WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. By John F. Bailey. June 9,2009 UPDATED 12:45 P.M. E.D.T. WITH TEXT OF COUNTY EXEC LETTER:  The Westchester County Executive is calling for  “revaluation”  by towns, cities and municipalities as the only solution to city and town tax roll erosion from commercial property owners filing successful certiorari actions. 

The County Executive asserts in a letter sent last Friday  to State Senator Jeff Klein,  that the Bradley Oppenheimer bill S-1706A, establishing a separate commercial assessment ratio for commercial property, that would relieve the tax roll drain causing budget problems for cities and towns across the county,  comes  “at too high a price.”

He calls the bill "wrongheaded," and urges rejection due to long term implications without spelling out the alleged harmful specifics or the consequences for tax rolls of a countywide revaluation.

Adam Bradley sponsor of the bill with State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer hoped that if Executive Spano was coming out in favor of a revaluation that it would be done "the right way" revalling all cities, towns and municipalities in the county to avoid unequal taxation of school districts.

 In the Klein letter, County Executive Andy Spano calls on Senator Klein to “reject” bill S-1706A, the bill awaiting introduction to the State Senate floor, currently still in Senate Committee with no floor date.

Assemblyman Adam Bradley, speaking to WPCNR this morning, said that if the County Executive is calling for revaluation,something the County Executive has not called for prior, he Bradley hoped that the county would  conduct the reval”countywide, “the right way.”  

Bradley said individual cities and towns cannot undertake “revals” on their own because of school districts overlapping between two towns, creating unequal property tax burdens if one city revals and another town not revaling sends students to that revaled city school.. Bradley cited the example of  New Castle which sends its children to Ossining schools and North Castle and North White Plains which send their students to Valhalla schools as places that would experience unequal tax burdens if the county did not “reval” across the board.

Bradley also said yesterday’s Republican “coup” in the State Senate, in which the Republicans claimed to have recaptured the majority in the Senate, certainly puts the future of the certiorari bill in doubt since a Republican-controlled senate has refused to consider the certiorari bill since Bradley introduced the “Cert-Breaker” bill in March 2005.  He said “things are still playing out here and unfolding,” and whether the bill could pass the senate was more doubtful.

The bill  would establish a separate Commercial Assessment Ratio for  commercial properties in Westchester County in an attempt to end certiorari losses (refunds of taxes and reduction of future assessments based on certiorari filings by commercial property owners), by establishing a separate commercial ratio for commercial businesses.

Spano instead strongly endorses revaluation as a means of ending the certiorari drain:

“The root of the problem is revaluation,” Spano’s letter to Senator Jeff Kleinsays, “ which has been resisted by most of the local governments for many years. The passage of this bill might relieve some of the immediate (certiorari) situation, but it would probably contribute to the stalling of the much needed revaluation process. It is the very resistance to revaluation that has put our localities in the position they are in today.”

 The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Adam Bradley and co-sponsored in the Senate by Senator Suzi Oppenheimer,  has been endorsed by assessors as being a method of  putting a stop to the annual certiorari filings by commercial properties that have sharply eroded city tax rolls the last nine years.

Bradley said recent news releases but out by the Westchester County Association distorted the facts on what the bill would do. Bradley repeated that S 1706-A would not raise anyone's taxes as the Westchester County Association news releases falsely claim.

Bradley said the opponents of the bill simply "don't want to see their gravy train (tax certs) come to an end."  Bradley said that for years commercial property owners have through tax certioraris created by including residential housing values in with commercial property values, have been able to shift unfairly their commercial taxes to the residential owner.

Here is the text of County Executive Spano's letter to State Senator Klein, furnished by the Westchester County Department of Communications:

June 5,2009

Hon. Jeff Klein

New York State Senate

313 Legislative Office Building

Albany, NY 12247

Dear Senator Klein:

These are very difficult times and all of us are bearing the brunt of pressures from our constituents and our budgets. These are times when any decision that is tough to make usually comes with significant consequences. It’s also a time when we sometimes rush to fix something that’s happening now, without looking at long term implications.

Although A.4588-A/S.1706-A (the Certiorari Assessment Ratio bill)  seems to address the problem of certiorari to local governments it is wrongheaded at this time. The root of the problem is revaluation, which has been resisted by most of the local governments for many years. The passage of this bill might relieve some of the immediate situation, but it would probably contribute to the stalling of the much needed revaluation process. It is the very resistance to revaluation that has put our localities in the position they are in now with certiorari. This bill is a patch on a dysfunctional system.

The county government would benefit from this bill financially but Westchester’s quality of life would be permanently damaged if it had an effect on our business community. This is a distinct possibility. Therefore I cannot support the bill.

The business community is reeling from the recession and the recent (MTA) payroll tax. To add this (certiorari) burden is tantamount to saying “we don’t want you here.” Every business that leaves or does not come here means the loss of jobs, taxes and customers for our other businesses. Westchester County government has worked very hard to make this a business friendly county – which is not only good for business but good for our non-profits that these businesses support, good for our residents who work for these companies, good for the taxes they pay to our schools and governments. While this bill may seem to help municipalities with their budgets, I believe it comes at too high a price.

It is important to work the problem in a thoughtful way so that our businesses and our residents are taxed fairly. Please reject this bill.

Sincerely

Andrew J. Spano

County Executive