Home Page > Editorial and Op-Ed
A Long Time Coming, County Executives Fire Warning Shot in Taxpayers’ Revolt
Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:13:00
By K.T. McFarland
Complaining about government is a favorite pastime of most Americans. But once we’re done grousing and blowing off a little steam, we usually get on with normal life. It takes a lot to get Americans in a rebellious mood. But when they get there, somebody had better start paying attention.
Recently, a number of New York county executives and leaders did exactly that. They are justifiably angry over Albany’s latest budgetary slight of hand, which forces New York’s 62 counties to pay for a greater percentage of the state’s mandated programs. Last week, they held their first statewide conference call to air their grievances. There were over a hundred participants, who represented 85 percent of the state’s population and pay more than 85 percent of the state’s property taxes. And they were rip-roaring mad.
The conference call was open to the press, but the county executives didn’t mince words. Words like ‘liars,’ ‘hypocrites’ and ‘spendaholics’ were flying. One after another, county executives from around the state weighed in on what an overwhelming burden this will place on their constituents. Each one said he or she would have to raise property taxes, cut back on programs, or institute hiring freezes—and probably all of the above.
Suffolk’s Steve Levy, whose cost-cutting measures earned him the endorsement of the Democrat, Republican and Conservative parties in 2007, said his county would see an increase of 10 to 14 million dollars next year. His entire property tax bill is around $50 million, he said, “so you do the math.”
Chemung’s Tom Santoli called it the ‘Shift and Shaft’—Albany was shifting bills downward and shafting the taxpayers. “They’re a bunch of ‘spendaholics’ who can’t stop spending and then insist on passing the bill on to the counties who have to pay for the state’s mandated programs,” he said.
The state has more employees than ever, while counties have been doing the responsible thing for the last few years and cutting back.
“It’s disgraceful,” he said with genuine disgust in his voice. He told reporters to look at the state budget—which is $125 billion and growing—and then look at every county budget and see where they’re cutting programs.
Greg Edwards of Chautauqua said he and other county executives had to make some tough choices last year in order to cut spending. Yet they’ve refused to make tough choices in Albany. He said it was ‘hypocrisy’ for Albany to claim they weren’t raising taxes, because they were forcing the counties to raise taxes
Putnam County will have to increase property taxes by double digits for the third year in a row, and anticipates the need to increase taxes by 20 percent in 2009.
Nassau County expects it might have to pay an additional $20 million, and will probably have to raise property taxes as a result.
Rockland County’s Scott Vanderhoef said his office was facing a double hit, since they expected tax revenues to decrease because of worsening economic conditions. They’ve already had to eliminate 120 positions and cut back highway repairs and services to families, senior citizens and children to get their spending under control. With this new dictate from Albany, Rockland county will have to increase property taxes by six percent this year to pay for Albany’s latest dictate. He figures next year will be worse.
It’s not clear where the county executives will take this, but they left no doubt that they would intensify pressure on Albany to get its budget under control. Banding together, Republican and Democrat, from Erie to Montauk, they insisted they would not stand by and let the state shift its spending burden to the counties. Some of the county leaders said they would have a bus tour up and down the state to tell the people the kind of ‘fast one’ Albany is trying to pull on property tax payers. They plan to have regular conference calls open to the press.
The state cannot keep mandating programs and expecting counties to pay for them. Upstate already pays 51 percent more in property taxes than the national average. That’s why the region continues to lose population and business. In total, 13 of the top 20 property tax-paying counties in the country are in New York. Income taxes are among the highest.
But Albany’s not cutting any programs. They’re not putting a freeze in hiring. They’re not engendering any special interest groups.
New York is facing a fiscal train wreck. State spending is out of control. It has treated Wall Street’s decade-long bull market and consequent tax revenues like a guaranteed annuity rather than a fortuitous windfall. But the economy is slowing down, if we're not already in recession. Tax revenues, especially from Wall Street, will be down next year, perhaps significantly. Baby boomers are starting to retire. And all the while the state government has kept promising benefits and pensions to more and more state employees.
