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ALBANY, N.Y. — On a drumbeat led by a lot of old statewide faces, a big new one joined the chorus Tuesday in Albany.
Newly-minted state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan told advocates that he is in favor of making New York’s 2 percent property tax cap permanent. Flanagan introduced a bill in the Senate over the weekend to accomplish the goal.
“If we do this the right way, it’s good for all the people of the state of New York,” said Flanagan. “The Senate has advanced the property tax cap being permanent before; we’re going to pass that legislation again.”
His comments came as the Empire Center, Unschackle Upstate and several business organizations announced a new website dedicated to displaying the success of the property tax cap. According to the coalition, New York taxpayers have cumulatively saved $7.6 billion since the tax cap first took effect in 2012.
In addition, advocates say before the tax cap, New York’s school property tax levies — the biggest tax driver in New York — were rising an average of 6 percent, year-over-year. Now, those same levies rise little more than 2 percent each year.
On the same day as statewide school budget votes Tuesday, the New York State School Boards Association said the tax cap is turning out all right, for now, but that to make it permanent would be short-sighted.
“Permanent means permanent,” said NYSSBA President Timothy Kremer. “We’d like to at least be open to the possibility that circumstances and economic conditions could change.”
Rather than mandating a permanent cap, Kremer said, “coming back every few years, and talking about what’s working and what’s not working, is a good thing.”
School boards would like to receive credit against the cap for instances of large enrollment growth, which can drive budget needs far beyond the confines of a tax cap. The association would also like to see certain special expenses to not count toward the tax cap, and be voted on as separate ballot resolutions by voters in each district.
Along with Senate Republicans, Gov. Andrew Cuomo supports the permanent cap, which was his first-term brainchild in 2011. Assembly Democrats have noted that the current year-to-year extensions of the cap are tied to the extension of New York City rent laws, which are currently under scrutiny. Democrats insist the rent laws are their sole priority right now.
© 2015 Time Warner Cable News
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