Budget Good. What's Next?

Business groups are happy with the budget passed late last night in the Senate and very early this morning in the Assembly, but now they're calling for action on a property tax cap and mandate relief.
Speaking on behalf of the upstate business community, as it represents more than 70,000 employers, Unshackle Upstate touted the very recent achievement of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the legislature.
"Finally, we have a governor who is willing to lead by example and legislative leadership who share and support his vision for a stronger New York,” said Brian Sampson, executive director of Unshackle Upstate. “By capping education and Medicaid spending and establishing Regional Economic Development Councils, this budget sends a powerful message that New York is on the road to recovery.”
Sandy Parker, a co-founder of Unshackle Upstate and leader of the Rochester Business Alliance, characterized the budget as a solid first step toward getting the state's spending under control. She added, "Now with the budget behind us, we look forward to moving on to equally important issues, such as implementing a property tax cap.”
These sentiments were echoed by the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the North Country Chamber of Commerce and MACNY.
Sampson argued that it is important to build on the momentum of the budget's passage with a couple key proposals, mainly the passage in the Assembly of the property tax cap and serious mandate relief to accompany it. "It’s imperative that they take immediate action to enact a 2-percent property tax cap; provide real mandate relief for our local schools and governments; and reform the public-sector pension system," said Sampson.
The following are portions of the budget that Unshackle Upstate and its allies were particularly happy with:

No new taxes;
Reduction in overall state spending by 2 percent;
Education and Medicaid spending caps;
Creation of Regional Economic Development Councils;
Merger of state agencies;
Repeal of the industrial development authorities tax;
Two-year suspension of diesel retrofit requirement; and
Creation of the Recharge NY Power Program
Key business leaders from Rochester, Binghamton and Syracuse signaled their support the 2011-12 budget.

Census Data Shows Taxes Are Too High?

The coalition of businesses represented by Unshackle Upstate are treating the state's census data as proof that the state needs a tax cap and mandate relief.
"Unfortunately, the 2010 Census data published today shows what Unshackle Upstate has been talking since our creation in 2006 – that Albany's policies have made Upstate New York a less hospitable place to live, work, raise a family and create jobs. And people are voting with their feet," said Brian Sampson, executive director of Unshackle Upstate.
He suggested that the state needs to duplicate the effort in the mid-1970s that took place in New York City to save their future. Sampson said, "Now it's time for today's elected officials to do the same for Upstate New York. Our leaders in Albany must take swift action to enact a 2-percent property tax cap and provide our local governments and schools with real mandate relief."
The property tax cap has already passed the Senate at the 2 percent rate, but has not been addressed by the Assembly.
"By taking action on these critical measure, we can make Upstate New York a place where people want to raise their families and grow their businesses," concluded Sampson.

Unshackle Says Fees ≠ Relief

A $50 fee for property tax appeals was proposed by the Mandate Relief Team and Unshackle Upstate is not pleased with this proposal.
Brian Sampson, the executive director of Unshackle, contended that New Yorkers are already taxed enough. "Rather than scheming up ways to nickel and dime us to death, our elected leaders should focus their energies on how to reduce taxes," he said.
"Charging a fee for people to contest their property tax assessment when the state, at this point, is not advancing real property tax reform makes no sense at all."
This fee also seems to contradict Gov. Andrew Cuomo's pledge for no new taxes or fees, which could explain why the report was released without any fanfare. In fact, the mandate team's report included a handful of new fees. While Cuomo "accepted" the preliminary report, he didn't say whether he endorsed all of its proposals.
Cuomo's description of the report was this: "This is a good first step in helping cities, towns and villages across New York rein in costs and help taxpayers, and I look forward to additional findings throughout the year."
This proposed fee would raise between $12.5 million and $15 million annually, but it's not clear whether they anticipate assessments would remain the same or decrease with the imposition of a fee.

Not Relieved by Relief

Embodying the ire of the business community in New York, Unshackle Upstate has voiced its discontent with the proposals released earlier this week by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Mandate Relief team.
“The report put forth by the Mandate Relief Redesign Team (MRRT) has us asking one simple question: ‘Where’s the relief?" wondered Brian Sampson, the executive director of Unshackle Upstate.
He argued that his group expected more from the team in terms of reduced mandates and regulations on local governments and school districts.
Sampson did voice his support for a new pension tier that was proposed by the mandate team to help municipalities and school districts deal with rising pension costs. This change, though, would only impact future employees and wouldn't alter the obligations the state already has.
This was why Sampson said the team's proposals fell short, as they failed to address the Taylor Law and its Triborough Amendment, which he characterized as "archaic mandates."
Sampson concluded with the threat that rank-and-file legislators will embrace the hard choices if the mandate relief team (and more subtly the legislative leaders) aren't willing to.

New Taxes Won't Heal Medicaid

Businesses are already voicing their opposition to one of many proposals recommended by the Medicaid Redesign Team today.
Proposal 264, which would apply an HCRA surcharge to Physician Office Based Surgery and Radiology Services, has been targeted as enemy #1 by Unshackle Upstate and the Business Council of New York State. Proponents of the plan characterize it as an elimination of government barriers to quality improvement and cost, while Brian Sampson, the exec director of Unshackle Upstate, labeled the surcharge as "a tax on insured New Yorkers."
He argued that it, "has absolutely nothing to do with reforming Medicaid and will only add to the overwhelming tax burden on insured New Yorkers."
These sentiments were echoed by Heather Briccetti, acting-president & CEO of The Business Council of NYS. "This is a bad idea that has been considered and rejected before. It is simply a cost-shift to the private insurance market rather than a redesign of Medicaid," she concluded.
The Medicaid team estimates that the tax would save (or more aptly raise) $57 million in the next fiscal year and $99 million the next year.
Advocates of this plan argue that physicians have been taking away business from hospitals as the result of surcharge obligations, so this proposal would provide some equity to the competition.

Unshackle Central New York

On Monday the Unshackle Upstate coalition expanded its membership to include the Manufacturers Association of Central New York. The addition to the anti-tax and anti-regulation fan club represents 350 businesses and 55,000 workers under the influence of MACNY, who now amplify Unshackle's message.
“The addition of MACNY further cements our organization’s position as the leading voice for Upstate taxpayers and job creators,” said Brian Sampson, executive director of Unshackle Upstate. Of MACNY's president, Randy Wolken, who has joined the board of Unshackle, Sampson said, he has "a keen understanding of the critical issues facing MACNY’s members and surrounding communities and is a welcomed addition to our growing coalition.”
Wolken said he was honored to become a primary partner of Unshackle Upstate ad looked forward to contributing toward the goal of fostering a more effective business climate for upstate communities.

Senate Tax Cap Supported by Unshackle Upstate

The New York State Senate introduced a tax cap bill on Saturday (which they back dated for Friday so they could pass it on Monday) at the behest of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
While many fiscally conservative groups have come out in support of this idea, UnShackle Upstate is the first organization to endorse the actual proposal.
The group implores New Yorkers to encourage their state senator to vote for the bill, which they characterized as a "loud and clear response" to the state's heavy tax burden.
As evidence of the proposal's merit the group lists a series of points in its favor:

- 48 states have some form of limits on property taxes
- Our neighbor Massachusetts demonstrates Property Tax Cap success:
- Property tax burden has dropped from #3 to #33 in the nation
- State funding for local schools has stayed strong -- #5 to 7 in the nation
- Student achievement among the highest in the nation
- Funding less stable in lower-income cities without diverse tax bases