State Lawmakers Oppose Revising 60% Tax Cap Provision

New York State Senator Lee Zeldin and Assemblyman Al Graf both stated that they would not consider fighting to eliminate the tax cap provision that requires a 60% supermajority approval for school budgets to pass.

In the wake of the May 21 Sachem budget failure in which 54% of the community approved raising taxes by 7.49%, supporters of the budget have been vocal about their displeasure with the 60% requirement.

A petition filed on Moveon.org’s website by a Sachem resident asking to repeal the 60% threshold garnered nearly 400 signatures, and some public commenters during the last few Board of Education budget meetings have grieved the supermajority.

In the BOE meeting that immediately followed the budget fail, Board Trustee Michael Isernia also expressed his frustration.

“Any other election in America, this would have been a passed budget,” he had said at that meeting.

A spokesman for the Sachem teachers union quipped during the public comments that according to a recent poll, Gov. Mario Cuomo would receive 55% of the vote for reelection, a number that, by the terms of his own tax cap legislation, would cause him to lose the election.

But Sen. Lee Zeldin said rolling back the supermajority provision to a mere 50% plus one, would take all the teeth out of the tax cap.

“How is that a tax cap, then?” Zeldin said, pointing out that it would just be business as usual for school districts. “How do you continue that rate? With the tax cap going into effect now, with two [Sachem] budget proposals, taxes are still going up at an unsustainable rate.”

Zeldin added that taxes have become the biggest burden to New Yorkers wishing to stay in New York, buy a home, and raise a family.

“The amount of property tax increase throughout Long Island and other counties in New York State have been unsustainable over the course of the last several years,” he said. Both Sen. Zeldin and Sen. John Flanagan supported the 2011 tax cap legislation presented by Gov. Cuomo, and Zeldin said he would not support revising that provision.

“I have not heard one person in the legislature mention support for that proposal at all,” he said. Sen. Flanagan did not return calls for comment.

State Assemblyman Al Graf also said he would rather look at other means of reform for school financing before fighting to roll back the threshold.

“In order to pass legislation, you have to pass it on the floor of the assembly, on the floor of the senate and the Governor has to sign it,” Graf stated. “If you’re going to modify the tax cap, what do you think the chances are of the Governor signing something new to his signature legislation? Slim to none, I’d say.”

Both Graf and Zeldin said they would be more apt to fight for mandate relief, whereby the state’s unfunded mandates are put on hold to help alleviate the costs of instituting those mandates at the district level.

“[Gov. Cuomo] was going to give mandate relief and he hasn’t done that,” Graf said. “There’s a host of other issues including the cost of electricity. Sachem’s electric bill is $240,000 a month. You can’t keep piling on costs for the schools.”

Graf referred to a website he launched on May 26 called “FixNYSchools.com,” which opens up dialogue about how to rework school finances.

Graf said he is currently evaluating some of the legislation that handcuffs schools from earning revenue through platforms often used by private companies, such as selling advertising. Graf said this would particularly benefit Sachem, which could sell ads on WSHR, the school’s student-run radio station.

Overall, Graf said that avoiding future budgetary disasters will require a concerted effort on all fronts.