REDUCING LONG ISLAND’S PROPERTY TAX BURDEN

I believe that reducing New York’s tremendously high tax burden is the number one issue facing the state today and must be alleviated to keep New Yorkers from moving out of state and to allow our economy to thrive. Skyrocketing property taxes have severely eroded New York’s competitive edge. According to a recent Comptroller’s report, local property tax levies in the state grew by 60 percent from 1995 to 2005, more than twice the rate of inflation. The sheer cost of living in New York has forced many residents and businesses to leave, thus slowing the economic engine of the Empire State.

Conte supports New York State Property Taxpayers Protection Act:

Assemblyman Jim Conte is a sponsor of the“New York State Property Taxpayers Protection Act,” a plan that introduces some new and innovative ideas for true property tax reform. Assemblyman Conte’s top priority is to stop the exodus of people and jobs by reducing Long Island’s property tax burden through genuine reform. So far, 39 municipalities across the state support this plan, all of which passed their own resolutions calling on the state Legislature to adopt the plan. The “New York State Property Taxpayers Protection Act”, when fully implemented, will save property taxpayers and school districts approximately $16 billion over five years.

The New York State Property Taxpayers Protection Act does the following:

Limits Property Tax Hikes - Controls property tax increases by preventing school district tax levies from increasing by more than 4 percent annually or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. However, voters have the ability to override this limitation by a two-thirds majority vote. To be fair, if a school district is experiencing an enrollment growth, the tax limit may be increased in proportion to the increased enrollment. It is the intent of this legislation to provide annual state school aid increases within the Foundation Aid category at a rate not less than the rate of inflation.

School District Mandate Relief - Provides 100 percent reimbursement to schools for costs incurred from 4th and 8th grade Math and English tests beginning in the 2008-09 school year, with an estimated cost savings to school districts of $30 million. This measure also consolidates school district paperwork to save administrators time and money.

Stopping Unfunded State Mandates - Requires any state mandate that is imposed on a locality and costs more than $10,000 annually (or $1 million statewide) to be funded by the state. Also requires the fiscal impact of legislation to be stated before a bill is voted upon by the Legislature.

Creates the Office of State Inspector General for Education - Creates an Office of State Inspector General for Education to investigate financial abuse, corruption and misconduct in schools. This new and independent state agency will have broad authority to investigate financial abuses in schools, allegations of corruption or other misconduct within the district, and refer cases to the appropriate law enforcement authorities when warranted. The office will also be charged with issuing recommendations to assist school districts in avoiding such problems in the future.

Reduces Medicaid Costs on Local Governments - Requires the state to take over the costs of all optional Medicaid services within 5 years, saving taxpayers $10 billion. This measure will allow overburdened county governments to return the cost savings in the form of lower property taxes. According to the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC), Medicaid costs are the largest part of county budgets and, in some cases, the cost of providing Medicaid services is greater than the amount of property tax revenue collected.

Encourages Local Government Consolidation – Currently, the state has over 4,200 local governments and approximately 9,200 taxing jurisdictions. The goal is to reduce local governments’ reliance on property taxes by encouraging consolidation of services where
possible. This bill provides $30 million in Metro-STAR grants to research the efficacy of mergers or consolidations of local governments to reduce the tax burden on homeowners.

Assemblyman Jim Conte’s Property Tax Relief Plan:

Assemblyman Jim Conte has been at the forefront to ease Long Island’s property tax burden by directly providing $1.3 billion in STAR rebate checks and $3.5 billion in traditional STAR exemptions for a total of $4.8 billion in STAR savings for 2007-08. Although our “New York State Property Taxpayers Protection Act” was designed to contain the growth of property taxes and provide relief, Jim believes property tax rebate checks must continue in 2008 along with the following proposals:

Exempting Rebate Checks from PIT - Exempts any and all STAR rebate checks from the New York State and New York City Personal Income Tax (PIT).

Property Tax Relief for Seniors - Doubles the size of STAR rebate checks for seniors. Enhanced STAR recipients in 2008-09 would receive double the amount of the 2006-07 rebate or 2007-08 rebate, whichever is greater. Under the current 2007-08 Middle Class STAR Rebate Program, Enhanced STAR recipients will only see a minimal increase in their rebate check savings year-to-year. In fact, some seniors could see a decrease in their rebate checks. By doubling the rebate checks for Enhanced STAR recipients in 2008-09, the State of New York will continue its commitment to seniors statewide.