Steve Gold's Page

The City of Beacon is taking every precaution possible to be sure that this year’s pub crawl does not result in the same disruptive behavior as did last year’s event. This event has been getting progressively larger and last year’s disturbance was the culmination of the out of control behavior that has marked this event i

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Just a clarification since I’ve had several inquiries based on the headlines of the Beacon Free Press from last week. The Tuesday January 19th meeting will contain a public hearing titled RD 1.7. This pertains to the property north and adjacent to the location where the Beacon TOD zone is being considered. It is commonly referred to as the Edgewater property. It is accessed by going west on Tompkins Avenue. I think it was appropriate to identify it as a TOD related zone because of it’s proximity… Continue

The city council is reviewing zoning on the waterfront and the Fishkill Creek. These new zones are an outgrowth of the Comprehensive Plan and developers who have expressed interest in the city. The city intends to move carefully with the developments listed and each project is subject to full Planning Board review, traffic studies, public hearings and environmental impact evaluations.

For the city council to make an informed decision regarding zoning we commissioned an independent fiscal impact… Continue

One Monday December 21 the Beacon City Council passed the 2010 budget which included a 9.9% increase from 2009 for homestead properties and a 2.4% increase for non-homestead. The tax levy will be 7,581,203. The homestead tax rate will be 5.83 per 1,000 of assessed value. That translates into a home valued at 300,000 will pay $1,748, an increase over last year of $159 or $13 a month. The reason for the increase is attributed to the extreme reduction of sales tax related revenue and the city’s dec… Continue

On Monday December 21, 2009 at 7:00 the City Council will vote on the most difficult budget the city has faced in recent memories. Despite the fact that expenses have been reduced to below 2009 levels, we are facing an increase in taxes beyond any that the council or I want to levy. The heart of the problem stems from a combined loss of nearly two million dollars in 2009 and 2010 of sales tax related revenues.

Over the last few weeks, with the assistance of City Administrator Meredith Robson an… Continue