White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Spano Urges Candidates, Incumbents: Pledge No New State-Mandated Initiatives

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. (Edited) October 1, 2002: On the day before unvieling his 2003 budget, County Executive Andy Spano has asked candidates for the legislature and incumbents to pledge to not introduce any new state-mandated programs where local governments have to pay the cost. He also calls for capping those mandated programs already on the books, reducing the county share of Medicaid costs and a ban on unfunded state mandates.

County Executive Andy Spano today called upon all major candidates for state office to sign a pledge to protect local taxpayers from the burden of having to pay for increasingly expensive state programs and services.

“State lawmakers cannot continue to expand or create programs at will and then send the bill for them to county taxpayers,” Spano said as he released “A Compact to Protect County Property Taxpayers.”

The compact asks the candidates to promise that if elected:

• They will not support any new state-mandated programs that are not completely funded by the state government and that they will cap those that already exist;

• That they will vote to reduce the county share of Medicaid costs to the 2001 level;

• That they will support an amendment to the State Constitution to ban unfunded state mandates.

Said Spano: “County property taxpayers throughout New York State are being crushed by the ever-increasing costs of state programs and services that the state requires the counties to pay for. In Westchester for example, Medicaid will cost taxpayers $207 million next year – an increase of more than $36 million from this year and a 50 percent increase since 1998. This is a state program and it should be the state, not county taxpayers, who foot the bills for these and other programs that the state requires counties to run.”

One of only Two States Where County Taxpayers Fund 50% of Medicaid

For example, New York is one of just two states in the nation that requires county taxpayers to pay such a large local share – 50 percent of state costs -- for Medicaid. Other examples of costly, state-required programs -- for which the county has no control over costs -- include programs for children with disabilities, corrections, probation, commuter railroad stations and other social services.

Spano said the merits of these programs were not in question – only their funding.

Not a New Thing.

Spano noted that for years Albany lawmakers have been asked repeatedly---via letters, phone calls and extensive lobbying efforts--to hold the line and fully fund, state mandated programs, but that these requests from county executives, boards of legislators, mayors and supervisors have been ignored. The result, throughout the state, has been higher property taxes, higher sales taxes and cuts in essential county services.

“Enough is enough,” Spano said. “Albany must move now to correct the problem that it alone created. Counties across this state will no longer shoulder the blame for a property tax increase imposed by state lawmakers.”

He added, “With this Compact, we want to get candidates on the record that they understand the burden that the state has placed on county taxpayers and that they, if elected, will work to contain these programs. And we want residents to know before they cast a ballot which candidates will reduce local property taxes.”

The candidates have until Oct. 15 to sign the Compact. On Oct. 16 the county will list on its website the names of those candidates who have signed the compact and those who have not.

The Compact was sent to all major-party candidates for state Assembly and Senate in districts within Westchester, as well as to the leaders of the State Legislature and the major candidates for Governor, Attorney General and Comptroller.

You All Join In.

And because this not a local issue – but an issue affecting every county in the state --- Spano is asking other county executives in the state to ask their own state candidates to sign the compact as well. “Westchester is not alone. Every resident in this state will feel the result of the Albany tax in one way or another: a huge property tax increase, higher sales tax, a drastic loss of local services,” he said.

THE FULL TEXT OF THE COMPACT IS AS FOLLOWS:

I, _________, A Candidate for State Office in the State of New York, hereby pledge:

That I will not support any new State Mandated Programs that are not completely funded by New York State Government and will cap those that do exist.


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