On January 9th 2012, we had a record turnout at the public hearing in Sea Cliff Village Hall. At issue was a Village proposal to override the two percent tax cap. I believe the residents who came out on both sides of the tax cap all have a common goal in our heart, and that is to make Sea Cliff the best Village on Long Island. The hearing made me proud to be an American because democracy in action is a beautiful thing. However several statements were made by some, both at the hearing and later in the press, that cannot go unchallenged.
The reason for the large turnout was a postcard sent by the Sea Cliff Property Owners Committee alerting Villagers of the hearing. The postcard simply stated “ IN 2011 GOVERNOR CUOMO ENTACTED THE 2% PROPERTY TAX CAP. IN 2012, THE VILLAGE OF SEA CLIFF WANTS TO TAKE IT AWAY.” Those seeking to override the tax cap have stated that the postcard was “inaccurate,” and “full of lies.” I challenge these people to tell us specifically where is the inaccuracy? The tax cap law was passed and signed by Andrew Cuomo, and the Village wants to kill it. It’s really as simple as that. Just because the Village was caught in the embarrassing position of providing the bare minimum notice to taxpayers of such a controversial issue, don’t blame the messenger.
Like most politicians running for office since the days of Michael Dukakis, Mayor Kennedy claims to have been elected to office on the platform of not raising taxes. However we need to look at the Sea Cliff budget for the last two years to see if these promises have been kept. In the 2010-2011 budget year, total expenses were $5,071,433. In the 2011-2012 budget year, total expenses where $5,337,001. In other words, spending increased $265,000. To pay for the increased spending, tax revenues were increased by $120,854, or on average $56 more per tax lot. The rest of the spending was paid for by withdrawing $125,000 from the Village checkbook.
Mayor Kennedy, whilst bemoaning state mandates goes on to make a claim, printed in the Gold Coast Gazette, stating that “the members of N.Y.S Mandate Relief Redesign Team have not even been named.” Mayor Kennedy, let me introduce you to the Chairman of the team, Larry Schwartz, along with the other 27 distinguished members. Also running counter to Kennedy’s claims, 70% of the 798 taxing entities in New York are not overriding the property tax cap as of January 15, according to the state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
Burdensome regulations and enforcement raise costs for the Village, and hassle property owners. The Village of Sea Cliff needs to reform the Village code with an eye towards reducing costs. We need to stop wasting money paying code enforcement officers to spy on residents in tinted window Suburbans. The Village needs to focus on the flexibility it already has to cut spending, rather that doing away with the cap.
It is easy to point fingers at Albany and gripe about reduced State aid and increased mandates. But at what point do we take responsibility for ourselves? Albany doesn’t dictate Village staffing requirements, costly Village regulations, and other expenses in the Village’s control. When do we stop blaming Albany, and instead start setting the example for Albany?
Anthony Losquadro
Sea Cliff POC