Commission on Property Tax Relief Hears Testimony in Yonkers

YONKERS, NY — The Commission on Property Tax Relief held its
eleventh hearing today in Yonkers. 

The hearing was led by Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi,
Chairman of the Commission on Property Tax Relief.

The experts and interested parties that testified today included
representatives of school districts, local governments, nonprofit
organizations and taxpayers.  As the Commission works to provide relief to
property owners and reduce local costs, the hearings are designed to gather
information on issues that the Commission identified in its Preliminary
Report as needing special consideration: Special Education, School District
Mandate Relief and the impact of property taxes on the Big Four Large City
Dependent School Districts.  For the Yonkers Hearing, the Commission
invited testimony on these topics, as well as on BOCES and School District
Consolidation issues.

“In the face of a statewide and national fiscal crisis, Governor Paterson
has shown extraordinary leadership while continuing to champion a property
tax cap that would provide substantial relief to taxpayers statewide,” said
Commission Chairman Suozzi.  “New York’s local taxes are the highest in the
nation, which is particularly crushing during this time of economic
downturn.  Outside of New York City, 62 percent of property taxes are
school property taxes, and there are only three ways to address rising
school costs – reduce expenses in school districts, increase state aid for
education or continue to increase school property taxes.  The third can no
longer be an option and the Governor’s cap would provide taxpayers with
that assurance.”

Data released last month by the Census Bureau showed that Westchester
County has the highest household property taxes of any county in the
nation, with Nassau and Rockland Counties also in the top ten. The data
also showed Nassau, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties are ranked in
the nation’s top ten for the amount of property taxes paid as a percentage
of income.  In addition, the nation’s seven counties with the highest
effective tax rates are in Upstate New York: Niagara, Monroe, Chautauqua,
Wayne, Oswego, Onondaga, and Erie Counties.

In June, Governor Paterson introduced legislation to cap the growth of
school property taxes, which was passed by the Senate in August. The
legislation would cap the growth at a level that allows for reasonable
growth of school expenses, while allowing for new construction and
protecting capital expenditures already approved by voters. The cap would
put voters in control of their school taxes. Voters could choose to
increase their local school taxes past the capped amount by “overriding”
the cap at the ballot box; alternatively, if voters decide to spend less,
they could enact an “underride” of the cap.

New York State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, "The Commission’s
preliminary recommendations provided an excellent foundation for
discussions regarding much-needed relief for property taxpayers.  I
appreciate that the Commission is taking the next step to hear the
perspectives of my constituents and individuals statewide.   I look forward
to working with the Commission, my community and my fellow legislators to
arrive at real strategies for property tax relief and school district
mandate relief that will benefit all communities across our state,
including the taxpayers and the children of Yonkers and the other Big Four
Large City School Districts."

Merryl Tisch, Vice Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents and
Commission member, said, “Since January, the Commission has maintained a
focus on quality education for our children, and the testimony we’ve heard
today provides us with a broad base of perspectives and insights.  It is
critical during these times of fiscal restraint that we identify
opportunities for cost reduction and mandate relief while continuing to
ensure a high quality education for all children.”

Commission member Michael Solomon, a municipal finance expert, said, "Two
of the main drivers of school district costs are special education and
mandates.  As a resident of Westchester, I know first-hand the impact of
property taxes on working families here.  The Commission is taking crucial
steps to provide necessary relief so that families and businesses can
thrive and prosper here and across the state."

Phil Amicone, Mayor of Yonkers, said "New York‘s crushing property tax
burden is one of the biggest contributing factors to the flight of middle
class jobs and small businesses out of our state, and it must be addressed
on a statewide level if we are to once again become competitive in the
region and around the world.  No matter what we do on the local level, if
the growing problem of state mandates, education funding, and health care
costs aren’t tackled by our leaders in Albany, then the problem will
persist.  That’s why I’m encouraged by the steps Governor Paterson and
Commission Chairman Suozzi are taking to build consensus on this crucial
issue."

Lisa Davis, Executive Director of the Westchester Putnam School Boards
Association, said, "School districts are faced with a staggering array of
mandates from the state and federal level, the costs of which are
inevitably passed on to taxpayers.  During this current fiscal downturn,
the volatility of the stock market will have a significant impact on
schools and taxpayers, particularly in regard to New York State‘s
defined-benefit pension costs.  We find the Commission’s recognition of
these and other local cost drivers to be critical to any discussion of
school property tax relief."

Background on the Commission

The Commission on Property Tax Relief was established by Executive Order
No. 22 in January, 2008 to investigate and make recommendations regarding:

* Root causes of the high property tax burden, including unfunded
      mandates and local expenditures;
* Impacts of increased state aid and existing property tax relief
      programs;
* Effectiveness of property tax caps in other states and, potentially,
      in New York; and
* The most effective means to impose a limit on school property tax
      growth without adversely impacting the ability of school districts
      to provide a quality education to all students.

The Commission members are Chairman Thomas R. Suozzi; Nicholas J. Pirro,
former Onondaga County Executive; Paul A. Tokasz, former Majority Leader of
the State Assembly; Merryl H. Tisch, Vice Chancellor, State Board of
Regents; Shirley Strum Kenny, President, Stony Brook University; and
Michael Solomon, municipal finance expert.  The special advisors to the
Commission are Elizabeth Lynam, Citizens Budget Commission; Robert Ward,
Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government; Lisa Donner, Center for
Working Families; Karen Scharff, Citizen Action of New York; and Sandra
Parker, Rochester Business Alliance.

The Commission released its Preliminary Report in June. The primary
recommendation of the Commission was a cap on the growth of school property
taxes. The Commission also recommended that, once the cap is enacted, a
circuit breaker be put in place, as well as more than 20 recommendations to
reduce mandates on school districts and address the root causes of high
property taxes.

The Final Report will be submitted by December 1, 2008.