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County officials expressed deep concern about a proposed State property tax cap, under review by the State Legislature.  The proposal would cap increases in local property taxes by either 4% or 20% above the rate of inflation, whichever is less, with no State mandate relief. 

County Administrator Joe Mareane warned legislators the cap, if enacted, would produce a “catastrophic” effect on counties.  It would limit the County’s levy increase to just 1.3% and would force the County to cut next year’s budget by an additional $1.5 million, beyond the more than $2 million currently projected, as the County strives to meet the 5% preliminary tax levy goal set by the County Legislature earlier this year.  Increased pension expense alone  increases the tax levy by 4%.

Mareane stated, “I know the effect of the budget as we have currently structured it, with a 5% levy target with significant reductions in spending.  The thought of having to make up another $1.5 million in cuts is pretty catastrophic, adding another 4% beyond the 7% cut we have already had to make.”

Calling pursuit of the cap “stunning,” Legislature Chair Martha Robertson maintained that “without mandate relief, this is hypocrisy,” noting that Medicaid expense alone accounts for 29% of the County’s tax levy.  Legislator Mike Lane stressed that the tax cap does nothing to close the State’s budget gap, while hurting counties and other municipalities. 

Legislator Nathan Shinagawa said the proposal amounts to “bait and switch—what scam artists do” and shows that the Governor and state government “utterly irresponsible and utterly out of touch.”  Legislator Pam Mackesey agreed, saying the action confirms that the government has “no attachment of what it’s doing to people’s lives,” likening it to “a terrible game” which “starves counties and municipalities and destroys the safety net,” while failing to address the state’s fundamental problems.

As of now, the State Senate has approved the cap by an overwhelming margin, with the Assembly adjourning without taking up the bill.

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