THE FLEECING OF RAMAPO

Wednesday, August 27th, 2014 @ 8:09PM

Some members of the Ramapo Republican Committee have taken a close look at the financial statements of the Ramapo Local Development Company (RLDC) from 2008 through 2013 and our findings are disturbing.

Brief Summary:

  1. The RLDC was formed in 2008.
  2. The Town of Ramapo has loaned the RLDC $3,080,000 with no re-payment terms.
  3. The Town of Ramapo transferred land and started the construction of condominiums on Elm Street in Spring Valley.
  4. The Town is the guarantor on these loans for the Elm Street development.
  5. The Town of Ramapo transferred land to the RLDC and built a baseball stadium for a total cost in excess of $60,000,000.
  6. The units on Elm Street continue to be built and sold AT A LOSS, costing taxpayers a lot of money. Also, it appears the units are not being primarily sold to families with “limited income”, as described in the footnotes to the financial statements. Rich developer friends of Supervisor St. Lawrence, charitable foundations, and others hiding under LLC’s (Limited Liability Companies), are buying units and renting these units. (Note: The LLC entity makes it very difficult to see who is actually buying the units.) We encourage you to go on the Rockland County Clerks website and search for Ramapo Local Development Company.  You can pull up a list of those persons buying up these units. We were shocked by what we found out and so will you. If you have trouble finding this information, please go to our website at www.ramapogop.org and  email us.
  7. The baseball stadium continues to lose money.

Financial Summary:

As of 12/31/13: The RLDC had virtually no cash on hand, the RLDC total debt was nearing $ 43,000,000, and the stadium and Elm Street Projects were losing money. This guarantees that the loans outstanding will be paid for by the Town of Ramapo (namely, we,  the taxpayers).

(2013): While the RLDC generated $2,700,000 in revenue:

The RLDC spent $ 562,044 or 21% of revenue on legal fees. The RLDC spent $ 660,503 or 24% of revenue on advertising and promotion fees. That’s a total of 45% of revenue from just these two expenses.

(2012): While the RLDC generated $2,200,000 in revenue:

The RLDC spent $ 176,048 or 8% of revenue on legal fees. The RLDC spent $ 845,748 or 38% of revenue on advertising and promotion fees. That’s a total of 46% of revenue from just these two expenses.

(2011): While the RLDC generated $2,800,000 in revenue:

The RLDC spent $315,000 or 11% of revenue on legal fees.

Unfortunately, these numbers are not embellished or made up. You can read them all for yourself by reviewing the documents below. Can the town avoid becoming the next Detroit? We think so, but it will require us to get rid of the current politicians in Ramapo Town Hall and replace them with experienced, competent leaders.

We will keep you posted with anything new on this matter. Check back periodically for updates at www.RamapoGop.org, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ramapogop, and on twitter @RamapoGop. Please remember to “like” our facebook site so you stay up to date with news and events that are happening in Ramapo.

 

Final_Financial_Statement rldc_2011_Page_1Final_Financial_Statement rldc_2011_Page_2final_report rldc_2012_Page_1final_report rldc_2012_Page_2final_report rldc_2013_Page_1final_report rldc_2013_Page_2

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