With the calender turning over from 2014 to 2015, inquiring Garden City residents want to know the state of finances with both the public schools and local government. During its most recent meeting, the Garden City Board of Education revealed the upshot of the 2009 bond projects that are nearing completion. It turns out that the district was able to enjoy an estimated total savings of $5.99 million over the life of the bonds thanks to the low interest rates on the bond that were a result of the recession. Over at village hall, the news wasn’t as rosy thanks to the current fiscal year being a particularly litigious one. With the village’s total law budget for 2014-15 being slightly over a $1 million, a big chunk was taken out of it by way of the current ACORN/MHANY zoning case that’s in appeal and has recently triggered a transfer of $189,098 in funds paid to the Manhattan-based law firm handling this portion of the case. On a more positive note, trustee and board treasurer Richard Silver revealed that upgrades made to the program used to crunch financial neighbors will enable the board to better see how expenditures are occurring during seasonal peaks for each department’s budget.
— Dave Gil de Rubio
