finds himself racing against many of the issues that threaten the economic stability of his town. With the 2 percent tax cap jeopardizing services and town employees, Schmitt has had to roll with the punches in order to provide for the greater good.
“Every day it’s really a challenge for me when I go into work because there’s so many people that this economy is affecting,” Schmitt said. “I think we have to do our due diligence to make sure that we try to get everybody through these tough times—that’s something that I’ve been trying to do since the housing market tanked.”
As budgets have been getting tighter and tighter, municipalities across Putnam County have been struggling to maintain a decent a flow of revenue. According to Schmitt, Carmel’s mortgage tax revenue has “plummeted” over the years, leaving the board to scramble for alternative sources of funding.
“We had a $3.5 million mortgage tax revenue year in 2004 and it’s steadily declined ever since then,” Schmitt said. “This year we’re really struggling to get to $600,000.”
This year’s tentative budget is indicative of this “buyer’s market,” where revenue shortfalls have handcuffed towns into cutting services and trimming manpower. With a $25,000 decrease in funding for the Reed Memorial Library and a handful of layoffs within his tentative budget, Schmitt has tried to keep the town under the state-mandated property tax levy at 1.8 percent.
“A lot of municipalities are probably going to meet the cap, but unfortunately services are going to be impacted and programs that we were able to fund in the past are going to be impacted,” Schmitt said. “I’m just afraid that the cap is going to limit our services and that’s the last thing I want to see, but I also understand that the taxpayers are looking for relief.”
With a public hearing set for Nov. 15, residents will weigh in on whether or not the board should override the tax cap to essentially save these services. A provision within the legislation allows a municipality to overrule the cap pending 60 percent of the board votes in favor of the override.
Throughout this time of frequent rhetoric citing fiscal instability and decreasing funds, Schmitt said he looks forward to the addition of the two more councilmen to make the board complete. With Ravallo’s 23-year career as a councilmen coming to a close at the end of this year, the Carmel Town Board will lose a seasoned veteran but will gain two fresh perspectives, as DiCarlo’s empty seat will be filled, as well.
“Mr. Ravallo has what I call a ‘wealth of institutional knowledge’ and that’s hard to replace—that’s going to be a void we need to fill,” Schmitt said. “But I think what the new board members are going to bring new energy and new insight. All three candidates are very good candidates, and we’re fortunate because I could work with any of them.”
The two future board members will provide Schmitt with extra sets of eyes to help the town see its way through its current economic mess. As town supervisor, Schmitt believes his purpose is to serve as a guiding light to those who may be floundering during times of crisis.
“You have to have a lot of compassion for people, you have to have a lot of understanding of what’s going on in the community, and I think people really look to a strong leader during these economic times,” Schmitt said.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.