Walking The Walk

I don't know if you've noticed, but I complain a lot on here. I do...I know this, and I accept it. I don't know if everyone else is as accepting. :) But...ya know what? They may have a point in being "less receptive" to my complaining if I don't offer some type of solution, or alternative.

I know I have made some suggestions in the past, or I've said to just "do away" with some things to save some money and help municipalities run more efficiently. I don't always focus on the solutions (sometimes I do), and instead only point out the problems (a majority of the time).


One of my biggest gripes was about Pork, more commonly referred to as "member items" or "earmarks". This is $170 Million of our taxpayer dollars annually that go to our reps, who then hand it out like little gifts to their special interests. BOTH parties do this, and it's got to stop. Look at campaign donations and then look at pork expenditures. See the connections. Yes, there are some decent programs that receive pork money, but a majority of it could be considered wasteful spending. When you think about it more, it also is tax money from all different political parties - but depending on which party is a majority, it adversely affects where money is distributed. Thankfully, two Democrats have offered a bill that has support in the majority of both houses, that calls for reforms to member items. Some of which include:
* Equal distribution of funds to all districts.
* Clearing defining and prohibiting conflicts on interest.
* Mandating that all funds are used for public benefit.
* Requiring state agencies to monitor member item spending.
* Requiring all member item applicants to be pre-cleared by the Attorney General.

I like these suggestions, except the third and fourth ones - the third one does not define public benefit. Someone could say that a statue in the park benefits the public, but is it worth spending our tax money on that? Clearly define "public benefit", and set clear limits and boundaries to be followed. The fourth one leads me to believe that another layer of government will be created to watch over a different layer of government. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but, I would think the fifth suggestion would take care of the concerns in the fourth one. No need for another layer. Please!

In a perfect world, there would be no pork spending. That $170 Million would go back to the taxpayer and they could decide that they want to donate their money to say, the Playwrights Horizon Theater School, or the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, or Garth Fagan Dance, or churches like Saint Padre Pio etc.

At least there are legislators who are offering some type of reform, and I can appreciate that.

Some other things that bother me are mandates. Funded or unfunded - I guess it depends on what it is. I pick on unfunded a lot because it requires local municipalities to provide a service - but doesn't provide the funding associated with that service, and then the local taxpayers end up footing the bill through their property taxes - but funded mandates are just as much to blame, because if it's funded - that means the state provides the funding and that raises the tax levies all over the state, raising your taxes too. So, it's a no-win situation with most mandates in my opinion.

I just think mandates sometimes limit local government in servicing their towns/villages/counties in a cost effective way.

Some suggestions I have, and maybe there is legislation being crafted for some of these - I don't know. ... I just know that they are some of my pet peeves.

-Get rid of the Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law.
The Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law was adopted in 1982, and it requires that all salaries and benefits, including salary increments, continue after a union contract has expired - a provision that is unique to New York. Through that amendment and other provisions, the law gives unions unfair advantages that can lead to unsustainable costs in the public sector. I'm not denying unions the right to negotiate their contracts, by all means, please do. The Triborough Amendment does not encourage negotiations on a new contract or union concessions since the existing contract remains in effect - and it becomes a "who is going to blink first" game, instead of good faith negotiation. I can't speak for everyone, but, I don't want to take away all of the union's benefits - but if unions aren't going to concede on some things, and use the Triborough Amendment to continue to receive raises and bennies even after a contract expires - then I want that crap repealed. Now.
The private sector has had collective bargaining for over 50 years and they don't have a law like this. Why do public sector employees have it?
I should point out that the Triborough Amendment - part of the Taylor law - was enacted to avoid strikes by public employees like Police, Firefighters, and Teachers. If the contract expires, they receive the same raises and bennies in that contract until a new one is negotiated to avoid a strike. I'm at the point now where I say "get rid of this amendment", and challenge them to strike. Go ahead. NYS has what - 9% unemployment rate now? I think 1 or 2 qualified, unemployed people will be in line for the job of every public employee that strikes. Strike away. I'll even donate some poster boards and markers.

-Amend the Real Property Law § 339-y and Real Property Tax Law § 581
This is in regards to assessments on condominiums, and what they pay in property taxes. Condos and/or co-ops. They aren't assessed by market value, but by income producing value - and that places an unfair tax burden on the rest of the community that aren't condos or co-ops. Property taxes should be assessed by market value - for everyone. Condos and co-ops use town services, schools etc., but don't pay an equal amount in property taxes. I don't think that's fair. This needs to be amended to stop shifting the ever increasing burden on homeowners and their property taxes, as more and more condos and co-ops are using this loophole.

-Repeal the Wicks Law
Paterson has proposed it - but only for school districts. Repeal the law, and help municipalities across the state save billions in public works projects. The unions will tell you that repealing this law will lead to shoddy work, safety issues, and unscrupulous contractors who pay low (because instead of bidding out 3 separate plumbing, heating/ventilation/air conditioning and electrical contract - which can be costly - they accept a bid from a general contractor who is responsible for sub-contracting out the work.) No, it won't. The probability of shoddy work is just as likely with any contractor, private or union. There is a prevailing wage law - so you won't be paid less. Municipalities are not going to go to the Dollar Store to get someone to build a bridge. They will invite bids, like they always have, and choose the most reputable contractor who gives them the most bang for our buck. They may not be all union contractors - and that's what the unions don't want. Oh well. Repeal this ridiculous law that adds up to 30% on capital improvement project costs.

