Larchmont to Begin Budget Season

 By Mayor Lorraine Walsh 

Since our fiscal year begins June 1, we must approve a final budget by May 1. Over the next two months (beginning February 7) the Board will be holding special budget sessions, in addition to our regular work sessions and monthly meetings. All of these are posted on the Village calendar and the budget sessions are open for the public to observe. The Village Finance and Budget Committee (FBC), made up of 5 Larchmont resident volunteers, will work with the Board, Administrator and Treasurer to provide citizen oversight and advice as we create the 2023 budget (budgets are named for the year in which they end). Updates about budget planning will be forthcoming.

The audit of the 2021 budget has been completed and, thanks to careful planning and management of expenses by the Board and Village staff, we closed out the year in a fiscally sound position. A summarized presentation of the Financial Statements was given to the Board by PKF O’Connor Davies at our January 10 work session. The complete Financial Statements for year-end May 31, 2021 can be found on the Village website. 

Reorganization Meeting: On December 6, we held the Village’s Reorganization meeting. This is the first meeting of the new legislative year and is always held the first Monday of the month following an election. The purpose of the meeting is to swear in newly elected officials, make appointments of public officers and volunteer committee members and other required “housekeeping” issues – my favorite being the annual designation of the Larch Tree as the official tree of Larchmont.

The December meeting was busier than usual. I had the pleasure of swearing in our two newly elected trustees, Dana Post and Brigid Brennan. Both Brigid and Dana had been serving temporarily as appointed trustees – Larchmont is lucky to have them both now serving two-year terms. Newly re-elected Justice Thea Beaver was sworn in for her 6th term by Justice Bernstein.

In addition to our elected officials, I was happy to swear in Dan Calapai as Sargent of the LPD and Chris McNerney as our new Police Chief. 

Park Renovations: The Village’s Board and Parks & Trees Committee is working with the Flint Park Conservancy on their Flint Park renovation plan. We are in the final stages of design review and should be greenlighting this capital project soon. Thanks to all those involved in this endeavor – there will be a lot of work ahead, but it will be worth it once our amazing Flint Park asset is renewed for another generation of Larchmonters to enjoy! There are also some small, but important, projects that are being considered for Turtle, Addison and Willow Parks.

Historic Preservation: After several years of effort and study, the Historic Preservation Task Force has presented the Board with draft historic preservation legislation for Larchmont. This draft is currently being reviewed by the Board – next steps will be to present it to residents for discussion.

Downtown: The Board of Trustees is considering undertaking a study of the zoning code in the RB and RC zones – these are the two retail zones that comprise the downtown areas of Larchmont. Several years ago we reviewed our residential zoning code and realized that it needed significant updates. We feel that it is important for us to now do the same for our business district to ensure that our zoning code is up to date.