Assemblywoman Sandy Galef hosts
Report from the
Commission on Property Tax Relief
with Commission Chairman
and Nassau County Executive
Thomas R. Suozzi

Monday, June 9th, 20087:00 - 9:00 PM
Putnam Valley High School
146 Peekskill Hollow Road, Putnam Valley

Sandy with Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi on the floor of the Assembly chamber. As the Chairman of the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief, Suozzi has the opportunity to devise solutions to New York’s property tax crisis which will bring relief to New Yorkers.

Please join me in a discussion with Tom Suozzi to hear about the report’s recommendations and next steps. There will be an opportunity for Q & A. For more information on the work of the commission, visit the web site at: www.cptr.state.ny.us.

Property Tax Relief Forum Sponsors: • Westchester County Association • Putnam County Business Association • Business Council of Westchester • Cold Spring Area Chamber of Commerce •

The state budget included significant increases to my district which will help hold taxes down while providing financial resources and a continuation of services to students and residents.

In school aid alone, the 90th assembly district received $137,800,880, an increase of 11.5% or $14,267,934 over last year’s budget. The budget also restored the governor’s proposed cuts in BOCES and Foundation Aid Formula, and increased the high tax aid in the district to $6,705,378. This record increase in school aid in the state budget will benefit school property taxpayers and lower their tax burden. Another positive impact to local school districts is the restoration of a $500,000 executive budget cut from the Education Department’s Office of School Personnel Review and Accountability – which handles background checks for school personnel. The final budget restores that cut and includes $600,000 more for a total add of $1.1 million.

Thanks to reform of the WICKS Law, any school district or municipal project in our area which totals under $1.5 million can now be supervised by one general contractor, saving taxpayers 10% to 30% in construction costs. This is an issue I have been working on since I started in Albany and I am pleased that we have finally taken a first step to reduce the negative financial impact this law has had on our taxpayers.

Municipalities in the 90th AD will receive a 3% increase over last year in state aid through the Aid and Incentives to Municipalities (AIM) program. As a small city, Peekskill will receive a 4.8% increase in municipal aid.

The final budget included $363 million for funding the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program. Some of this $50 million increase will fund local road and bridge projects in the 90th AD.

The Middle Class STAR rebate program will continue at its present level of funding, and Enhanced STAR rebates will increase 40% this year. These benefits are in addition to the BASIC STAR and Enhanced STAR credits reflected in our school tax bills.

In housing, $25 million was added to the budget to give financial counseling and legal services to homeowners facing default and foreclosure due to the unscrupulous practices of the mortgage industry. Additionally, there is $200 million of capital money for the development of new affordable housing.

Almost 1,500 of you responded to my January newsletter questionnaire on a number of important issues being discussed in the state legislature. My thanks to those of you who conveyed your views to me through this questionnaire. I will certainly continue to review these ideas and work towards change.

Although congestion pricing died in the Legislature, in my district you supported the plan. 72% said “yes” when asked “Should we encourage commuters to take public transportation into New York City with a congestion-pricing plan, in order to reduce pollution and traffic?” Now, we will have to work on alternative approaches which are more palatable to the entire state, so that we can reap some of the benefits the plan offered.

Other results from the January questionnaire:

• 73% said raise the minimum age for a driver’s license from 16 to 17.

• 73% believe drivers should be retested at 80 years old.

• 90% said do not sell state roads, bridges, tunnels, or other public infrastructures to private sectors.

• 80% said hospitals and physicians should electronically maintain and make available to patients vital health care information.

• 68% said that all employees should not be required to contribute to a paid family leave fund.

• 64% believe a student’s body mass index should not be included on school report cards to inform parents about a potential childhood obesity problem.

• 60% said plastic grocery bags should be banned from supermarkets and other large stores.

• 69% said fines should be levied for those who do not recycle.

• 61% thought candidates should not be prohibited from running on more than one political party line.

On April 10th before a packed audience, I moderated a forum that addressed sharing services between school districts, local governments and the state in order to cut costs. In attendance were school district business officials, municipal leaders, municipal officials, school board trustees and local constituents. Some highlights follow.

NYS Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli emphasized that “the time is now for a conversation on shared services,” particularly given our current fiscal challenges. He made the following points:

• Start with something you know will work.

• A bottom-up versus top-down approach is more successful for change.

• Look for creation of economies so officials can conclude on their own that they might want to merge.

• Overcoming fear of control loss is what is needed for consolidation to take place.

Westchester County Association Chairman Alfred DelBello, who sits on the Commission for Local Government Competitiveness and Efficiency, also mentioned the need for grass-roots efforts. “Big business can’t remain competitive if Westchester County continues to be the 1st, 2nd or 3rd highest taxed county in the nation,” he said. DelBello pointed out that New York has more taxing districts than any other state as well as:

• Every place but government has used technology to be more productive using fewer resources.

• Take a bold approach to pursuing initiatives to lower costs for services even though there may be political repercussions.

• Start consolidating back-office services across all government lines.

• Look at duplication of municipal services such as tax assessments by villages and towns. One computer in a county office could bill and collect all taxes and return them to each community without the taxpayer ever knowing the difference.

Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi focused her remarks on the importance of getting a groundswell of community support for any shared service that represents a significant change. When state mandates come to her, she looks for communities with whom Cortlandt can share. Puglisi’s advice and record include:

• Consolidate departments.

• To garner public support, advertise potential for tax savings with specific dollar amounts. Treat issues like a campaign.

• Seek grants for sharing.

• Cortlandt successes include: Disbanding the town’s 13 member police department and contracting with County and State for protection instead; Forming joint waterworks to build a shared filtration plant that would address fulfilling new state mandates; Eliminating the elected position of superintendent of highways in favor of an appointed position; Sharing a recycling depot with five participating municipalities; Sharing equipment where possible with local towns.

Following the shared services forum, Comptroller DiNapoli and Sandy talked with participants.

Putnam/Northern Westchester District Superintendent Dr. James Langlois said the time was right for “...the grand conversation to begin. We need to sit down with state legislators, and it is critical that powerful lobby groups be part of the conversation.” He discussed the many shared services BOCES offers and that:

• BOCES offers sharing opportunities when as few as two schools have a shared need that would cost less than if all district’s contracted the service on their own.

• BOCES’ role could grow into transportation management, centralized maintenance, and energy.

• BOCES could support services beyond school districts if it were allowed by changes in the law.

Audience comments included the need for a “clearinghouse” to help disseminate information about sharing that already exists, what’s available, and how to proceed. Westchester County said they offer possibilities for pooling resources such as: information services, public works, and purchasing. Putnam County has already embarked on a study to look at sharing of assessment services among its municipalities.

Sign and return completed survey to:
Assemblywoman Sandy Galef
2 Church Street
Ossining, NY 10562-4802

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