County urges Albany to cut mandates before capping property taxes
NORWICH – The Chenango County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution Monday urging New York State to significantly cut unfunded mandates before imposing a cap on local property taxes.
Proposals from Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo call for capping annual increases at 2 percent, or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. The move is designed to put an end to the unpredictable increases in property taxes that have reportedly left New York with 9 out of the 10 highest taxed counties in the nation, in relation to home value.
Chenango County’s letter calls for legislation that would give counties the fiscal responsibility only for those services rendered over which it has decision-making authority, not for those mandated by Albany. It also objects to any property tax cap unless it is coupled with “significant cuts” in local costs for mandated programs.
“Arbitrarily capping property taxes without addressing root causes would cripple county governments within a few short years, because all non-mandated spending would have to be eliminated to meet the cap,” said Chenango County Clerk of the Board RC Woodford.
New York State mandates and other fixed costs like pensions and Medicaid take up as much as 80 percent of the county’s $84.1 million spending proposal for next year. County supervisors spent the fall combing through departments and eliminated $353,000 on equipment and personnel, cut non-union workers’ raises from 3.5 percent to 1.5, and applied $3.3 million in surplus to keep the levy low for property taxpayers.
In the past, the county board has attempted to privatize social services programs, such as alcohol and drug rehabilitation, and have recently discussed privatizing public health nursing services. Members of the Finance Committee last week went so far as to broach the subject of contracting with municipalities to take over highway maintenance.
The draft 2011 budget will be presented to taxpayers during a public hearing at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 in the Supervisors’ Chambers, Third Floor, County Office Building, Norwich.
In supporting the resolution, Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard B. Decker, R-N. Norwich, said after paying for state mandates, little is left for the programs and services that make life easier for residents and taxpayers.
“We have to decide whether Chenango County is going to fund New York State or take care of our own,” he said. “We live at the whim of Albany.”
According to the resolution, local payments to the New York State Retirement System are expected to rise 40 percent in 2011 and by a similar amount in 2012, and have grown by more than 1,000 percent since the year 2000 due to generous benefit expansion mandated by the state’s legislature and the governor.
In addition, the local share of Medicaid costs has increased at least three percent each year and sometimes by double digit annual increase in the years prior to 2005.
Other unfunded mandates include early intervention services, pre-school special education, public assistance, child welfare, youth detention, probation, and indigent defense.
“I don’t think there’s any realization. Those in Albany or Washington have no idea what’s it’s like at this level,” Decker said following Monday’s board meeting. “They come and visit, and we send out these letters and resolutions, but they fall on deaf ears. It goes nowhere,” he said.
Property taxes in New York State are reportedly nearly 80 percent above the national average.
Proposals from Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo call for capping annual increases at 2 percent, or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. The move is designed to put an end to the unpredictable increases in property taxes that have reportedly left New York with 9 out of the 10 highest taxed counties in the nation, in relation to home value.
Chenango County’s letter calls for legislation that would give counties the fiscal responsibility only for those services rendered over which it has decision-making authority, not for those mandated by Albany. It also objects to any property tax cap unless it is coupled with “significant cuts” in local costs for mandated programs.
“Arbitrarily capping property taxes without addressing root causes would cripple county governments within a few short years, because all non-mandated spending would have to be eliminated to meet the cap,” said Chenango County Clerk of the Board RC Woodford.
New York State mandates and other fixed costs like pensions and Medicaid take up as much as 80 percent of the county’s $84.1 million spending proposal for next year. County supervisors spent the fall combing through departments and eliminated $353,000 on equipment and personnel, cut non-union workers’ raises from 3.5 percent to 1.5, and applied $3.3 million in surplus to keep the levy low for property taxpayers.
In the past, the county board has attempted to privatize social services programs, such as alcohol and drug rehabilitation, and have recently discussed privatizing public health nursing services. Members of the Finance Committee last week went so far as to broach the subject of contracting with municipalities to take over highway maintenance.
The draft 2011 budget will be presented to taxpayers during a public hearing at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 in the Supervisors’ Chambers, Third Floor, County Office Building, Norwich.
In supporting the resolution, Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard B. Decker, R-N. Norwich, said after paying for state mandates, little is left for the programs and services that make life easier for residents and taxpayers.
“We have to decide whether Chenango County is going to fund New York State or take care of our own,” he said. “We live at the whim of Albany.”
According to the resolution, local payments to the New York State Retirement System are expected to rise 40 percent in 2011 and by a similar amount in 2012, and have grown by more than 1,000 percent since the year 2000 due to generous benefit expansion mandated by the state’s legislature and the governor.
In addition, the local share of Medicaid costs has increased at least three percent each year and sometimes by double digit annual increase in the years prior to 2005.
Other unfunded mandates include early intervention services, pre-school special education, public assistance, child welfare, youth detention, probation, and indigent defense.
“I don’t think there’s any realization. Those in Albany or Washington have no idea what’s it’s like at this level,” Decker said following Monday’s board meeting. “They come and visit, and we send out these letters and resolutions, but they fall on deaf ears. It goes nowhere,” he said.
Property taxes in New York State are reportedly nearly 80 percent above the national average.
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