Governor Signs Executive Order to Lower Property Taxes by Preventing Unfunded Mandates PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 - 2:54 pm
On April 27, Governor David A. Paterson took a significant step toward responding to what this Web site is all about – unfunded state mandates. Surrounded by local officials and representatives from the state’s municipal associations, including NYCOM, the Governor announced the issuance of an Executive Order that would require any legislation or regulation proposed by a state office or agency and containing a mandate, to include: the estimated cost to local governments (which shall be determined based on input obtained from local governments and local government associations); a cost-benefit analysis; and proposed sources of revenue to fund such mandate. This information must be provided to the Secretary to the Governor, the Counsel to the Governor, the Director of State Operations and the Director of the Division of Budget prior to the formalization of any proposal. The Executive Order also instructs state agencies to undertake a review of their current regulations and report on any proposed changes that would mitigate the impact of exiting mandates on local governments.

To view a copy of the Executive Order, click here. To view a copy of the accompanying press release, click here.

While this action taken by the Governor is a clear indication that he understands the impact state mandates have on local budgets and local taxpayers, it is imperative that the State Legislature have that same understanding if New York is going to make any real progress toward reducing its local property tax burden.
 
State Legislature Adopts 2009-10 Budget PDF Print E-mail
Friday, April 10, 2009 - 8:42 am
Governor Paterson, Senate Majority Leader Smith and Speaker Silver reached agreement on a state budget for 2009-10, with final passage by the State Legislature completed on April 3. The $132 billion plan closes the state’s projected $17.7 billion deficit and includes approximately $7.2 billion in federal stimulus funding, some of which was used to restore cuts in education and health care funding proposed by Governor Paterson as part of his Executive Budget. The stimulus funding was also used to restore the $112 million reduction to the CHIPS program which supports local roads, highways and bridges -- and although local governments did not receive their scheduled increase, AIM funding was maintained at current year levels.

While these actions came as welcome news for many communities, the Legislature failed to agree on any of the mandate relief items that were proposed by the Governor – once again, missing an opportunity to allow local governments to better manage their costs and reduce the local tax burden. These initiatives include the following:
  • Tier 5 Pension Reform – Would have established a Tier 5 for new state and local non-uniformed employees that would: require a 3% employee contribution for the duration of employment; increase the minimum retirement age from 55 to 62; and eliminate overtime earnings from the final average salary calculation. A new tier would also have been established for uniformed employees in the City of New York.
  • Wicks Law Reform – For a five-year period, would have increased the Wicks Law threshold from $3 million to $10 million in NYC, provided a full Wicks exemption for all school districts, and eliminated the apprentice training program requirement for contractors engaged in a Project Labor Agreement.
  • Judgments Against Municipalities – Would have (1) allowed judgment awards against local governments and the State to be offset by both past and future compensation from all collateral sources (e.g., insurance, social security and workers’ compensation), as they are in the private sector; and (2) established a reasonable market-based method of calculating interest in court judgments similar to the method used in judgments involving the Federal government.
  • Procurement Reform – Would have enhanced procurement flexibility by increasing competitive bidding limits for local governments from $20,000 to $50,000 for public works projects and from $10,000 to $20,000 for commodities; authorized local governments to purchase off of certain Federal IT contracts as well as certain contracts let by other states and local governments; and allowed contracts to be awarded on the basis of “best value” rather than lowest bid.
We must continue to strongly advocate for these and other mandate relief initiatives throughout the remainder of the current Legislative session, as a way of providing important local relief at no cost to the state. Given the current economic environment and the resulting decline in revenues that municipalities across the state are experiencing, local governments must be given the flexibility to operate as efficiently as possible. These and other state mandates stand in the way of this critical goal. The time to act is now so that New York’s taxpayers can get the relief they need and deserve.
 
President Obama Signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 10:32 am
On February 17, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - also known as the Federal Stimulus Bill - which reflects the largest infusion of federal funds since the 1960s. Totaling $787 billion over two years, the bill includes approximately $462 billion in spending and $325 billion in tax cuts. New York State is expected to get approximately $24.6 billion in funding, based on estimates by the NYS Division of the Budget.

Major categories of spending and New York's estimated share include:

  • State and Local Fiscal Relief ($14 billion) - includes funding for Medicaid and to offset the cuts made to education as part of the 2009-10 Executive Budget;
  • Infrastructure and Energy ($3.97 billion) - includes funding for mass transit, highways, bridges, the clean water and drinking water revolving loan funds, weatherization and energy efficiency;
  • Health and Human Services ($4.43 billion) - includes funding for food stamps, unemployment benefits, child care and housing;
  • Education ($2.08 billion) - includes funding for high needs and special education students, tuition assistance and technology; and
  • Public Safety ($107 million) - includes funding for law enforcement, prosecution and other crime-related programs.

For the specific breakdown of program spending within these categories, go to www.economicrecovery.ny.gov.

To assist municipalities in accessing funding and to promote an equitable geographic distribution, the Governor has announced the creation of the New York State Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Cabinet to manage the development of state and local infrastructure projects financed through the federal stimulus package. The Cabinet will be comprised of State agency heads and senior staff from the Governor's Office. Timothy J. Gilchrist will serve as Senior Advisor for Infrastructure and Transportation, a position created to lead the cabinet. This entity will be charged with identifying project delivery problems, such as permits or regulatory approvals, and working to resolve such issues. The Cabinet will also work closely with local governments to ensure federal dollars reach critical projects and put people to work as quickly as possible.

At a time when New York's local governments are struggling to navigate these challenging economic times and doing all that they can to avoid tax shifting, it is refreshing to see the Federal Government take the opposite approach by investing in our communities and providing New York with the resources necessary to get back on track.
 
Governor Paterson Proposes 2009-10 Executive Budget PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 - 10:38 am
On Tuesday, December 16th, Governor Paterson proposed his first Executive Budget for the 2009-10 state fiscal year. The $121 billion plan seeks to address a two-year $15.4 billion gap which means that some of the proposed actions would have current year impacts. The savings estimates associated with the budget assume that the current year initiatives will be agreed to by February 1, and the remainder of the budget will be agreed to by March 1 - even though New York State's 2009-10 fiscal year does not officially begin until April 1, 2009.
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State Budget Update - Actions to Address State Budget Gap Delayed PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - 1:37 pm
The State Legislature returned to Albany on November 18th for a special session to address the state's looming fiscal crisis. While it was expected that they, together with the Governor, would develop a plan to significantly reduce state spending in both the current year and in 2009-10, the leaders were unable to reach agreement on any gap-closing actions. In the meantime, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos announced that the Senate will return to Albany on December 15th to take action on the Senate's own plan to address the state's deficit. According to the Majority Leader, this plan will include "significant spending reductions, recurring saving actions and important initiatives to maximize revenues." The Senate's return will occur one day before the Governor will introduce his 2009-10 Executive Budget, which he hopes the Legislature will pass by early March.

While the outcomes of these upcoming events remain to be seen, the deficit reduction initiatives proposed by the Governor in mid-November - including a current year and 2009-10 decrease in AIM funding for 33 cities, a current year reduction of $41 million in New York City's AIM amount, and a 50% reduction in VLT Impact Aid - are on hold, at least for now. This lull in the action provides the perfect opportunity to remind our state leaders that they cannot balance the state budget at the expense of local governments and their taxpayers. Use the "Take Action" button on this Web site to quickly and easily send a message to your State Legislators and the media. Be part of the effort to Stop the Tax Shift!
 
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