Sen. Kemp Hannon (516) 739-1700 hannon@senate.state.ny.us
Sen. Charles Fuschillo (516) 455-3341 fuschill@senate.state.ny.us
Maureen O'Connell (516) 739-5119 oconnem@assembly.state.ny.us
Donna Ferrara (516) 338-2693 ferrard@assembly.state.ny.us
David McDonough (516) 731-8830 mcdond@assembly.state.ny.us
H: A bill to end school-tax sticker shock
Back in November, we called on our state legislators to amend the education law so that school districts would be required to provide tentative tax rates when presenting budgets to their communities.
Knowing the tax rate -- the amount residents will pay for every $100 of a home's assessed value under a proposed budget -- allows homeowners to estimate in the spring, before they vote on their school districts' spending plans, how much they're going to be paying in the fall.
In years past, school districts voluntarily offered homeowners this formula, along with the tax levy increase, which they're required by law to disclose. Two years ago, however, they stopped doing so, claiming that a number of factors now make it impossible to accurately project a tax rate. We think school district officials stopped providing this information simply out of fear that residents would vote down their budgets if they knew the truth.
Finally, someone in the state Legislature is responding to our calls to modify the law. Assemblyman David McDonough (R-North Merrick) has introduced legislation, A. 4047, that would require school districts across the state to project tax rates when presenting their budgets. We wholeheartedly thank McDonough and his colleagues who've signed on as co-sponsors, including Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg of Long Beach.
While we regard this as an important step in the right direction, however, it's only the first victory in what will likely be a long, uphill battle. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, this may not be the end or the beginning of the end, but it may, perhaps, be the end of the beginning.
All too often in Albany we've seen worthy pieces of legislation die in committee, never even reaching the floor for a vote. For this reason, we call on all our representatives in the Assembly to support A. 4047. Once it passes the Assembly, it will need the Senate's OK, and we also strongly encourage our senators to approve McDonough's bill.
Though we think this legislation has a legitimate chance of becoming law, it's not going to be easy. As news of it spreads and the debate begins, school districts across Long Island are undoubtedly going to lobby against it. We pledge that our support for this bill will never waver, but we can't win the fight alone. Only the will of the people will determine whether this bill becomes law.
Call or e-mail your state legislators and urge them to support A. 4047. All who were shocked by the contents of their tax bills last fall need to make their voices heard.
We understand that school districts find themselves in precarious situations, with budgets that must be put to community-wide votes. We also acknowledge that school-district officials raise some justifiable points regarding the problems of projecting tax rates these days.
But their concerns don't outweigh homeowners' right to know how much they're going to be paying in school taxes under a given budget. What's more, to say it's now impossible to project tax rates is simply inaccurate. A few school districts, including Rockville Centre, still manage to do it. The information they provide may be just an educated guess, but it's a lot better than no guess at all.
