WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. By John F. Bailey. April 19, 2008: In an exclusive interview Saturday, Assemblyman Adam Bradley told WPCNR that he and the state legislature had no idea the state Office of Real Property Services had lowered the BASIC STAR discount when he and the legislature approved the state budget last week granting increased aid to state education, including 15% more school aid to the White Plains City School District, and 4.8% more Aid to Independent Municipalities aid money to the City of White Plains. The New York State Office of Real Property Services issued its new BASIC STAR discount amounts for all counties and cities statewide last Monday, April 14, after the state legislature had approved the state budget.
Asked if he was aware of the ORPS statewide changes inacted Monday in the BASIC STAR program for White Plains, Bradley said, “Of course not -- until it was enacted.”
Bradley said ORPS operates independently of the state legislature and its directors are appointed by the Governor.
Asked why the state houses did not determine what the trend was in the BASIC STAR Rate before enacting the aid packages across the state, Bradley said, ““ORPS does this stuff all the time. They made their own decision. This has nothing to do with us (the legislature). All we do is allocate (aid funds). We have no control over what ORPS does.”
Bradley said he and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin worked very hard to increase state aid to the school district and AIM funds to the City of White Plains (an additional $1.5 Million), and the School District (an addition of $1.4 Million).
Bradley said that ORPS has their own formula, determined by local property values (by which the BASIC STAR discount is determined) and that the action of ORPS last Monday, which increases White Plains ’ school property owners’ School taxes an additional 2%, (in addition to the school-budget indicated 6% property tax increase) is another example of why a separate commercial tax rate separate from the equalization rate is needed.
Bradley has introduced such separate commercial tax rate legislation for the City of White Plains on an opt-in basis. It is currently in committee in the State Senate. Asked if the Thomas Suozzi Commission on Property Tax Reform had discussed Mr. Bradley’s bill as to its usefulness as a property tax relief tool, Bradley said he had not been contacted yet by Suozzi’s Commission staff. Bradley said that Suozzi’s own county, Nassau County, has such a separate commercial rate.
Asked if the ORPS action Monday that effects every county across the state in different degrees might spur the passage of his bill, Bradley that the timing and climate for introduction of the bill he was leaving to State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer who has agreed to sponsor the Bradley Commercial Tax Rate Bill in the State Senate.
Bradley offered the opinion that it is misleading to tie the ORPS BASIC STAR cut to the state legislature, since the legislature was unaware of it.
