Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Open Space Survey topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident warns town board survey could mask proposal for transaction tax; board says survey not a tax vote
Summary
At the May 13 North Castle Town Board meeting, resident Andrew Lester criticized a conservation‑committee postcard survey that he said implied a 1–1.5% transaction tax on home sales; board members said the survey was commissioned by an outside group, not the town, and that any tax or bond would require public approval.
Andrew Lester, a North Castle resident who said he lives at 68 Byron Ridge Road, told the Town Board on May 13 that a postcard and questionnaire about open‑space funding appeared to propose a 1 to 1.5 percent transaction charge tied to home sales and warned it could depress property values.
"I think it's a dreadful idea," Lester said, arguing the survey’s phrasing and sampling resembled techniques he’d used professionally and that the package offered no cap or clear explanation of how funds would be spent. He told the board the proposal could create difficult negotiations for sellers and buyers and estimated out‑of‑pocket impacts of "$25 or $30,000" at some price points, which he described as "ridiculously high." Lester asked the board and his neighbors to scrutinize the survey before the issue advanced.
Board members and other speakers pressed Lester on the survey’s origin and intent. A board member said the survey was commissioned by the conservation committee and administered by an outside agency that resisted board input on question wording. The board clarified that the town did not pay for the survey and that, if residents later favored a funding mechanism, any tax or assessment would be subject to a separate public process or vote.
Supervisor (chair) members said the board’s intent in allowing the survey was to gather public input, not to commit the town to a special assessment. "It was never the intent to deceive the community," one member said, adding that the board would return any actual proposal to the full board and to the public for consideration and, if appropriate, a vote.
Speakers recommended routing the survey responses to the conservation committee for review and urged town officials to be transparent about funding options. Several board members said they preferred more conventional approaches—such as a bond issue for specific land purchases—because bonds present a defined spending plan and voter oversight.
What happens next: Board members asked staff to collect the survey results and route them to the conservation committee; the town indicated it would not take a position on the questionnaire’s content until results and recommendations were reviewed publicly.
