Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner.
Any homeowner in New York State already knows property taxes can just about kill a household budget. In a market where home prices are among the most affordable in the nation the tax bill laid on top of the mortgage is also among the highest in the nation. Not just among the highest - they are the highest.
Nine of the highest taxed counties in the country are in Upstate New York. Onondaga is among them. A couple of years ago Governor David Paterson put together a special commission to see what could be done about the problem. Former Onondaga County Executive Nick Pirro was among those appointed. He commented at the end of that process what he heard through a tour of the state: the property tax burden on New Yorkers is just too much to take.
Governor Paterson proposed a cap on property tax increases. He talked about capping the growth of school taxes, in particular, to 4% per year. The idea did not gain wide acceptance on the legislative side. Now we are just two weeks away from having a new governor and again the talk has turned to property tax caps.
Andrew Cuomo’s campaign talk centered around a promise of a 2% cap on property tax growth. This week mayors from across the state, including Syracuse’s Stephanie Miner, stood up and said they support a cap, but only after the state stops passing on the cost of mandated programs to the local levels.
Even more remarkable from the mayors was serious talk about taking a new approach to compensating public employees. They proposed revamping the pension system, freezing wages and having workers contribute to healthcare plans.
All the politicians say the cost of government is too high and taxes are too high, but no one has been able to accomplish the massive task of reigning in the costs and reducing the taxes. Will a new Governor Cuomo be able to get the job done? Will the message from the mayors be heard? Here comes the New Year.
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