Mayor Presses Albany
January 28, 2008
The fate of a 7% property tax cut that would save New York City property owners about $1 billion next year could hinge on Mayor Bloomberg’s testimony before state lawmakers in Albany this morning.
To squeeze more money out of the state, Mr. Bloomberg is expected to place responsibility for the tax cut on the shoulders of Governor Spitzer and the Legislature, to compel them to boost funds flowing from Albany to the city.
Mr. Spitzer has proposed sending less money to the city next year than city officials had expected. When the mayor announced that he would extend the one-time 7% property tax cut for a second year, he warned that it could disappear if the city didn’t receive financial support from the state.
Mr. Spitzer is calling for cuts in a revenue sharing program, so New York City would receive about $165 million less in expected state aid, and he has proposed to give the city $100 million less than expected in education funding.
The research director at the Citizens Budget Commission, Charles Brecher, said he suspects Mr. Bloomberg will use the prospect of a property tax increase to pressure lawmakers to restore the expected money.
It’s “a long-standing strategy that between January and April, a mayor tries to set up the terrible things that will happen in the financial plan if the Legislature doesn’t provide some amount of aid,” Mr. Brecher said. “His threat is that he’s not going to cut things, but that he is going to have to re-impose this tax.”
Source: NY Sun
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