The harsh budget reality confronting all cities is that many of our major expenses fall outside of local control. Here in New York, Exhibit A is the State retirement system — the pension fund managed by New York State’s Comptroller. Each year, Albany sends us a bill that varies depending on how well the fund performed in the stock market and a variety of other factors. If there’s any shortfall, the State constitution makes local municipalities largely responsible for filling in the gap.

And that gap can be extraordinary. New Rochelle’s contribution to the pension fund is escalating by about 20% a year, and now soaks up more than 1 in 5 property tax dollars sent to the City government. It’s a huge and growing problem, and that is why reforming the State pension system must be an urgent priority for State lawmakers.

This week I joined mayors and county executives from across the state in a bipartisan coalition called New York Leaders for Pension Reform. Our goal is to make sure that Albany legislators understand how important pension reform is to the fiscal health of local governments, and urge them to pass Governor Cuomo’s pension reform plan.

In truth, the measure proposed by the Governor is only a starting point, because its fiscal benefits would be felt over the long-term, and shorter-term relief is also needed. But I applaud Governor Cuomo for placing this issue front and center in this year’s State budget debate, and I encourage our representatives in Albany to support his proposals.

Acting on a recent engineering analysis that convincingly illustrated the benefits of relocating the City’s Public Works Yard to Beechwood Avenue, a 6 to 1 bipartisan Council majority voted on Tuesday to issue bonds in the amount of $600,000 to fund the design of a new DPW facility. This is a significant step toward moving the Public Works Yard away from our waterfront, thereby creating opportunities for shoreline development, parkland, and public access.

Detailed design is the necessary precursor to construction. To move forward to the next phase, the Council would have to vote again next year on a larger bond resolution, estimated at about $12.5 million.

These are big numbers, and they rightly give many Council Members pause, especially at a time when money is very tight. But it is essential to recognize that relocating the Public Works Yard to Beechwood Avenue is the least costly option. Therefore, acting on this priority now makes sense not only from an operational and planning perspective, but also from a fiscal perspective. For more details, please see my post on this subject from last month.

I applaud the Council for its decisive action.

Drivers and commuters beware — the first phase of a major construction project on North Avenue is about to get underway. Beginning February 23, you should expect detours in the area of Burling Lane, Garden Street, and Station Plaza North. Then, in mid-April, alternating lane closures on North Avenue itself will affect traffic even more. Drivers should expect delays and choose alternate routes whenever possible, and commuters should keep in mind the western entrance/exit to the Transit Center on Memorial Highway.

Why is this happening?

The North Avenue bridge than spans I-95 has reached the end of its useful life, and because of safety considerations, it must be replaced. This project is being directed and undertaken by the New York State Thruway Authority, not the City, and our local influence over the Thruway Authority’s actions is very limited.

While the City will advocate strongly for minimum disruption and speedy completion, I don’t want to kid you: this is going to be a major inconvenience … and it will last a long time. The first phase alone, which entails utility relocation, is expected to take about 18 months. Although at least one lane of traffic in both directions will be open for most of that period, there is no doubt that bottlenecks and delays will be frequent.

The second construction phase promises even more disruptions, as the entire bridge is slated to be demolished and replaced. But that won’t start until 2015, and we’ll just cross that bridge when we come to it. (Yes, that was a very bad joke.)

The City’s team will be working hard to provide timely information, so that all of us can plan around this project and reduce the impact on our daily schedules. As construction proceeds, there will be updated signage, bulletins on the web, and automated phone messages as warranted. Make sure to sign up for alerts or visit newrochelleny.com/northaveconstruction for details about the project.

There is one piece of good news: when the project is finally finished, the new bridge will be more efficient, safe, and attractive. But we’ll have to put up with a lot of headaches between now and then.

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Representative Nita Lowey announced this week that the New Rochelle Fire Department will receive a Federal grant of more than $300,000 to replace special equipment for fighting difficult fires.

Thermal imaging cameras used to locate individuals inside a burning building will be replaced utilizing a Department of Homeland Security grant. And gear that allows firefighters to breathe while inside smoke-filled structures will be upgraded. This equipment will help make our Fire Department even more effective, while contributing to the safety of New Rochelle’s Fire Fighters.

Grants such as these are especially important at a time when New Rochelle, like all cities, is wrestling with ongoing fiscal challenges.

Last year, the New Rochelle Business Improvement District (BID) launched a Small Business Support Program aimed at helping local businesses reach new customers and lower their expenses. As part of that initiative, the BID sponsored free energy audits to identify equipment improvements that can lower operating costs, and worked with Con Edison and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to provide incentives for making energy improvements.

That program has already been hugely successful, helping to make changes that save business owners over $100,000 annually on their energy costs. And the equipment improvements made as part of this Energy Savings Program are good for more than the bottom line, they are also good for the environment: that reduced energy consumption is the equivalent of pulling 85 cars permanently off the road.

You can read more about the success of this program on the BID’s website.

On Thursday, March 1st, I will deliver my seventh State of the City Address at the Davenport Club on Davenport Avenue. This annual event is open to the public, so please consider attending.

The speech, which starts at about 7:45 pm, is free and requires no ticket.

