Four years ago my wife and I moved to Little Falls, we found a beautiful home in a bucolic setting. Not being familiar with the area, my biggest concern was whether Little Falls was a city on the rise or a town whose best days were behind it. I decided to speak with some local business owners to get their input. I found their answers to be full of hope for the future and trust in town leaders. At least that’s what I remember, I can’t ask them if they agree with my assessment because both they and their businesses are now gone. This week, I am joining them, my wife and I have sold our home and are leaving. Goodbye Little Falls, ultimately you made our decision for us.
The future of Little Falls, if it is to have one, lies in its ability to attract young middle-class, working families. Families who are looking for reasonably priced starter homes and a safe community for their kids. New homes represent a financial and spiritual commitment to an area, expand the tax base, and, most importantly, new families with discretionary income will provide the monetary oxygen for new downtown businesses, a downtown that is currently teetering on fiscal life support.
One would think this would be relatively easy to figure out and implement, Economics 101. After all, if there is one thing Little Falls has, it’s land. Just ask any solar panel production company. I am assessed a five-figure school tax bill every year so while I can’t speak to quality, I can certainly speak to cost. As for safety, well, I have never seen shinier police and fire trucks anywhere. So then why are no new homes being built, where are the young families? And yes, why am I leaving?
For four years I have been forced to adhere to an unfair and punitive tax policy championed by the inept lunacy of unqualified city officials. The recent, damning New York State Comptrollers report outlining the gross fiscal mismanagement of the City came as no surprise to me. The ludicrously high tax rates in Little Falls, based on an antiquated, convoluted, and overly complex formulation, absolutely crushes all incentive for young families to buy new homes or developers to build them. You cannot have new home construction with affordable tax rates when the average home in Little Falls is assessed at less than the cost of a fully-loaded Ford F150. Don’t believe me? Figure out the Little Falls tax bill on new home construction assessed at a mere $275,000.
Little Falls needs to hire a professional city manager and controller. Better educated and more experienced minds need to re-structure city and school tax formulations with revised property assessments. New home construction and small business development should be incentivized, not bludgeoned. Property assessments need to focus on formulas to stimulate middle-class housing growth, not discourage it.
Finally, I met many fine, smart people in Little Falls. But a city, through its executive leadership, needs to give back to taxpayers, show some visible signs of progress to its residents. All I have experienced from City Hall is an unrelenting taking, too much was never enough and I still can’t get a pothole fixed. So, Little Falls, from a person who no longer has a dog in this hunt, you are in trouble; and no one will be rooting louder for you to turn it around than me.
Peter Ulasewicz
Little Falls (before yesterday)
Comrade Ulasewicz makes funny joke that he pay too high tax on $680,000 domicile in outskirts of city while fire department polishes Brezhnev-era vehicles. This not airport, comrade. Not needing announce departure.
I wonder if this was the same opinion of Little Falls that the writer gave to the buyer of his house. I’ll bet it was not.
We recently moved back to Little Falls from a city where almost everything is new. What was missing was beauty, character, no traffic, and a walkable community. We’re not the only ones who have lived elsewhere and returned to the city we love.
I have lived in many beautiful and cultured cities since leaving Little Falls. The few times I have been able to return, Little Falls has always continued to surprise me with its beauty and tranquility. Money should never be a reason for compromise when it comes to the character and history of Little Falls. I am sure it will endure and continue to attract people of all backgrounds. I hope it only makes changes for the better, not commercial development alone.
John Donadio “JD”
Since leaving home in 1967 to serve in the Army I have lived in 5 of 7 continents and 8 separate countries. I have told people time and again how fortunate I was to grow up when I did, where I did and with who I did. There must be a way to attract business to the area. Suspend property taxes for 10 years for new companies. Any new residents get a 4 year property tax forgiveness. Impose a half-percent sales tax increase, a revenue stream small enough to withstand the urge to shop out of town but a source of revenue to offset property taxes. When confronted with problems there are only four available solutions, change the situation, let the situation change you, do nothing or leave. It time to change the situation. It is and always has been a vert special place! Band concerts in Eastern and Western Park in the summer, ice skating on Monroe Street in the winter, what would it take to reinstate that? While I’m pontificating, why not the summer parks program again? Remember those? They even came with bus trips to Kyser and Pine Lake. Impose a 1/2% sales tax increase, small enough to be affordable but hopefully enough to cover the cost of the program. Stipulate that the revenue generated by the sales tax increase can only be used for the summer parks program. We can then promote shopping at home for the right reasons, for the good of the children. In life, when confronted with a problem there is only four possible solutions..1. change the situation, 2. Lets the situation change you, 3, Do nothing or, 4. Leave. Lets do the math! Weekly retail sales currently in Little Falls is..bear with me..$450,000 all sources. A 1/2% sales tax increase would generate an additional $2250/week. If you tell and show the citizens where the money will be spent, they will support it but fight the urge to fund anything else with the money or you will lose their trust and confidence! Over a year that would be $117,000.00. Open up 5 parks around the city, Furnace Street, South Side, Monroe Street, Church Street and Moreland Park. Hire college students home for the summer to staff them and put them under the supervision of some school employee who would like to supplement their income and go from there!! Five Parks with two each plus one supervisor for a total of eleven employees. Two weeks in June, four weeks each in July and August for a total of 10 weeks, Compensate the school employee $500.00 per week and the college students $300.00 per week. This was done in the 60’s why not today. Little Falls is worth saving! It was a special place before it can be a special place again. Remember…”If you build it…they will come!”,,Build it!! None of this is in the too hard to do box. Get imaginative. Remember..four choices..make the correct one!!!