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Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 914-619-5252

SPANO TO BOARD OF LEGISLATORS:
SIGN BLANK CHECK; I'LL FILL IT IN LATER

Astorino Urges Sensible Slow-Down of Vote

White Plains, NY-Sept. 4...Westchester County Executive Andy Spano (D-WFP) is strong-arming the County Board of Legislators to immediately approve a $62.5 million court settlement, which he called "the most important vote in Westchester County history", before a single detail of the below-market-rate housing settlement plan--including its true price tag--is put to paper, reform county executive candidate Rob Astorino (R-I) today said.

"Mr. Spano is asking the Board of Legislators to do what no one in his right mind would: sign a blank check that will be filled in later," Mr. Astorino said. "Mr. Spano says this settlement will cost taxpayers a whopping $62.5 million, but there are legitimate questions as to the true cost. If the county must create 750 units of housing, the cost could be five or six times that price. How can a legislator vote on this settlement before that question is definitely answered? This process must be slowed down until answers are provided."

Under the terms of Mr. Spano's legal agreement, the settlement must be ratified by the Westchester County Board of Legislators by September 25, but the details of the plan won't be submitted until December. Mr. Spano wants the vote to occur next week. (The Board of Legislators has a regular meeting scheduled for September 8th and could vote that evening.)

Mr. Astorino accused Mr. Spano of trying to rush through a vote when many county residents are just getting back from summer vacations and have not had a chance to ask questions about the plan. He called on Mr. Spano in August to hold informational town hall hearings on the settlement in municipalities that could be forced to build housing, but Mr. Spano refused.

"Westchester County has a gun to its head because the Spano Administration got caught falsifying documents," Mr. Astorino continued. "Mr. Spano is now saying the federal government will pull the trigger if taxpayers don't sign a blank check. He has put this county in a terrible situation."

The Spano Administration was sued by the Anti-Discrimination Center under the federal "False Claims Act" for mismanaging funds and falsifying certification records on $50 million in federal housing and other grants. Mr. Spano is urging county legislators to accept the $62.5 million settlement agreement--the actual cost could far exceed that--mandating that 750 units of below-market-rate housing be built in certain municipalities, which could include: Ardsley, Bedford, Briarcliff Manor, Bronxville, Buchanan, Eastchester, Hastings-on-Hudson, Harrison, Irvington, Larchmont, Lewisboro, Mount Pleasant, Mamaroneck, New Castle, North Castle, North Salem, Pelham Manor, Pleasantville, Pound Ridge, Rye Brook, City of Rye, Somers, Scarsdale, and Yorktown.