letter to the editor by mike russo 2/15/2013

NP Times Letter to the Editor – Mike Russo 2-15-2013

When an auto dealer tells us “this car is terrific, it gets amazing gas mileage, it never breaks down, and this is the lowest price you’ll ever see”, we know we are hearing sales puff.  But sometimes we get taken along anyway because their enthusiasm for the car makes us want it too.  Indeed the best sales people may well be those who actually believe in what they are telling us – their own exuberance and faith in their product may persuade us, even while reason whispers for us to take what we hear with a grain of salt.

I wish this same element wasn't in play when it comes to the financial information we have been receiving from many of our elected officials and Fiscal Committee members regarding their current consolidation report.  But their tendency to perceive and relate the economic implications of consolidation in the rosiest shades of optimism has been troubling.

Case in point at the Information Meeting held on February 11:  Former Supervisor Lent and Trustee Rhoads said repeatedly that if merger of Town and Village occur, we will get a $1 million Citizen Empowerment Grant EVERY YEAR. Why? Because it’s in the law, they say.

Well, that sounds great. Unfortunately it is inaccurate.

 “The New Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act,” was enacted “to provide a process for citizens to petition for a public vote on dissolving or consolidating local governments.” It improves and clarifies a process for consolidation and dissolution. There is no mention of grants or tax credits in this Act.

Separate changes to the State Finance Law (Section 54-p) were initiated to provide a “citizen empowerment” tax credit incentive for local governments to consolidate or dissolve.  However, this is a budgetary measure as it includes the language “within the annual amounts appropriated there-for.” This means that the tax credit incentive can only continue every year if provision for such tax credits is included in the state budget every year.  Incentive programs like these go by the wayside regularly whenever the Legislature or Governor no longer wants to fund them.

The question should be: “How long will this tax credit program be funded?”  It was funded last year and in this current budget year of 2012-2013. Governor Cuomo includes it in his proposal for budget year 2013-2014, but this is yet to be approved by the Legislature. The Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act itself was a pet project of Governor Cuomo when he was still Attorney General.  It’s typical for ambitious politicians to introduce flashy programs to promote themselves, and add to their list of achievements, and certainly we all are aware of the aspirations of our present Governor.  He wants the initiative to be a success. But let’s consider how the tax credit program may play from the point of view of State Senators and Assembly Members, who will decide every year whether to fund it.  Over half of towns in New York State have no villages. How long before members of the Senate and Assembly get an earful from many towns about how unfair it is that a neighboring town is getting a huge tax credit and they’re not?  Consider just our neck of the woods: Esopus, Gardiner, Lloyd, Plattekill, Rochester, Rosendale – none of these towns have villages with which to merge and get a piece of the large tax credit pie offered by this program.

So there’s a fairness problem with regard to this program that is likely to erode the support of many legislators. As well, this program excludes New York City, so it’s unlikely that the city’s representatives will provide any bedrock support for the tax credit program. Add to that the current budgetary stress of the State government, and there’s good reason to wonder how long this program will last. Will the $1 million tax credit remain in the budget for one more year or three years or five years? Will it be amended such that it is chopped in half next year, or limited to only one or two years per municipality? It’s anyone’s guess.

My point here is to urge those who are pressing very hard for consolidation to quit painting a picture of the best of all possible worlds – in this case a wonderful world where the state gives our village/town a $1 million tax break every year, when in fact the likely picture is different. There is very good reason to question the longevity of the tax credit.

Another example from the February 11 meeting:  The Fiscal Committee estimates that the merged Town and Village could operate at the same level of Board costs (stipends and contractual) as the Town alone. Mr. Lent told me that it was possible because all the time spent on each Board discussing issues involving the other Board would be eliminated. Well, that’s an interesting argument and the way Mr. Lent tells it, you want to believe him, but if the two boards have similarly-sized workloads, it would mean that over the years approximately half of each board’s time has been taken up with New Paltz intergovernmental issues. From my inquiries to several people who have served in Village and Town government, this was not the case – over the years, in general, Village-Town issues have been at most modest topics amidst all trustee or council work. It seems more reasonable to anticipate that the workload for a merged Village/Town board might be somewhat less than the combined workloads of each board, but certainly more than either board currently handles. Furthermore, there has been some talk of having a six member Board plus Mayor/Supervisor.

My point here is the same as above:  I put it to the Fiscal Committee that they should be conservative in their estimates of savings; not extremely optimistic as is the case with this and many of their spreadsheet figures.