Sandy Galef on the Issues:
Property Taxes
I am so grateful to my constituents for their continued support of the work I undertake every day for the 90th Assembly District. It is surely one of the toughest times to be a legislator. Property taxes are skyrocketing as the money in our pockets seems to be shrinking daily. I have spent much time analyzing our current predicament and have engaged the public in conversation through forums I held earlier in the year, newsletters mailed home asking for feedback, and visits to each municipality in my district where I had the opportunity to speak to many of you and really understand what could help the most people.
What I discovered is that opinions in my district were wide-ranging. While many support the notion of a tax cap, some feel that it does not go far enough or help the people who need it most. In fact, from a questionnaire I sent out in March, the majority supported the middle income circuit breaker bill I sponsored which would give a tax break to property owners directly proportional to their income. Others preferred a system that would fund schools through income taxes. When I invited County Executive Tom Suozzi to Putnam to review his report from the Commission on Property Tax Relief, many of my constituents, including teachers, PTA representatives and hard working residents were outraged that a property tax cap was being proposed. Yet, the business community and many taxpayer groups fully support a cap.
What the Suozzi Commission did propose was a three pronged approach: a property tax cap, a circuit breaker, and mandate relief for schools and municipalities. This is what I believe we need to pass in Albany and what I have been working hard for. On August 19th the Assembly passed circuit breaker legislation which was modeled after my proposal. The Governor’s property tax cap bill was introduced into the Assembly Ways and Means Committee which has not released it to the Assembly for a vote. I wish that the tax cap bill had been referred to the Real Property Taxation Committee that I chair but it was not.
Although I am aware that the property tax cap is not popular with many groups, I am a supporter. I believe that, as Tom Suozzi’s study has indicated, it will enable our government to more strongly target dollars at the state level to educational necessities to improve our flawed funding system while relieving the stress on the local taxpayer. I will continue to fight for this bill as well as to persuade my Senate colleagues to support the circuit breaker legislation which offers more immediate tax relief.
Please continue to communicate with me on this critical issue. When I vote on legislation, I will carefully consider your input in the context of what will be best for the 90th Assembly District, our schools, our cities, towns, villages and hamlets, and our great state of New York.
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