-Amend General Municipal Law § 207-a and § 207-c
These two municipal laws address workplace injury to a firefighter or police officer who is injured on the job, and is unable to work. They are entitled to disability payments equal to the full amount of regular salary or wages - and it must be continued until the individual reaches the mandatory retirement age established by the retirement plan to which they belong. Which is fine - I would not deny our fine officers or firefighters their disability payments to retirement. They put their lives on the line for us every day, and they are there when we call them, they protect us and they serve us well. What I would like to deny them, is their ability, through this law, to change their retirement plan while they are out on disability. What happens is this: Most officers and firefighters belong to a plan that has retirement at age 62 - if they are out on disability before the age of 62, they can switch to a different retirement plan that sets the retirement age at 70 - and that means that they can continue to collect their disability payments until age 70 - even though they did not originally choose that retirement plan.
Please, amend this law so that people are not able to switch their plans after they get a workplace injury and are out on disability.

-Charge Fees For Special Events That Require Police Service.
Right now, municipalities have no authority to charge fees for police serving at special events. So, if your village or town have festivals every year that require police to direct traffic, or extra police for safety - there is usually police overtime involved, and it comes out of the local taxpayers pockets. Sometimes there are other events that charge admission fees (like Amerk games or concerts etc.) that require extra police to direct traffic....usually on overtime pay.....and if the municipalities had authority to charge for that service - I think it would help the taxpayers out a little.

-Fees For FOI Requests
I'd have no problem if the fee went up to .50 cents per paper copy. I think that any documents should be available online for free - but if you want a hard copy, I have no problem increasing the fee from .25 cents to .50 cents.

-Enforce Building Code Fines
Most local municipalities have the authority to impose charges on delinquent payments (like sewer and water rents) onto property tax bills, but towns, villages, and cities are not allowed to levy fines for building code or property maintenance violations onto municipal property tax bills.
It is a costly expense for municipalities and villages and cities to enforce these codes, many times there are "absentee landlords", and you can't find them to collect those fines.....even though you've dedicated town resources to visit the property, document violations, dedicate time and resources to finding the offender, imposing fines....but can't collect them. There are Public Health Laws that allow a local government to recoup the expenses incurred when taking care of nuisance properties, and they can enact a local law to place a lien on the property for those expenses as well. Change this law to enable municipalities to include unpaid building code, property maintenance, and criminal fines on property tax bills. Maybe they'll pay their fines if it's included in their tax bill every year?

-State Aid
It used to be called revenue sharing, and it's original intent was to provide aid to municipalities who did not have the tax base or the authority to generate revenue for their municipalities that have to provide mandated services imposed by the State. Now, I realize that state aid IS our taxes as well, and increasing state aid will increase NYS taxes - it's a much better (and less bitter) pill to swallow than the alternative - which is raising local property taxes to make up for the loss of state aid. Yes, there needs to be cuts, and yes, there needs to be accountability.....but there also needs to be some consistency with the aid. Back in the late 1980's the state paid out a little over a billion in aid - a few years later they ran into massive budget deficits and cut that state aid to a little over 500 million, but kept the mandates. What happened? Municipalities were forced to recover those losses through property tax hikes. If state aid rose with the rate of inflation, we'd be at 2 billion right now in revenue sharing, but we're not. We are at the late 1980's level, around a billion. But, the mandates are still there, and we're facing another massive budget deficit - and where's the first thing they want to take from? State aid. Guess who will make up for that? You and I through our property taxes.

NYS needs to find ways to cut spending, and not adding to our already ridiculous property taxes - or imposing "soda taxes". We cannot sustain our state at this level. We can't. I have to budget my household, and I can't just tax something to make up for my lost revenue. I have to cut some things out of my budget. I expect NYS to do that too.

I've offered some suggestions here. They may not be the solution to the problems we are facing today.....but I don't think doing these things and finding other things to do away with or cut or amend is a huge sacrifice. I don't want to do away with Social Security, or Medicare/Medicaid, or services for the truly needy, or bennies to our public employees - I want true and fair reform. This is just a sample of things I thought about today......there's so much more that can and should be done.

I just thought that I would actually provide some ideas....they may not be the best....and it may not be a solution...and everyone isn't going to agree with it...but at least I'm trying. I talked the talk - now I'm trying to walk the walk.

Here are some links that relate to the suggestions above:

NYS Office Of Real Property Servces, a.k.a. ORPS.

Laws Of NYS.

Monroe County Codes. If you click on the "library" tab above the codes, a map will show up of the U.S. - type in "Monroe" in the box under "Find by county" and a list of the towns will show up, and you can search any town's code. You can search other counties too.

Irondequoit Town Code.

Taylor Law.

Empire Center for NYS Policy. More on the Taylor Law and the Triborough Amendment.

Albany Times Union Article on Wicks Law.