Town Hall: Essential Services

Local State of Emergency

Pursuant to New York State Executive Law on March 17, 2020 New Castle Town Supervisor Ivy A. Pool issued a Proclamation of Local State of Emergency to protect life and health and to control the emergency situation. The State of Local Emergency, shall continue to be in effect for an additional thirty (30) days and shall terminate on May 14, 2020, unless sooner rescinded or extended.

Under the Local State of Emergency, the following changes to municipal operations are hereby in effect:

The Town has suspended or rescheduled most Board and Commission meetings. A list of virtual meetings for the Month of April is here: https://www.mynewcastle.org/DocumentCenter/View/1698/New-Castle-Meeting-Schedule-and-Viewing-Links-April-2020
All programs and Town facilities are closed, including the Community Center, which includes the Senior Center, the Art Center, and the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center.
Town Hall is closed to the public, however, all departments are operating. For all routine business, please call or email Town Hall. You can reach us at 914-238-4771/2 or www.mynewcastle.org.
Police Department will remain open to the public.
There is a locked, drop box for paperwork outside of the police department for all Town Hall payments and correspondence. The Town strongly recommends providing payment via mail or online. For questions, call 914-238-4742. Items that will not fit in the lockbox must be checked in with the Police Department. Do not leave unattended parcels in the lobby.
All Town of New Castle Recreation programs are suspended until further notice. If you are currently registered and enrolled in a Town of New Castle Recreation program, you will receive a pro-rated refund or account credit. Registration for spring programs is suspended, and summer programs will be accepted online only.
Meals on Wheels will continue to provide home-delivered meals as scheduled. If you would like to assist with the delivery of meals, please sign up as a driver by contacting Christine Grey (cgrey@mynewcastle.org) or Bess Steiger (bsteiger@mynewcastle.org). If you know of any Seniors who may be in need of assistance, please call the Recreation office at 914-238-3909.

Property Taxes

County and local tax bills were mailed to residents on April 1st. The deadline to pay your taxes is April 30th. The Westchester County Board of Legislators is currently considering legislation to greatly reduce penalties for late payment, to provide relief to all residents and those that have suffered economic hardship due to COVID-19.

The Town of New Castle has advocated for residents and supports this proposal. We will communicate with you when the details are known. However, we ask all residents – if you can pay on time, please do! Our local budget and the services we provide depend on these revenues. Unlike federal and state income tax, which is usually withheld throughout the year and sometimes refunded as a result of the annual filing, local and County taxes are collected through this annual process.

As Town Hall is closed to the public- and that includes the tax office, there are alternative options for hand delivering your tax bill to the tax office. They include a drop box outside the police station that is available 24/7 and paying on-line at mynewcastle.org.

COVID 19 Impact on the Town of New Castle Budget

Rest assured that the New Castle Town Board is deeply engaged in reviewing the Town’s budget and determining how revenues and expenditures may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. At our Board meeting on March 24^th, we were joined by Town Comptroller Rob Deary who lead us in a review of the budget impact of COVID-19. Here are some highlights:

The Town finances remain strong. We currently have $21,000,000 in the bank.
We have enough cash to meet our obligations at this time.
Variable sources of revenue will be affected by the economic downturn: Sales tax, mortgage tax, summer camps, parking permits, building permits, and tax penalties.
In terms of expenditures: It is difficult to gauge the Town’s expenditure performance for the year at this point.
Snow removal expenditures have been significantly below budget.
Some potential areas for reduction in expenditures include Road Paving and Camps/Recreation Programs (if needed!)

To view the full presentation by Comptroller Deary, please visit:

https://nccmc.ompnetwork.org/sessions/131469/town-board-of-new-castle-work-session-meeting-3-24-20

Thank you to Rob for his quick work compiling this information and preparing a briefing for the Town Board. It is reassuring to have Rob’s steady hand and experience guiding our finances during these troubled times!

Town Board Passes Emergency Financial Measures to Address Impact of COVID-19

On March 24^th the Town Board passed four emergency financial measures:

Establishing Purchasing Limits: All Town purchases over $3000 are limited to essential items only, subject to Town Board approval, and with additional justification required to explain why the items are essential and necessary at this time.
Limiting Overtime: No overtime will be approved except in the case of an emergency (e.g., snowstorm) and only with prior approval from the Town Administrator, with an exemption for the New Castle Police Department.
Limiting New Hires: No "non-essential" employees will be hired will during the emergency. Essential employees are limited to filling existing vacancies. No new positions.
Extending Parking Permits: The calendar year for parking permits will be extended by 1 month to provide some temporary relief to residents and to delay the start date in response to current work-from-home orders.

Trash Collection and Recycling

Although our recycling center is closed at this time, residents should be aware that Sani-Pro continues their weekly curbside pick-up of household recycling and garbage. In addition, curbside pick-up of yard waste began this week. Please check the pick-up calendar for your schedule. For refuse and recycling information generally: https://mynewcastle.org/180/Recycling-Refuse-Unit

Sani-Pro Calendar

Recreation and Parks Spring 2020 Programs

The Town of New Castle Recreation & Parks Department is currently postponing the scheduled start date of all Spring Programming until further notice. In doing so we will also close registration at this time until we have determined a new start date for Spring programs. If you have already registered, we will keep your registration active unless you instruct us otherwise. This will keep your “spot” in the program for which you have registered. Once the Department has chosen a new start date, fees will be prorated to be in line with the new session length and those who have already registered will be given a credit.

The Recreation Department will continue to accept Summer Camp registration online only here.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call us at 914-238-3909. Thank you.