Albany would do well to remember: Americans have been known to fight wars over taxes.
Complaining about government is a favorite pastime of most Americans. But once we’re done grousing and blowing off a little steam, we usually get on with normal life. It takes a lot to get Americans in a rebellious mood. But when they get there, somebody had better start paying attention.
Recently, a number of New York county executives and leaders did exactly that. They are justifiably angry over Albany’s latest budgetary slight of hand, which forces New York’s 62 counties to pay for a greater percentage of the state’s mandated programs. Last week, they held their first statewide conference call to air their grievances. There were over a hundred participants, who represented 85 percent of the state’s population and pay more than 85 percent of the state’s property taxes. And they were rip-roaring mad.
The conference call was open to the press, but the county executives didn’t mince words. Words like ‘liars,’ ‘hypocrites’ and ‘spendaholics’ were flying. One after another, county executives from around the state weighed in on what an overwhelming burden this will place on their constituents. Each one said he or she would have to raise property taxes, cut back on programs, or institute hiring freezes—and probably all of the above.
Suffolk’s Steve Levy, whose cost-cutting measures earned him the endorsement of the Democrat, Republican and Conservative parties in 2007, said his county would see an increase of 10 to 14 million dollars next year. His entire property tax bill is around $50 million, he said, “so you do the math.”
Chemung’s Tom Santoli called it the ‘Shift and Shaft’—Albany was shifting bills downward and shafting the taxpayers. “They’re a bunch of ‘spendaholics’ who can’t stop spending and then insist on passing the bill on to the counties who have to pay for the state’s mandated programs,” he said.
The state has more employees than ever, while counties have been doing the responsible thing for the last few years and cutting back.
“It’s disgraceful,” he said with genuine disgust in his voice. He told reporters to look at the state budget—which is $125 billion and growing—and then look at every county budget and see where they’re cutting programs.
Greg Edwards of Chautauqua said he and other county executives had to make some tough choices last year in order to cut spending. Yet they’ve refused to make tough choices in Albany. He said it was ‘hypocrisy’ for Albany to claim they weren’t raising taxes, because they were forcing the counties to raise taxes
Putnam County will have to increase property taxes by double digits for the third year in a row, and anticipates the need to increase taxes by 20 percent in 2009.
Nassau County expects it might have to pay an additional $20 million, and will probably have to raise property taxes as a result.
Rockland County’s Scott Vanderhoef said his office was facing a double hit, since they expected tax revenues to decrease because of worsening economic conditions. They’ve already had to eliminate 120 positions and cut back highway repairs and services to families, senior citizens and children to get their spending under control. With this new dictate from Albany, Rockland county will have to increase property taxes by six percent this year to pay for Albany’s latest dictate. He figures next year will be worse.
It’s not clear where the county executives will take this, but they left no doubt that they would intensify pressure on Albany to get its budget under control. Banding together, Republican and Democrat, from Erie to Montauk, they insisted they would not stand by and let the state shift its spending burden to the counties. Some of the county leaders said they would have a bus tour up and down the state to tell the people the kind of ‘fast one’ Albany is trying to pull on property tax payers. They plan to have regular conference calls open to the press.
The state cannot keep mandating programs and expecting counties to pay for them. Upstate already pays 51 percent more in property taxes than the national average. That’s why the region continues to lose population and business. In total, 13 of the top 20 property tax-paying counties in the country are in New York. Income taxes are among the highest.
But Albany’s not cutting any programs. They’re not putting a freeze in hiring. They’re not engendering any special interest groups.
New York is facing a fiscal train wreck. State spending is out of control. It has treated Wall Street’s decade-long bull market and consequent tax revenues like a guaranteed annuity rather than a fortuitous windfall. But the economy is slowing down, if we're not already in recession. Tax revenues, especially from Wall Street, will be down next year, perhaps significantly. Baby boomers are starting to retire. And all the while the state government has kept promising benefits and pensions to more and more state employees.
Albany would do well to remember: Americans have been known to fight wars over taxes.
