BY: NANCY CUTLER – LOHUD
SPRING VALLEY – Mayor Schenley Vital hit 100 days in office on April 14, and marked the occasion by outlining a dramatic — and costly — plan to reinvigorate this diverse Rockland County village.
Calling the village of 35,000 “rich in culture, resilience and entrepreneurial spirit,” the Democrat used his “State of the Village” speech to call for an investment by “stakeholders” worthy of the village’s history and potential.
Vital, though, pivoted from laudatory language to brass tacks.
He announced a planned 12% property tax hike and requested a $20 million loan from Rockland County.
Two county legislators in attendance, fellow Democrats Aney Paul and Toney Earl, pledged their support.
Pointing out that Spring Valley is the second largest village in the state, Vital said it was imperative to take action.
Meanwhile, petitions to dissolve the village have been introduced twice in as many years, and another effort is expected. Vital said the village has suffered from disinvestment, but with key investments now, the municipality can live up to its potential.
Bringing back a village on the brink
Vital said that dramatic investment was needed after a decade-plus of neglect under various past administrations.
Vital succeeded Alan Simon, a disbarred lawyer and booted-from-the-bench village and Ramapo town judge known for his fiery temper. Simon declined to run for re-election, citing health concerns. Another former mayor was convicted of seeking a bribe in 2015 amid an FBI sting operation.
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Saying he did not want to dwell in the past, Vital said his administration was already taking steps to right past wrongs.
He pointed to a recent settlement of a years-long Fair Housing Act case; a stepped-up effort to seek government grants; hiring of three village police officers; and investing in Department of Public Works equipment.
He also pledged a 20% raise for employees in the understaffed DPW, whose CSEA-represented workers have gone for years without a contract.
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Vital also pledged more dramatic improvements. Those included:
- A plan to repave all 33 miles of village roadway within the next five years
- A new “uptown zone” that would build a new village hall and use the current site for 600 units of affordable housing
- A transit oriented development district near the village’s Transportation Center that could partner with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to locate affordable housing there.
Several years ago, the state and county took the unusual step of taking over the village’s building and safety code enforcement amid reports of rampant violations and after a fatal fire killed a volunteer firefighter and resident. Vital said it’s time to transition those responsibilities back to the village.
“I recognize the seriousness of the culture of noncompliance,” Vital said, “I commend the state and county for stepping in.”
But, the mayor said, his reinvestment in village staffing includes preparing to take over responsibilities the village is best positioned to do. “The county’s too far removed,” he said. “We walk the streets.”
Vital also said the village had a plan to fix problems at Memorial Park that lead to persistent flooding.
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Vital said a 12% tax hike is “necessary to undo poor planning.”
The village’s 2025-2026 budget was about $36.17 million. With a new fiscal year beginning May 1, Vital said the village was facing a “significant financial deficit” but did not provide figures. He also said the village had an “inability to bond”; Moody’s stopped rating the village in 2018, citing insufficient information provided.
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The Village Board, who are fellow Democrats but still often divided, would have to O.K. any property tax increase. None were available for comment.
Vital also pitched a $20 million loan from Rockland County, which would need approval from both the county legislature and county executive.
Calling it the only path forward, Vital said “it’s a path that cannot be walked alone” and called on his county colleagues to help.
Earl, whose District 8 includes sections of the village, pointed out that Rockland County had once faced a multi-million-dollar deficit and received a $96 million loan in 2014, which it paid off in 2024. The county now operates at a surplus.
“Someone helped us,” Earl said of the state Legislature allowing the county’s deficit bond more than a decade ago.
But an official in Rockland County Executive Ed Day’s office said Day did not support such a loan.
A diverse village with a shifting power base
The two-square-mile village has long been a newcomer community. Many Latin American and Caribbean nations are represented among the 20-plus nationalities and ethnic groups that make the village home. Spring Valley has the second-largest Haitian diaspora, per capita, in the U.S. The Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish community continues to grow within the village.
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According to 2020-2024 Census figures, more than 41% of the village’s population is foreign-born. More than 75% of households have a primary language other than English.
This is a renter community. Census figures show that about 25% of houses are owner occupied in the village, compared to Rockland’s 68% owner occupancy rate. It’s also a village undergoing repeated transformation. Stretches of blocks are seeing teardowns of old houses, quickly replaced by multi-family structures.
More than 27% of residents are identified as living in poverty; the countywide poverty rate is around 15%, census data show.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Spring Valley mayor bets on $20M loan, 12% tax hike to save village