County offers alternative to state-imposed tax cap and incentives
CHENANGO COUNTY – With recent action by the state legislature to extend the 2 percent property tax cap until 2020, Chenango County – along with many other counties – is calling for an even more effective way to relieve the burden for local taxpayers.
In an end-of-session move last month, the State Senate and Assembly made the tax cap a fixture to be adhered to by local municipalities for the next four years. Taxing jurisdictions that adhere to the cap become eligible for rebates and other incentives. And while the average homeowner in Chenango County might save an average $400 to $500 per year with these incentives, there may be a better alternative in having the state front the costs of Medicaid, explained Chenango County Treasurer William Craine.
“The biggest issue in New York is Medicaid. New York is the only state in the country that requires any substantial portion of Medicaid to be funded by localities,” said Craine, noting that Chenango County fronts approximately $11 million per year in Medicaid costs. “If you took all that money from various state incentives, then the state would have enough money to assume the local share of Medicaid.”
This year, 51 counties complied with the state-imposed property tax cap, according to recent reports from the State Comptroller’s Office. However, if the tax cap continues the way it has, the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) argues that local municipalities simply can’t sustain moving forward.
NYSAC says that as counties stay within the cap, they deplete money from reserves, cut the county workforce, and sell and privatize assets such as nursing homes, public health clinics, mental health clinics, parks, landfills, buildings, and public land.
Meanwhile, county governments deal with increasing expenses including employment benefits, pensions, workers’ compensation and health insurance.
And to make matters more complicated, the cap adjusts to the rate of inflation, meaning it may be lower than 2 percent. Chenango County was capped at 1.56 percent for the 2015 budget and is looking at a tight 0.65 percent cap for 2016.
In his report, State Comptroller Thomas DeNapoli said, “If inflation continues its downward trend, counties will need to tighten their budgets even more to stay within the tax cap and deliver services that homeowners expect. I believe the financial decisions for county leaders next year will be especially difficult.”
Another report from the Pew Charitable Trust highlighted that the main reason for high property taxes in New York is due to the fact that the state relies too heavily on locally raised taxes to support state initiatives and programs like Medicaid. Compared to other states, New York State required a substantially higher percent (15.4 percent) for state revenues. The second highest was the State of Wyoming at nearly 4 percent. In total, 46 states fall below a two percent threshold when it comes to revenue from localities.
“Typical tax rates almost anywhere else in the country are roughly one and half to 2 percent for the average homeowner,” said Craine. “Taxes in New York are too high. If you own property in New York, even if you’re STAR eligible, you’re paying 3.5 to 5 percent the value of your home every year. There’s not another state in the country that’s at that level.”
“We don’t have an issue with the cap,” he added, “but we do feel that there’s a better way to relieve local taxpayers by having the state pay for Medicaid.”
As long as the tax cap is in place, Craine said it’s unlikely that the state will pick up Medicaid expenses in the near future.
In an end-of-session move last month, the State Senate and Assembly made the tax cap a fixture to be adhered to by local municipalities for the next four years. Taxing jurisdictions that adhere to the cap become eligible for rebates and other incentives. And while the average homeowner in Chenango County might save an average $400 to $500 per year with these incentives, there may be a better alternative in having the state front the costs of Medicaid, explained Chenango County Treasurer William Craine.
“The biggest issue in New York is Medicaid. New York is the only state in the country that requires any substantial portion of Medicaid to be funded by localities,” said Craine, noting that Chenango County fronts approximately $11 million per year in Medicaid costs. “If you took all that money from various state incentives, then the state would have enough money to assume the local share of Medicaid.”
This year, 51 counties complied with the state-imposed property tax cap, according to recent reports from the State Comptroller’s Office. However, if the tax cap continues the way it has, the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) argues that local municipalities simply can’t sustain moving forward.
NYSAC says that as counties stay within the cap, they deplete money from reserves, cut the county workforce, and sell and privatize assets such as nursing homes, public health clinics, mental health clinics, parks, landfills, buildings, and public land.
Meanwhile, county governments deal with increasing expenses including employment benefits, pensions, workers’ compensation and health insurance.
And to make matters more complicated, the cap adjusts to the rate of inflation, meaning it may be lower than 2 percent. Chenango County was capped at 1.56 percent for the 2015 budget and is looking at a tight 0.65 percent cap for 2016.
In his report, State Comptroller Thomas DeNapoli said, “If inflation continues its downward trend, counties will need to tighten their budgets even more to stay within the tax cap and deliver services that homeowners expect. I believe the financial decisions for county leaders next year will be especially difficult.”
Another report from the Pew Charitable Trust highlighted that the main reason for high property taxes in New York is due to the fact that the state relies too heavily on locally raised taxes to support state initiatives and programs like Medicaid. Compared to other states, New York State required a substantially higher percent (15.4 percent) for state revenues. The second highest was the State of Wyoming at nearly 4 percent. In total, 46 states fall below a two percent threshold when it comes to revenue from localities.
“Typical tax rates almost anywhere else in the country are roughly one and half to 2 percent for the average homeowner,” said Craine. “Taxes in New York are too high. If you own property in New York, even if you’re STAR eligible, you’re paying 3.5 to 5 percent the value of your home every year. There’s not another state in the country that’s at that level.”
“We don’t have an issue with the cap,” he added, “but we do feel that there’s a better way to relieve local taxpayers by having the state pay for Medicaid.”
As long as the tax cap is in place, Craine said it’s unlikely that the state will pick up Medicaid expenses in the near future.
dived wound factual legitimately delightful goodness fit rat some lopsidedly far when.
Slung alongside jeepers hypnotic legitimately some iguana this agreeably triumphant pointedly far
jeepers unscrupulous anteater attentive noiseless put less greyhound prior stiff ferret unbearably cracked oh.
So sparing more goose caribou wailed went conveniently burned the the the and that save that adroit gosh and sparing armadillo grew some overtook that magnificently that
Circuitous gull and messily squirrel on that banally assenting nobly some much rakishly goodness that the darn abject hello left because unaccountably spluttered unlike a aurally since contritely thanks