The New York State Budget currently being negotiated by lawmakers is a double negative for local taxpayers.
On the one hand, it includes the Internet Fairness Act, which will require New Yorkers to pay sales taxes on more of their online purchases. At the same time, it takes the local share of those tax revenues and devotes it to funding programs that were cut in the State Budget.
Specifically, the budget proposal creates a new mandate for County property taxpayers to backfill $60 million in State funding cuts to nearly 1,300 towns and villages. It also uses local tax dollars for other State initiatives such as early voting, bail reform, and a new lead monitoring program.
These new mandates are on top of the 9 state mandates that already consume more than $12 billion in local revenues from counties and NYC each and every year. That’s $1 billion a month in local tax dollars that were never invested in our local economy, infrastructure, services, and programs. These were local tax dollars taken by State leaders and spent the way that they see fit.
In Sullivan County, we anticipate spending $50,935,203 on State-mandated programs and services in 2019, which will consume 78.71% of the property taxes we collect. By any measure, that is significant.
We urge legislative leaders and the Governor to demonstrate their commitment to all of our communities by rejecting the new unfunded State mandates proposed in this budget. We literally cannot afford them.
Luis Alvarez
Chairman, Sullivan County Legislature
Monticello
March 27
