Teachers' Union and Supporters: Tax Cap Not Needed! (New York, Islip: sale, school districts)

[I_Love_LI_but]

From Newsday Mobile, for all to read:

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School advocates said Wednesday that 90-percent-plus passing rates in statewide budget elections prove voters want to decide for themselves how education dollars are spent.

Their main point: Maintaining local control is better than the 2 percent property-tax cap proposed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to curb school spending.

"We already have a democratic process for capping property taxes, and it works pretty well," said Richard Iannuzzi, president of the 600,000-member New York State United Teachers union.

Now we "don't need" the tax cap! LMAO!

Yeah right! Why are they AFRAID of the tax cap?

My district's increase was within the proposed tax cap target of 2% (1.97%), but still "hogged it" because if Nassau County raised taxes, they would only get 0.3%.

We still need a tax cap, with appropriate spending controls on school district unionized and high-level personnel.

[I_Love_LI_but]

On Iannuzzi, "MR. NO TAX CAP NEEDED" himself:
(Teachers union ad challenges Andrew Cuomo's cuts--Editorial - NYPOST.com), complete with his SMILING picture:

Fat Cat Spending Frenzy

Today, the porky-pussycat watch yields one Richard Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers -- the state's largest teachers union and the parent organization of New York City's United Federation of Teachers.

Iannuzzi will pull down roughly $300,000 in salary and benefits this year -- up 16 percent since 2008 -- and never mind that NYSUT itself is rapidly going broke under his leadership.

...


And the amount it doles out to its own directors and employees -- dozens of whom earn healthy six-figure salaries -- has mushroomed more than 38 percent over the past four years.

That includes Iannuzzi's take, which went from $257,000 in 2007-2008 to $298,500 the following year -- a 16 percent rise.

At least Iannuzzi and his cohorts are consistent: They want Albany to keep spending taxpayer money on their members as lavishly as they spend dues income on themselves.

Maybe NYSUT can afford it -- but New York taxpayers no longer can.

PS: taxpayers are also on the hook for Iannuzzi's teacher's pension (from teaching in Central Islip) of $103K per annum.

In general:

Millionaire Teachers
Unions Looting NY's Towns

New York's millionaire teachers--Scott Johnston - NYPOST.com

a retiring teacher today gets a pension of about 70 percent of base pay for life -- which typically works out to about $84,000 a year (not taxed by the state, incidentally). The retiree also gets family health benefits, worth another $16,000 or so a year.

Live for 25 years, and that's a total of $2.5 million.

And they've got an excellent chance of collecting for a quarter century -- because they get to retire with full benefits at age 57.

Discounted at 4 percent, that's a current value of $1.6 million. That means that, for you and me to get that hundred grand a year for 25 years, you'd need to have $1.6 million socked away in an IRA when you retired.

Are we crazy, no tax cap needed?

[rocafeller05]

No we are not crazy, we need a tax cap asap!

[zulu400]

I support the democratic process. We just need more awareness in the general public about what are the components of the current budget and where is money is going. The voter turnout should increase accordingly and the right decision will be made, be it art show or bake sale on election day... LOL.

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by zulu400

I support the democratic process. We just need more awareness in the general public about what are the components of the current budget and where is money is going. The voter turnout should increase accordingly and the right decision will be made, be it art show or bake sale on election day... LOL.

I dunno, really good brownies could sway me!

[formyblog]

Originally Posted by zulu400

I support the democratic process. We just need more awareness in the general public about what are the components of the current budget and where is money is going. The voter turnout should increase accordingly and the right decision will be made, be it art show or bake sale on election day... LOL.

How come 83% of all respondents including 88% of homeowners in a recent Siena poll expressed their support for a property tax cap. Well if they agree to a 2% cap then how come school budgets with tax levy around 4% and some more than that get passed.

William Floyd 15 votes less and Central Islip 9 votes less.

When you ask people over phone(some other mode of communication) they will say taxes are high but when it comes to go to the polling booth they are lazy, that's all i can think of or people are just unaware when the vote is and how that affects my taxes.

Can't solve laziness !

[TomMoser]

I am not saying that I am for or against the tax cap. I'm just trying to understand something. Could someone point out where Albany gets the authority to impose this upon local governments and other taxing authorities?

Also, does it apply only to school taxes, each taxing authority seperately, or is it an aggregate tax? In other words, if it is aggregate, who decides what portion of the allowed maximum increase is allocated to schools, fire, town, county, etc.?

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

I am not saying that I am for or against the tax cap. I'm just trying to understand something. Could someone point out where Albany gets the authority to impose this upon local governments and other taxing authorities?

Also, does it apply only to school taxes, each taxing authority seperately, or is it an aggregate tax? In other words, if it is aggregate, who decides what portion of the allowed maximum increase is allocated to schools, fire, town, county, etc.?

They are the OVERRIDING AUTHORITY. That's where/how they get it. Just like the Federal government overrides the State governments when push comes to shove.

If there weren't any overriding authorities, who knows what the little "governments" all over the USA could get away with. For example, if there were no overriding authorities, then, if it wanted to, the Village of Valley Stream could reinstate slavery, could reinstate smoking being allowed in restaurants, supermarkets, stores, could criminalize homosexuality, etc., etc. Extreme examples, but I think you can see what I mean.

I understand the tax cap to be in the aggregate. If it left out any of the taxing authorities, it wouldn't make sense.

[TomMoser]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

I understand the tax cap to be in the aggregate. If it left out any of the taxing authorities, it wouldn't make sense.

So then how is it determined what part of the pie each taxing authority gets?

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

So then how is it determined what part of the pie each taxing authority gets?

I looked it up and here's an explanation:

Cuomo's proposal would bring New York's annual school-budget charade to an end -- by shifting the focus from spending to taxes.

Instead of voting on a school budget, district residents will be asked to turn thumbs up or down on a proposed school-district property-tax levy for the coming year. If the proposal calls for an increase above the cap, it will need approval by more than 60 percent of the voters to pass. If below the cap, the tax proposition will still require voter approval.

If a tax proposition is rejected in its first go-round, the school board has one shot at resubmitting it to the voters, with or without a reduction from the original level.

Here's where the Cuomo bill is ingenious: If voters reject the proposed tax levy a second time, there can be no further votes and the tax levy will revert to the prior year's level.

Read more: Andrew Cuomo's property-tax cap--E.J. McMahon - NYPOST.com

Regarding the other taxing authorities:

As for property taxes imposed by other local jurisdictions, elected governing bodies -- county legislatures, city councils, town boards and the like -- will retain the final say on property taxes under Cuomo's bill. A tax levy above the cap will require approval from a two-thirds vote majority of the governing body -- which at least sets a slightly higher bar than exists under law now.

This may be seen as a retreat from the campaign promise -- but it may also be seen as a strategically wise one. By focusing on school districts, Cuomo is narrowing the political battleground and focusing on the largest and fastest-rising component of property-tax bills throughout suburban New York City and upstate New York.

Read more: Andrew Cuomo's property-tax cap--E.J. McMahon - NYPOST.com