June 6, 2008

Governor Names Upstate Bank CEO to head Empire State Development
Governor David Paterson announced this week the appointment of Robert G. Wilmers as Chair of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), the state’s economic development agency.

Wilmers is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Buffalo-based M & T Bank, and a founding member of Unshackle New York, a coalition of business leaders from Upstate New York, which has been aggressively advocating for reforms that would reduce the cost of doing business in New York State. Wilmers will continue to maintain his post with M & T Bank and will serve as ESD Chairman in a voluntary capacity, based in Buffalo.

At a press conference called by the Governor to announce the appointment, Wilmers stated that there is one reason for the state’s economic problems: “Albany.”

Governor Paterson said he wishes to maintain the commitment to revitalizing the Upstate Economy while restructuring the overall administration of the State’s economic development agencies under one strong chair. While Wilmers awaits confirmation by the Senate, a national search will be conducted for a Chief Executive Officer who will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Corporation. Wilmers will also appoint two “leaders” to oversee upstate and downstate divisions of ESD.

NYSAC Executive Director, Stephen Acquario, welcomed the news that a decision had been made to fill the chief executive to this state agency. ”Our state deserves to have an opportunity to compete for jobs. This is mission critical. We need to invest in our state to make sure we have a skilled workforce for the needs of tomorrow, and having a chief executive in place in an agency as vital to the economy as the Empire State Development Corporation is both timely and important. NYSAC will engage Chairman Wilmers as soon as possible."

The Governor also announced that Daniel Gunderson, appointed Upstate Chair of Empire State Development by former Governor Spitzer, has resigned that post. (Jeff Osinski)

NYSAC Testifies On Property Tax Rebate Loophole Before Joint Legislative Panel
“In light of the state’s lagging population and economic growth we are looking at a future with higher costs, fewer people, a declining property tax base and inevitably higher and higher property taxes. These are crisis conditions and the time to act is now,” NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario told a legislative panel in Albany this week.

On the eve of the release of a report by the New York State Commission on Property
Tax Relief, Acquario testified on behalf of the state’s 62 counties before the NYS Senate Standing Committee on Local Government and the NYS Assembly Standing Committee on Real Property Taxation.

Acquario also discussed a little known loophole that enables people who have not paid their school property taxes to receive a STAR rebate check. “These delinquent taxpayers should not be entitled to a rebate check, and it is outrageous that this has been happening in a state as sophisticated as New York,” said Acquario.

In New York, every county except one is responsible for paying school districts for uncollected taxes and then they take on the responsibility for the recovery of delinquent taxes—to the tune of $408 million in 2006. Acquario suggested that counties could work with the state to develop a process for intercepting those checks on behalf of the locality.

Suozzi Property Tax Commission Issues Report Calling for School Levy Cap
The Governor’s commission on property tax relief, chaired by Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, released its preliminary findings and recommendations this past week. According to the report, New York's property taxes are 79 percent above the national average increasing an average of 7 percent a year for the last four years.

Central to the report’s recommendations is a school tax cap, under which school districts outside the “Big Five” (those in the state’s most populous cities), would have their property tax levies capped at 4 percent or 120 percent of the consumer price index. The cap would exclude taxes necessary to support capital expenditures and adjusted to reflect any growth in the district’s tax base due to new construction within the district.

Districts with budgets that come in under the 4 percent cap wouldn't have to hold an annual budget vote and could “bank” the difference to be used in future years, but not to exceed a total increase of more than 5.5 percent from one year to the next. Exceeding the cap would require approval of at least 55 percent of the voters in a given district.

The commission also proposed overhauling the state’s STAR program by creating a new property tax “circuit breaker” program that would freeze an individual’s property taxes when they exceed a certain percentage of the individual’s income.

NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario said “the commission's report—and all of the work that went into it—is a good first step toward addressing our vexing property tax problem and changing our current course of inaction. However, even with the report and its recommendations, there remains much work to be done to address the true root cause of rising county property taxes—unfunded and under-funded state mandates. Addressing these cost drivers first will indeed produce a more efficient system of taxation and public services. We look forward to working with Governor Paterson and Legislative Leaders to address this important issue.”

Governor Paterson accepted the reports findings stating, “All of us understand that the cap is a blunt instrument, but it is needed to force hard choices and to address the fact that New York’s local tax burden is the highest in the nation.” The Governor has already drafted and submitted legislation that would implement the commission’s cap proposal, and has called on the legislature to act on the bill before the end of the scheduled session on June 23rd. (Pete Savage)

NYSAC takes part in meeting of Governor’s Task Force on Renewable Energy
At a meeting of the Governor’s Task Force on renewable energy, NYSAC and other government partners were asked for input on ways to best encourage investment in renewable energy technologies and how to streamline procurement policies to promote municipal purchase of renewable energy. The meeting was designed to help identify ways to implement changes suggested in the Task Force report issued in February (linked here).

NYSAC showcased our partnership with the Municipal Electric and Gas Alliance (MEGA) as a best practice example of how counties are already working to cut energy spending and purchase “green” energy. (Pete Savage)

Call for articles for the Summer 2008 issue of the NYSAC News magazine
Is your county involved in a shared services project? Is there a story to tell that would benefit the efforts of other county officials across the state?

The focus of the next issue of the NYSAC News magazine is focused on streamlining public services at the local government level. Submissions should be between 750 to 1,000 words and include a 300 dpi photograph of the author or an appropriate photograph to accompany the text. Articles must be sent to mlavigne@nysac.org by June 13, 2008. (Mark LaVigne)

Save the date for the NYSAC Fall Seminar
The NYSAC Fall Seminar will be held September 24-26, 2008 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County.

Upcoming Next Week
The Senate and Assembly are scheduled to be in session on Monday through Thursday.

The New York State Association of County Clerks will hold their Annual Conference from Sunday through Wednesday in Lake Placid.