YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com
July 15, 2013 | VOL. 49, No. 28
InSURAnCe deTOUR
BILL FALLON
INSIDE
Mandate is on hold for some
RETIRING SORTS • 2
By BiLL FaLLoN bfallon@westfairinc.com
A
FACES AND PLACES • 27
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Yolanda Ortiz, manager of Seaside Johnnie’s.
sked why he follows the nuances of health care reform so acutely, Norwalk-based Pierson & Smith senior account executive Michael Kedersha didn’t mince words: “My clients need to know.” What they need to know remains in flux, as evidenced by the federal government’s delay of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s provision for employer-based coverage. Those with more than 50 employees have an extra year to comply, but Kedersha, whose financial management company just celebrated 60 years in business, saw deeper meaning in the delay. “They’re acknowledging it doesn’t work,” he said. “Why rush something this major? “They need to repeal it all,” he said. “Dissecting it part by part is going to be difficult.” Across the border in New York, however, a former state senator from Manhattan, John Ravitz, who serves as point person on the Affordable Care Insurance, page 6
Taxing decision Private entities on public land a focus in Rye By MarK LuNGarieLLo mlungariello@westfairinc.com
SeASiDe JoHnnie’S ReSTAuRAnT offers a public benefit and should be taken back off the tax rolls, a judge has ruled. The seasonal restaurant sits on a scenic slice of Rye Town Park, overlooking Oakland Beach and the Long Island Sound. Although it is privately owned, it rests on public land and should be reinstated as a tax exempt parcel, according to a 25-page state Supreme Court ruling from Judge Bruce Tolbert. Rye Town Park is operated jointly by the
town of Rye and city of Rye, two separate municipalities sharing the same name. The ruling means the city will have to pay the town roughly $27,000 in refunded property taxes and interest. Seaside’s lease states that the owners of the property, not the lessee, are responsible for any taxes levied. Ironically, if the city assessor’s ruling had held, the city, as a joint operator of the park, would effectively have taxed itself. Paul Noto, attorney for the town, disagreed with the city’s stance that the restaurant should be taxed the same as any eateries on Purchase Street, in the heart of the city’s downtown, was Taxing, page 6
David Brewer, the U.S. Open’s tournament director.
READY FOR PLAY • 4