Changes to NYS Laws Would Help Municipalities, Including Bronxville

This week’s column is an addendum to my last column, more local in focus, enumerating the legal changes needed to aid Westchester communities in reducing the property tax burden. All of the following must be advanced by the State legislature and signed by the Governor as they are not in the purview of local governments.

A frequently misunderstood area of revenue generation is the prosecution by local municipal courts of infractions relating to the violation of state vehicle and traffic laws.

Most residents believe that a speeding ticket, perhaps with a fine of $125, immediately contributes to the local coffers. It is quite to the contrary.

A current state law sets the local reimbursement rates on tickets and we are capped at $15 per transaction, regardless of the violation or ticket amount, with no provision for inflationary adjustments. As a consequence, $15 doesn’t come close to covering Court expenses and Villages actually lose significant funds handling these cases for the State. When a local police officer pulls you over for speeding, his or her motive is safety only because the time it takes to issue and adjudicate the ticket is actually a loss for the municipality. The current law needs to be amended so as to more equitably distribute the fine amounts to account for the costs associated with maintaining and operating a local court system. The old adage about it being the end of the month so tickets are issued to increase the coffers is truly a misnomer.

For Bronxville, two current state laws will directly and negatively impact us in the coming year as a result of our undertaking the FEMA backed flood mitigation project.

Since the project is a capital investment, our local financial share is not exempt from the State tax cap legislation. This law must be amended to encourage local governments to undertake infrastructure improvements free of legal constraint, especially in light of the fact it is estimated that New York State infrastructure improvements are underfunded by an astounding 70%.

In tandem with the FEMA construction is the overlay of the Wicks Law. Dating back to 1912, it continues to be one of the most onerous mandates facing local governments. Unlike private construction projects, schools and local governments are required to bid separate plumbing, heating/ventilation/air conditioning and electrical contracts. This multiple bidding requirement has the effect of increasing costs and delaying projects. Estimates are that the exact same project undertaken by a public entity vs. a private contractor will add 15 to 25 percent to the final cost.

Another extremely costly set of tax laws particular to Westchester County property tax payers relate to the MTA. Local municipalities pay both an MTA Platform Tax and an MTA Payroll Tax to the State of New York via our Town and County taxes. Our Town of Eastchester pays a staggering $1.3 million annually to comply with MTA mandates. It is particularly unfair because despite the fact that Connecticut residents comprise a significant percentage of MTA ridership, they pay nothing toward platform maintenance whereas a property tax payer in Westchester, who may not even make use of the train system, is shouldering the burden. At the very least there should be a requirement that the monies are used effectively on actual platform/station maintenance. It is no wonder there is an exodus to adjacent states.

On another front, Westchester communities, like most communities nationwide, should be allowed to collect a Hotel Occupancy Tax as a user fee to cover additional expenses due to hotel use, most notably police and fire protection. Currently, our neighbors in New Rochelle, Yonkers, Peekskill, Rye City and Rye Brook and Mamaroneck Village are allowed to collect a tax to cover their extra costs. However, in the last legislative session, a bill to allow Greenburgh, Tarrytown, Tuckahoe, Ardsley, Elmsford and North Castle to be treated similarly was vetoed without explanation by Governor Cuomo. Westchester communities are seeking uniformity and fairness as the location of a hotel’s boundaries should not be the deciding factor in whether or not this legislation is passed.

Finally, The Triborough Amendment, unique to New York State and under the umbrella of the Taylor Law, has an extraordinary impact on the finances of local governments.

In essence, the Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law prohibits a public employer from altering any provision of an expired labor agreement until a new agreement is reached. The effect is automatic and mandatory pay increases where a salary step or longevity schedule exists, even though the agreement has expired.

The amendment serves to undermine the collective bargaining process by discouraging unions from offering concessions or givebacks, since as long as no agreement is reached, the terms of the current contract remain in effect. As example, why would a union that is receiving 100% in health care benefits in a contract dating back five years when the cost structure was different be incentivized to come to the bargaining table at a time when employees are now contributing to their health care costs?

In contrast, in the municipal sector of the 49 other states and the private sector nationwide where collective bargaining has existed for over 60 years under the National Labor Relations Act, no similar obligation is imposed upon employers who are parties to a labor contract.

All of the above legal constraints contribute to the declining population of New York State as every one of the above laws place an enormous financial burden on the average citizen.

Repeal of any of them would have a direct effect on our local bottom line and the costs that are always passed on to the local taxpayer.