If you would like to attend a dinner prior to the speech, sponsored by the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, then please contact the Chamber at 914-632-5700 to make a reservation. The ticket price for dinner is $35 in advance ($40 at the door, if they don’t sell out). Cocktails start at 6:00 pm and dinner begins at 7:00 pm. I start speaking while people are munching on dessert and sipping after-dinner coffee. Experienced attendees will have also fortified themselves with a couple of glasses of wine.

Catie and I hope to see you there.

My community spotlight series takes a look at some of the interesting businesses and establishments that give New Rochelle its unique character and about which many residents may be unaware.

Trinity St. Paul’s Church at 311 Huguenot Street has long been one of our community’s most beloved historic sites (with many connections to New Rochelle’s original Huguenot settlers), as well as a vibrant house of worship. Now, with the establishment of the Parish House PAC, Trinity St. Paul’s can lay claim to another distinction: performance and arts center.

Spearheaded by local entertainment producer Eric Woodlin, the PAC House Theater has seating for more than 100 and has already featured outstanding performances from Blues Mothers, Helen Sung’s Electric Company, and Spare Change Comedy.

At look ahead at February’s line-up demonstrates the breadth of offerings. On February 11th, singer, songwriter, and guitarist KJ Denhert performs with an acclaimed group of musicians. On February 18th, five NYU Tisch School MFA students take the stage to present a theater festival of short plays. And on February 25th, there will be a reading of an original play “The Cupcake Conspiracy” by Westchester’s C.J. Ehrlich and Philip J. Kaplan.

You can learn more and get performance details at the Parish House PAC website. And you can reserve seats at SmartTix (212)-868-4444.

The Parish House PAC is also open to the public for special event rentals, theater and music productions. Those Interested in booking the venue should send an email to parishhousepac@gmail.com.

As described in this post, the City aims to undertake a comprehensive review of municipal operations, service levels, and spending priorities, with the goal of improving efficiency and better respecting resource constraints in coming years.

During the past two weeks, the City Council appointed fifteen citizen volunteers to lead this effort. They are (in alphabetical order): Judith Berger, David Bieber, Michael Boyle Sr., Emily Bromberg, Kyran Cassidy, Matthew Costa, Michael D’Ambrosio, Jeffrey Hastie, Linda Kelly-Fauci, Bo Kemp, Todd Kern, Martha Lopez-Hanratty, David Peters, Ann Rolett, and John Rorer. Together, they bring to this challenge diverse perspectives and a wealth of experience in financial and organizational analysis. I am grateful to each of the Panel members for their anticipated service.

From this outstanding group, the Council selected Todd Kern to serve as the Panel’s Chairperson, a difficult role that demands a serious time commitment and a talent for collaborative leadership. Todd is more than up to the job, as you can see from his background, and we are lucky that he has consented to this assignment. We’ll also benefit from the pro bono consulting services of North Avenue Research, led by New Rochelle resident Mark Grotevant.

The number of qualified applicants for the Panel exceeded the number of available positions. As a result, we had no choice but to turn down many offers from capable residents. The Panel’s activities should include opportunities for public input, so I hope that those who were not selected will still choose to contribute to this process.

I will be a member of the Panel myself and look forward to rolling up my sleeves and taking an active role in its deliberations.

The Panel will convene in February and work through July, with recommendations generated in time to help shape New Rochelle’s 2013 budget.

The Wall Street Journal this weekend published a positive overview of New Rochelle’s real estate market, drawing particular attention to the several large developments that have transformed New Rochelle’s downtown since the 1990s. The Journal also notes the effect the current economic downturn has had on new construction, but overall sees continuing progress in the city’s downtown and shoreline, while praising the neighborhoods that have made New Rochelle an attractive place to live for decades.

For several years, New Rochelle has worked with developers Forest City Residential to improve the Echo Bay waterfront. The potential of our shoreline is significant — the right kind of development could enhance recreational opportunities, strengthen neighborhoods, and improve our economy. But achieving these goals means surmounting significant environmental and financial hurdles. The complexities of the site, together with the weakness of the national economy, have forced us to delay the project and to reevaluate many of its components.

The public-private agreement that describes a project’s components and defines the responsibilities of involved parties is called a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). When the City Council last extended Forest City’s MOU one year ago, we simultaneously launched analyses of: (1) the public costs and benefits associated with waterfront development; (2) options for the modernization of the City’s public works yard; and (3) the adaptive re-use potential of the former Armory on East Main Street. These studies were funded by Forest City Residential, but conducted independently by the City, without any influence from the developer.

Now that these studies have been completed, the City Council, City staff, and the developers need a little time to digest the information and consider the prospects and terms for moving forward. With this in mind, the City Council voted last night to extend Forest City’s MOU by 60 days. The vote should not be seen as a judgment on the merits of the project, but rather as a brief interim step intended to ensure that decision-making is guided by a complete understanding of our choices.

When the 60-day extension expires in the late winter/early spring, we’ll have a much bigger debate about whether and how to renew our partnership with Forest City. I remain fully committed to the goal of revitalizing New Rochelle’s waterfront and will keep that objective foremost in mind as we evaluate next steps.