Archive: Opinions

As I read the article by State Senator Nozzolio in the July 01, 2011 issue of The Lansing Star, I became increasingly astonished by the way the Senator touted the accomplishments of the Governor and the State Legislature in passing a tax cap and, “comprehensive relief…from unfunded State mandates.”  Further on he referred to, “sweeping mandate relief measures that would provide real cost savings of $127 million to local governments and school districts.”  If you think about it a bit you’ll understand why I think his claims are wildly exaggerated.

$127 million is a very small percentage of the almost $4 billion that New York taxpayers paid in their county taxes for unfunded state mandates in 2011.  That’s right, $3,989,702,011 to be exact…and due to rise again in the 2012 budget.  And, that figure doesn’t even include the unfunded state mandates that we each paid through our school and town/village taxes last year.  Nor does it include figures for NY City since they are exempt from the tax cap.

The Senator’s claims of “comprehensive” and “sweeping mandate relief” would be laughable if the situation were not so serious.  Here’s why:  Although we’re still trying to determine the exact figure, it appears that the 2% tax cap will allow the County to increase its levy by about $812 thousand dollars.  The tax cap leaves us short approximately $18.2 million if all we pay for is state mandates and we totally eliminate programs that are discretionary, such as the Sheriff’s Road Patrol, Office for the Aging, Youth Services, etc..  Make no mistake, we’ll take all the help we can get, but the pittance enacted so far seems more like a political bone thrown to those who urged our State leaders to enact real tax reform than it does an effort to really bring property taxes down.

Much attention has been given to the Mandate Relief Council (MRC) that will be asked to make recommendations for further mandate relief.  While I always remain hopeful, it remains to be seen if the Council is yet another empty gesture to convince us that state leadership has the needs of taxpayers at heart.  A close look at the enabling legislation for the MRC lists 4 types of mandates that will be exempt from mandate reform.  Many, if not most, of our county mandates could be exempt from reform by the Council, depending on how the language is interpreted.

On Wednesday, July 13th at 7:00pm at the Lansing Town Hall, I will be holding a public meeting to share exactly where we are and what we’re dealing with in the development of the 2012 County budget.  I’ll provide background and real information about the factors that are driving the 2012 budget.  County staff will be on hand to assist as needed.  You, the taxpayers, will be able to ask questions and express your opinions and concerns.  I don’t want to wait until the required public hearing on the budget to meet with you because by that time many decisions will have already been made.  I value your ideas and suggestions as to how we can make the best use of limited taxpayer funds in this very difficult and challenging year.  Please plan to attend and help spread the word to friends and neighbors.

Pat Pryor
Tompkins County Legislator
Town of Lansing, District 6

v7i26