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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TODAY: 2/21/08
Contact: Suzanne Redmond (315) 255-3045
SHIFTING COSTS TO COUNTIES WILL LEAD TO
PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
Recently the
governor proposed shifting the cost of over $80 million in programs from
the state to counties in an effort to save money in the state budget.
These programs include non-emergency public assistance, two-parent
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and youth detention
facilities.
The cost to counties in the 123rd Assembly District
will be as follows: $705,000 in Broome County, $113,000 in Cayuga
County, $64,000 in Chenango County, $213,000 in Cortland County and
$72,000 in Tioga County. In total, this will cost local governments in
the 123rd district almost $1.2 million.
In addition, School Resource Officers will be removed
from some of our schools and relocated to schools where there is high
crime and gang activity. School Resource Officers are an invaluable
asset for schools, working as partners to protect students, school
faculty and staff and the schools they attend, as well as providing
guidance to students. Now schools will have to pick up the slack and
cover the cost of bringing in new officers.
While the governor has promised no new taxes, these
cost shifts will work as the same exact thing as a new tax. They will
force localities to raise taxes in order to cover these cost shifts.
Residents and businesses in New York State pay some of the highest
property taxes in the nation. While my colleagues and I continue to
fight to lower your tax bills, the governor’s proposal will do the exact
opposite.
We must ensure that our schools have the adequate
funding that they need to provide our children with the proper, safe
education that they need, while fighting to lower New York’s already
exorbitant tax bills.
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