Building a fiscally responsible future in Glen Cove

Summer is here, and now is the time that Glen Covers look forward to enjoying beaches, parks and other outdoor amenities. Preserving and maintaining these and other natural assets is critical, and requires investment and fiscal discipline.

The City of Glen Cove, with its historic charm and coastal beauty, stands at a pivotal moment. After years of fiscal instability, including deficits, interfund borrowing and reliance on one-time revenues, I have been advocating for fiscal discipline through longer-term planning, minimizing tax incentives for developers and generating new revenue streams.

As a City Council member, I implemented several new fiscal policies, and in 2023, the city achieved a “No Fiscal Stress” designation, signaling a turning point that took several years to achieve. While improvements have been made, Glen Cove continues to rely on unreliable sources such as using one-shot revenues for operating expenses. The challenge is to build on the city’s improved status, while eliminating poor practices, thereby creating a more fiscally sound foundation for the future.

Effective municipal finance begins with a multi-year outlook rather than year-to-year decision-making. According to the 2018 audit by the state comptroller, Glen Cove lacked a formal multi-year financial plan, relying instead on debt and interfund transfers to plug budget gaps.

Even when operating surpluses occurred, they were created by selling off city property such as the waterfront property for Garvies Point — a one-shot revenue, not fiscal discipline. When economic uncertainties arise, increased fiscal discipline can and will sustain essential services without resorting to quick fixes such as selling assets or implementing water fees and other hidden “taxes” for Glen Cove taxpayers.

To create a fiscally sound foundation, we must minimize tax breaks for developers. Historically, Glen Cove has issued overly generous payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements to stimulate development. They theoretically help fund growth, but often left the city with reduced tax revenue and without enough new revenue sources.

In addition, the PILOT for Garvies Point revitalization included a payment schedule based on building completion, and erroneously did not include a required timeline for construction. This has resulted in the city and school district receiving no tax revenue from this development since 2023, and they will not receive revenue until further development is completed, which may not ever occur. Yet the city is still required to provide services for the Garvies Point buildings. This was a bad deal for Glen Cove.

We should learn from this mistake and make better decisions going forward. I strongly believe that in order to encourage appropriate development with fiscal prudence, Glen Cove should 1) cap PILOT terms in order to ensure that projects return to the tax rolls within a fixed period, and 2) require developers seeking city approvals to provide community benefits such as contributions to affordable-housing requirements, infrastructure support for first responder agencies, water infrastructure, and other tangible community benefits.

Strengthening incentive packages for projects with measurable community benefits (such as public amenities) ensures that development supports both growth and fiscal stability.

A pillar of fiscal soundness is increasing new revenue streams without raising taxes. Sustaining Glen Cove’s services and infrastructure while diversifying taxes requires innovative approaches that draw on the city’s existing assets, natural resources and strategic locations. By leveraging grants, partnerships and income-generating opportunities that don’t rely on resident contributions, the city can diversify its revenue in a fiscally responsible manner. Utilizing such methods will lighten the burden on property taxes while allowing the city to maintain service levels and invest in future growth.

Glen Cove’s recent “No Fiscal Stress” rating and credit upgrade mark a milestone. While it took several years of incremental improvements, it is just the beginning. Maintaining and further improving the city’s fiscal health will require making systematic choices that prioritize planning, accountability and equitable growth, including multiyear budgeting, preventing dependence on one-shot revenues, creating new revenue streams, and limiting developer incentives to ensure that short-term gains don’t compromise long-term fiscal soundness.

Placing fiscal discipline at the center of decision-making, through disciplined implementation and transparent stewardship, the city can create opportunities for public amenities such as a community center. It can chart a path of prosperity built on solidarity, fairness and shared responsibility, without shifting the tax burden onto its residents.

Let’s stop selling Glen Cove out.

Marsha Silverman is a member of the Glen Cove City Council.