'Property Taxes Are Breaking The Back Of This State': Gov. Cuomo

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — New York's county executives will be given the authority to convene the local taxing entities to come up with a joint plan for reducing local property taxes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday at a 10 a.m. press conference in Haverstraw.

"Property taxes are breaking the back of this state," he said, using Rockland and Westchester counties as examples. The average Rockland taxpayer pays $1,200 in state taxes and $9,000 in property taxes, he said; the average Westchester taxpayer pays $1,800 in state taxes and $13,000 in property taxes annually. Westchester has the highest property taxes in the country.

"It used to be you asked, could you afford the mortgage, now it's can you afford the property taxes," he said.

The state-imposed tax cap has made a difference, but not enough, he said.

He did not recommend consolidating governments. But he did point out that New York has one of the highest percentages of local governments in the country, roughly 900 towns, 62 cities, 500 villages and 6,000 special districts — and more.

"The number of special districts has ballooned over the years," he said. "We have set up this system where everybody's separate, everyone has their own little fiefdom."

But, he said, a system set up by the Dutch and the British 300 years ago doesn't have to be slavishly held to in a world with the internet and decent transportation, and when there's a lot of change and political unrest across the country.

His proposal doesn't change the number of jurisdictions. It just gets all those jurisdictions into a room to make a plan for savings and take it to residents for a vote. "If the people don't support the plan, back in the room," he said.

"I understand the people like the identity of their local town, local village, but I don't think people care if they share a dump truck," he said. "Do you feel possessive about the sewer pipes? Do you care if they co-locate offices?"

For example, he said, there are 102 local government taxing entities in Rockland. There are 47 different offices.

"You can't tell me that you can't sit down at a table and find savings," he said.

And under the proposal, whatever savings a county comes up with at the end of the year, the state will match, he said — doubling the savings to the taxpayer.

As Cuomo is urging local governments to help out their taxpayers, one group of taxpayers is trying to form its own local government. Some residents of Edgemont, a wealthy enclave of Greenburgh with a top-notch school district, have filed a petition with the town, seeking to have residents of the unincorporated area vote on becoming a village, with their own government supported by their own property taxes.

SEE: Edgemont Resident To File Petitions Seeking Incorporation As Village

Image: screengrab from announcement