GGov. Cuomo’s proposed ‘property tax freeze’ = Useless?? (New York: 2014, credit)

[Never2L8]

Realtors have been touting the proposed “property tax freeze” proposed by Gov. Cuomo as some potential relief from our ridiculous taxes but I wonder if any of them understand how it is supposed to work?

The Catch-22 in the proposal is that homeowners will have their taxes “frozen” for the two-year period (at last reading, 2017-2019 were the target years) ONLY IF the taxing entities “abide by the 2% school tax cap”… which as we know has its own Get Out of Jail Free card.

The so-called “2% school tax cap” does NOT mean the district can’t put up a budget with an increase of more than 2% (or the rate of inflation, whichever is less). They can put up ANY budget increase they choose: 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 10%, whatever. And IF that budget passes by a majority of at least 60% then that district is NOT required to abide by any sort of cap.

(Links:

Understanding New York's property tax levy cap - Capital Region BOCES, Albany, NY
Although often referred to as a “2 percent tax cap,” the law does not, in fact, restrict any proposed tax levy increase to 2 percent. It does, however, require at least 60 percent voter approval for a school budget if the proposed levy increase exceeds a certain amount. That amount, called the “tax levy limit,” is calculated by each district according to a complex formula outlined in the law, and varies by district.


A citizen's guide to the property tax cap | CitizenConnects
"For local governments, the limit stays in place unless the local governing body, by 60 percent, enacts a local law (or for special districts, a resolution) that allows for an increase over the tax levy cap. The community may participate in the process because the local law is subject to a public hearing. For schools, the limit stays in place unless 60 percent of the voters approve additional spending over the cap. " )


And so, none of the residents of any school district that approves a budget over the “cap” by at least a 60% majority would receive the benefit of having their school taxes “frozen” under Cuomo’s proposal. Their school district’s budget vote will have taken the benefit of the freeze away from them. Ditto for town and county taxes (which are not voted on) if they exceed the 2% increase limit.

(Links:

Cuomo's plan to freeze local property taxes has lawmakers confused | News from North Country Public Radio
"Gov. Cuomo's proposal relies on local governments and school districts doing several things. First, they would need to agree to limit overall spending increases to two percent or less in the first year of the program. In the second year, they would also have to show that they consolidated some services."

Cuomo Supports Proposal For Two-Year Property Tax Freeze « CBS New York
"Under the proposal, the freeze would also only apply to municipalities and school districts that abided by the state-imposed cap of 2 percent growth in budget spending."

Cuomo Backs $2.2 Billion in N.Y. Tax Cuts Proposed by Panel - Bloomberg
(under the State Rebates section)
"In the first year, homeowners who live in a jurisdiction that sticks to the 2 percent cap will get a state rebate on any increase in their local bill below the cap. In the second year, governments will have to stick to the cap and have plans to either merge with neighboring municipalities or consolidate administrative services, such as human resources, for homeowners to qualify.“If the locality wants the credit from the state, then it’ll have to perform,” Cuomo said."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/ny...city.html?_r=0
"Only homeowners in localities that stay under the state’s annual cap on property tax increases would be eligible for the rebate." )


Should Cuomo’s proposal actually come into being, it’ll be interesting to see the effect (if any) that it will have on school budget voting. IMHO, once people realize that the school budget vote will also determine what their OTHER property taxes end up being, it may motivate a lot more people to get out and vote No instead of just shrugging and saying “What’s the point? It always passes anyway, no matter what.”

Personally, I doubt that any of us will end up seeing our taxes “frozen” unless we happen to live in a school district that has been choosing to limit themselves to no more than the applicable cap (which is either 2% OR the rate of inflation, whichever is less, according to the NYS site) on the increase. Are there ANY districts that have been doing this? Nobody that I know (in western Suffolk) lives in one.