Kesten Speaks on Taxes & Infrastructure at Yorktown Town Hall

At a town hall gathering on February 26 at VFW Post 8328 in Yorktown Heights, NY, State Senate District 40 Democratic Candidate Robert Kesten discussed the issue of property taxes and their relationship to infrastructure investment.

During the meeting Kesten talked about how government arrives at property tax assessments, why there are different rates in different communities and why a town like Greenwich, CT has dramatically lower assessments than Brewster or Peekskill.

In a room filled with people from various towns, villages, counties and political affiliations, Kesten talked about the need for better and affordable transit and housing and how such improvements would translate into lower property taxes as they increase the sustainability levels of local businesses.

Kesten explained to the audience that streamlining the healthcare system and moving to a single payer process while keeping your private doctors and hospitals - not socialized medicine - would shave billions of dollars off of local homeowners’ property taxes and raise property values overnight. In addition, Kesten called for greater investment in, and support of, the local business community in order to increase town and village activity to avoid the blight that comes from empty and darkened store windows.

“If, for example, we want to see Cortlandt and its villages and hamlets survive the Indian Point closing,” said Kesten, “building a stronger infrastructure and working more closely with its neighbors will be essential to ensuring citizens the opportunities they will need to achieve economic success”.

Kesten noted that elected officials will only be as successful as the citizens who elect them have their backs and hold their feet to the fire.

“I promise to be a full-time senator and hold one or two town hall meetings each month,” he said, “taking my responsibility as a provider of information most sacred. This is not about creating good public relations; it is about keeping good citizens well informed so they can make intelligent decisions about their families, homes and communities”.

Kesten’s next town hall will be at the New Castle Town Hall at 7 PM on March 14th with the focus on gun safety and the US Constitution. Additionally, on April 17 a town hall will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brewster on the topic of opioids and addiction.

# # #