Sunday, May 18, 2025
Picking up right where we left off last legislative session, the Liberty Water team has been hard at work, talking with New York’s elected officials about providing meaningful rate relief to customers. Currently, roughly 30 percent of a Liberty customer’s bill is made up of taxes that provide no benefit to the water system itself.
The disproportionate level of taxes paid by our customers unnecessarily drives up the cost of water. That is unjust, but thankfully, we are keeping up the momentum from last year’s efforts to eliminate the special franchise tax — which makes up a significant portion of the overall taxes paid by Liberty customers — and to provide access to the state’s drinking water infrastructure grant programs. Once again, we are asking our customers to join us in this fight in Albany, and use the tools we have created to make their voices heard.
Stopthehiddentax.org is our advocacy website, and we encourage every Liberty New York Water customer to visit and use it to take action. Showing your support for these legislative changes is very simple. Visit the website, click on the “Take Action” tab and fill out some basic information. Once it is submitted, a letter will automatically be sent on your behalf to key decision-makers who can move this legislation forward.
Showing overwhelming support from our customers for this legislative change will move the needle. If you are one of the more than 3,600 Liberty customers who have already taken action through the site, take action again.
The continuous reinforcement to our elected officials that you want to see these cost-saving efforts become a reality is extremely impactful, and will build on the nearly 60,000 letters that have been sent to elected officials in the past year.
As a company, we continue to make a strong case to the prominent policymakers on behalf of our customers, and the message is resonating. Legislation to eliminate the special franchise tax as well as to provide access to public grant funding has been introduced again this year.
Right now it is vital that the elected officials responsible for moving the bill through the legislative process hear from our customers. For those who want to see lower water bills, going to Stopthehiddentax.org and sending a letter to state leaders takes less than five minutes, and policymakers won’t be able to ignore the voices of our 125,000 customers.
While the taxes collected do help fund local taxing jurisdictions, it is our firm belief that these taxes should not be collected through customer water bills. Making matters worse, our customers are the only ones in Nassau County who have to pay this excessive tax.
Moreover, your tax dollars are being used to fund water infrastructure projects throughout the state that Liberty is currently ineligible to access. Once again, those dollars are being collected without any benefit returning to the water system in your community.
I want to be perfectly clear on one final point: The only advantage Liberty stands to gain in pursuing this legislative change is water rates that more accurately reflect the true cost of providing high-quality water service. That’s it. It is written into the proposed legislation that Liberty cannot realize any financial benefit from either bill.
So what can our customers do? Visit stopthehiddentax.org, click on the “Take Action” section, and fill in your information to have a letter sent on your behalf directly to key decision-makers. There is power in numbers, and we are hoping every one of our customers will join the fight for lower bills. Let your voice be heard!
Deborah Franco is president of Liberty Water New York.
