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Health & Fitness

Legislature Chairman Supports Governor Cuomo's Vision for 2014


 

 

New City, NY (January 9, 2014) –

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Governor Cuomo has provided a clear statement of his vision for New York in 2014.  He’s developed a strong and aggressive plan, and I applaud his focus on storm preparedness, infrastructure upgrades and economic development.  I also support his proposals to expand full-day pre-kindergarten and fund technological improvements in public schools, two initiatives that will give our students important tools to succeed.

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I also share the Governor’s concern about the burden of local property taxes on homeowners, however I’m not convinced that his proposal to use the state’s surplus to provide property tax relief to those residing in communities complying with the 2% tax cap is the right approach.  Many counties across New York State, including Rockland County, have had difficulty staying within the cap primarily because of the ever-increasing burden of unfunded state mandates, which on their own outpace the cap.  Rockland County has been particularly challenged by the cap because our county property tax rate is relatively low compared to other counties in New York.  As an example, New York is one of only two states in our entire nation that pass on a portion of Medicaid costs to counties.  In 2013, Medicaid cost Rockland taxpayers $76,000,000, an increase of roughly 50% over the prior decade.  The same result of taxpayer relief could be accomplished by applying a portion of the state’s surplus to meaningful mandate relief to New York counties.

 

While we have achieved many successes, significant challenges remain.  I look forward to working with the Governor and support his efforts to strengthen our state.

 

 

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