The City of Peekskill plans to issue a $3 million tax anticipation note next year, the first in several years.
At the Dec. 23 Common Council meeting, Comptroller Toni Tracy said that based on her projections, they would issue the tax anticipation note in February and then pay it back in August, leaving a sustainable balance throughout that period of time.
“I did a review of the cash flow… and without issuing the $3 million tax anticipation note, the cash balances in the middle of the year [2025] definitely go to kind of an alarming level,” Tracy said.
A tax anticipation note (TAN) allows a municipality to address a timing issue. Typically, tax revenues are received twice a year (in Peekskill, April and October), but outlays must be made on a regular basis for a city to operate. A tax anticipation note allows the city to borrow enough to cover the short-term deficit, and pay the debt back once the tax revenues come in.
In an email to the Herald, Tracy wrote that the tax anticipation note would be handled through Munistat, the city’s financial firm. She noted the interest rate for the note is not yet known, but the August renewal of the Bond Anticipation Note for Oakwood Drive was issued at 4 percent.
When asked why this shortfall was not presented during the fall 2024 budget discussions, Tracy wrote, “It was too preliminary to make the decision at budget time. It was best to obtain more actual financial information for 2024.” She also noted tax anticipation notes are a relatively common practice for municipalities that do not issue tax bills until April, but did not indicate if issuing a TAN would affect the city’s credit rating or ability to borrow in the future.
In her Dec. 23 presentation to the council, Tracy noted the city did not issue tax anticipation notes between 2021 and 2023 because it received American Rescue Plan funds, $1.2 million at least two years in a row.
“Having those balances kind of pushed us out a little bit that we didn’t require the note,” Tracy said. “But now we’re back in the position of needing to do that, but it would be issued for $3 million. We’d pay the $3 million off in six months and then there’s no outstanding debt after that.”
A retirement bill (the city’s contributions to pensions) that is typically paid in December is being put off until February, because it is an option on the bill, Tracy said, with the taxes not being collected until April.
“We have that about four month gap where we don’t really have any sufficient amounts of revenue coming in,” Tracy said. “But once April comes, the tax bills go out, and then we start receiving. Revenue in April is about $18 million based on the history I’ve looked at so that’s the time we can start considering paying it back.”
Also during the meeting, council members, barring Councilman Brian Fassett who was not present, unanimously voted to renew the city’s various insurance policies, as quoted by the broker Alliant. The premiums will increase by 11.2 percent, from $802,963 in 2024 to $906,711 for 2025. This includes a $60,000 broker fee from Alliant, a 9 percent increase from 2024.
Types of insurance include commercial property, public entity liability policy, commercial crime, cyber liability, flood (10 South Water St.), active assailant. The entities covered in the public entity liability policy have a self-insured retention (SIR), which is a pre-specified amount that must be paid by the City of Peekskill before the insurance company policy will respond to a loss or claim. For general, automobile and employee benefits liabilities, the SIR is $250,000, the same as 2024. For law enforcement, public officials, and enforcement practices liabilities, the SIR will increase to $500,000 from $250,000.
The full list of percentage differences from 2024 to 2025 can be viewed here.
Depew Park awarded $675,000, security discussed at 901 Main St., traffic data deployed
Depew Park was awarded $675,000 in a grant, City Manager Matt Alexander announced during his quality of life report at the Dec. 23 Common Council meeting. The city had applied for these funds in July, as part of its consolidated funding application submitted to various state agencies for different projects.
The grant, which will require a match, seeks to add additional facilities: a mini soccer pitch, basketball court, and improved trail signage.
“It’s going to look to put some of the finer touches onto Depew Park after we’ve done this big work that we’ve just finished,” Alexander said in reference to renovations at the park. He did not indicate when the funds would be received.
Alexander also said he had a meeting with Mark Soja, the president of Marathon Development Group, to discuss security measures at 901 Main St and reassure tenants of their safety. This came after Alexander and State Sen. Peter Harckham met with Peekskill Plaza tenants who reported quality of life issues including crime in their building.
One 901 Main St. tenant reported to the Herald that cameras were installed on their floor on Thursday, December 26 and they expected that cameras to be installed on all floors by this week.
“The issues that I heard the tenants tell me [at the meeting with State Sen. Harckham]… I told you about at the last manager’s report,” Alexander said. “So not all issues that I heard mentioned were ones that we had gotten to the bottom of. So we are investigating complaints made to the city, and we take them up with finding out real data about them.”
Alexander also reported that Peekskill Police Department deployed a traffic data collector made by Stalker Street Dynamics two weeks ago that is collecting speed and traffic data up until next week to give better information about what issues pedestrians and drivers are having to deal with.
The city manager also met with the firm Allee King Rosen & Fleming to discuss putting in special technology that would allow the city to diagnose what issues are occurring with pedestrian lights and make them more responsive.
Other updates to quality of life included the first set of snow violations which totaled 19 compared to when the city had its first snow last year, the newly hired fire inspector compiling a list of all three family dwellings and trying to set up fire inspections, and the Building Department continuing contact with the new owners of the old White Plains Linen site on Highland and North Division to communicate city requirements in securing and maintaining the site.
Resolution to obtain insurance package for Cortlandt-Peekskill RPS, Inc. entity removed from agenda
All resolutions on the Common Council’s agenda passed unanimously, except for one item which City Manager Alexander asked to be removed from the agenda.
This resolution sought to approve the use of Public Employer Risk Management Association (PERMA), a member-owned, not-for-profit association of public entities, for workers compensation coverage for the paramedics program with the Town of Cortlandt.
Though at the previous meeting several council members urged to take care of the resolution before the end of the year, the council unanimously voted to remove the item from the agenda.
