OSWEGO -- UPDATE:
The Oswego City Council voted 6 to 0 Monday night to override the state imposed property tax cap of 2 percent.
EARLIER COVERAGE:
Oswego Mayor Thomas Gillen is predicting passage of a resolution to exceed New York State’s property tax cap Monday evening.
The Oswego City Council will hold a public hearing Monday evening on a resolution to raise property taxes above the two percent limit imposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year.
Gillen told CNY Central’s Jim Kenyon that the city is currently preparing a budget for next year. He says it is not certain that the budget will require a property tax hike in excess of 2 percent, but he calls the resolution before the council "a safety net." Gillen says it's also a way for Oswego to avoid paying state imposed penalties if the budget exceeds the cap by mistake. " If there's a disconnect or mistake being made, we don't want to be penalized. I don't want the people of Oswego to pay the penalty."
Without revealing the details of the budget, Gillen says the resolution to exceed the cap is an option they would like to have in place.
Many municipalities across the state are feeling the pinch as a result of the 2 percent property tax cap. The Cuomo administration feels the cap is necessary because taxes in New York far exceed the national average.
Gillen points out that the city’s property tax rate has not increased since 2006.
After Monday’s public hearing, the city council will vote on the resolution to exceed the tax cap and Gillen predicts it will pass "handily.".
Under current regulations, the municipality is allowed to exceed the property tax cap as long as 60 percent of the governing body, in this case the Oswego Common Council, approves the raise.
