NORWICH – An executive order passed last week by Governor David A. Paterson may provide the first steps toward real property tax relief, according to local officials.
Executive Order Number 17 provides guidelines for state agencies when issuing mandates. According to a press release from the governor’s office, “The executive order establishes guidelines for state agencies including submitting a full accounting of the fiscal impacts of the proposed legislation earlier in the process of developing bills, requires a local fiscal impact statement to accompany legislation sent to the legislature and requires agency review of existing regulations to determine potential ways to reduce the fiscal impact of existing mandates on local governments by Dec. 1.”
According to City of Norwich Finance Director William Roberts, in the past mandates were passed with no regard for where the funds were coming from. One recent example, he explained, is a mandate that all police departments perform electronic fingerprinting, a system that would cost the city a minimum of $35,000, plus the cost of annual maintenance.
“If the state agencies do these studies and find out that the mandates cause the typical municipality an undue burden, they can make the determination to delay or defer the implementation until a further determination is made about where the money is coming from,” Roberts said.
According to City of Norwich Mayor Joseph Maiurano, the New York Conference of Mayors keeps lists of the many unfunded mandates handed down each year. “The only thing that helps unfunded mandates is to fund them,” he said. Even then, the mayor explained things like annual maintenance costs are often not figured into the equation.
While this executive order applies only to regulations and legislation from the Executive Chamber or state agencies, Maiurano said to accomplish real change, the legislature must take the same approach the governor has.
“We have to start looking at the blanket mandates. The state needs to realize the difference between rural New York and cities. They have to look at the impact on individual municipalities.”
In New York, local taxes are the highest in the nation. According to the Governor’s office New Yorker’s local taxes are “78 percent above the national average, with property tax levies rising at more than twice the rate of inflation and salary growth.”
“We’re at a point in government where we’re starting to realize that New York State is the highest taxed state in the U.S.,” Maiurano said. He explained that in the past, when New York had more industry and manufacturing jobs, things were running fine, but over time, those industries have moved out. “We have to make changes. There are too many layers of government and it doesn’t work anymore,” Maiurano said. “This is a start,” he said of the executive order.
While municipalities may see a benefit from the governor’s executive order, school districts may also get some relief. School districts are faced with a large number of unfunded mandates every year, and must budget to accommodate the requirements. Norwich Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan is waiting to see how the executive order plays out, but he said, “I applaud the effort. I hope it goes through and I wait patiently for the tax relief to the community.”