ALBANY Local business groups and government leaders throughout New York State are joining forces to tackle a prime cause of high local taxes state mandates.
More than 50 local government officials and 29 chambers of commerce from around the state have formed the Coalition for Mandate Reform, The Business Council of New York State, Inc., announced today.
Daniel B. Walsh, president of The Business Council of New York State, said the Coalition will be tackling an issue that has become a source of mounting concern in the business community.
"Mandates have been identified again and again as a major factor in driving up the burden of local government expenditures and taxes in New York State," Walsh said. "It's time we stopped simply talking about mandates and started doing something about them. This isn't just a local government issue it's a fundamental competitiveness issue for New York's economy."
The Coalition's objective is to document the full extent of the mandate problem and to develop a program of statutory and legislative changes for legislative consideration.
The research affiliate of The Business Council, the Public Policy Institute, reported earlier this month that the high cost of local government driven in part by state mandates is now New York State's largest remaining competitive disadvantage.
Property taxes in New York total $8 billion a year more than they would be if the state matched the national average per capita. Taxpayers in the New York City suburbs pay property taxes that are almost three times the national average, on a per-capita basis. And taxpayers in key upstate counties such as Monroe, Onondaga, Schenectady, Erie and Broome counties pay property taxes that are about double the per-capita property taxes in such key competitor states as Ohio, Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina.
The new coalition was developed at the grass roots by chambers of commerce and other business organizations; they, in turn, recruited local government officials to join the effort. (Lists of participating chambers and local officials are appended.) The Coalition will welcome additional members as its work unfolds. The Business Council is providing logistical support to the Coalition's efforts.
"The formation of the Coalition for Mandate Reform is a recognition that the push for mandate reform will succeed only if it originates at the grassroots of both government and the business community in New York," Walsh said.
The Coalition will kick off an intensive fact-finding process by sponsoring Mandate Reform Roundtables in different regions of the state. The purpose of these regional meetings is to develop direct, dollars-and-cents knowledge about mandates and their costs from local government officials who have agreed to participate in the Coalition.
The information gathered at the roundtable meetings will be used to develop a comprehensive mandate reform program to be presented to the Legislature in 1999. The ultimate goal of the coalition is to build grassroots pressure on the Legislature to adopt the mandate reform program.
Walsh said the Coalition's program development activities will be assisted by the Public Policy Institute, research affiliate of The Business Council, which has created a Center for Mandate Reform to focus on the issue. In support of the Coalition, the Public Policy Institute will:
- Seek out and document opinion from local government leaders in every region of the state on how mandates drive up local costs or hinder local management.
- Work with business leaders to develop and flesh out the business community's own ideas for mandate reform.
- And seek out and document public opinion on mandates and on a wide range of related issues, through statewide forums and other means.
The Business Council is New York's largest broad-based business group, representing over 3,000 member companies large and small across the state. Based in Albany, it lobbies for a better business climate, and offers cost-cutting services to its members.
List of Coalition members follows
LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERS PARTICIPATING IN THE COALITION FOR MANDATE REFORM
Peter G. Bowers
Superintendent of Schools
Galway Central School District
Joe Braun
City Administrator
City of Beacon
Christine A. Bucieri
Mayor
Village of Oakfield
David M. Buyer
Councilman
Town of Orchard Park
Jeanne Z. Chase
County Legislator
Erie County
Jean W. Cochran
Supervisor
Town of Southold
Arthur K. Coon
Chairman, Zoning Board of
Appeals
Town of Orchard Park
Toni M. Cudney
Supervisor
Town of Orchard Park
Anita M. Daly
Supervisor
Saratoga County
John Duffy
Director of Business & Support
Services
Ballston Spa School District
Edwin L. Eaton
City Manager
City of Long Beach
Clifford H. Elliot Jr.
Supervisor
Town of Pavilion
Louisa Evans
Justice/Town Board Member
Town of Southold
Kim Ganache
Mayor
Village of Schuylerville
Wayne F. Gersen
Superintendent of Schools
Wappingers Central Schools
Roger Gorham
Superintendent of Schools
Ballston Spa School District
Clara Lou Gould
Mayor
City of Beacon
Jay A. Gsell
County Manager
Genesee County
Andrew C. Hilton
Village Trustee
Village of Orchard Park
Dr. William E. Hostetter
Superintendent of Schools
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
School District
Alice Hussie
Councilman
Town of Southold
Daniel Kelsey
Supervisor
Town of Alexander
Philip W. Klein
Supervisor
City of Saratoga Springs
Robert Knabel
City Manager
City of Batavia
Edward J. LaFave
Deputy Mayor/Trustee
Village of South Glens Falls
John E. Lutz
Superintendent of Schools
Alexander School District
Frederick J. Marshall
County Legislator/Minority
Leader
Erie County
Thomas Mason
Supervisor
Town of Hadley
James P. McCarthy
Superintendent of Schools
South Glens Falls Central
School District
James M. Mills
Superintendent of Schools
Silver Creek Central School
District
William D. Moore
Deputy Supervisor
Town of Southold
J. Michael O'Connell
Mayor
City of Saratoga Springs
Ed Orman
Superintendent of Schools
Pavilion Central School District
Frank A. Pagano
Mayor
Village of Fredonia
Joan A. Pagones
Supervisor
Town of Fishkill
Brent Price Sr.
Superintendent of Schools
Pembroke Central School
District
Ronald Pritchett
Supervisor
Town of Alabama
Jean Raymond
Supervisor
Saratoga County
John P. Romano
Mayor
Village of Ballston Spa
Susan Savage
County Legislator
Schenectady County
Richard H. Schaffer
Supervisor
Town of Babylon
Robert W. Smith
Superintendent of Schools
Elba Central School
Constance O. Smith
Supervisor
Town of Wappinger
Michael S. Stall
Supervisor
Town of Bergen
Charles L. Stoddart
Superintendent of Schools
Orchard Park Central School
District
R. G. Stuteman Jr.
Superintendent of Schools
Batavia City School District
John H. Walker II
Supervisor
Town of Sheridan
David Wickerham
County Administrator
Saratoga County
Terry L. Wolfenden
Superintendent of Schools
Dunkirk City School District
Edward A. Woloszyn
Supervisor
Town of Pomfret
LOCAL BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATING IN THE
COALITION
FOR MANDATE REFORM
Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce
Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of
Commerce
Amherst Chamber of Commerce
The Broome Chamber
Buffalo-Niagara Partnership
Chenango County Chamber of Commerce
Columbia County Chamber of Commerce
Cortland County Chamber of Commerce
The County Association (Westchester)
Eastern Niagara Chamber of Commerce
Fulton County Regional Chamber of Commerce
Genesee County Chamber of Commerce
Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce
Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce
Greater Watertown Chamber of Commerce
Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce
Livingston County Chamber of Commerce
Long Island Association
Niagara Falls Area Chamber of Commerce
Northern Chautauqua Chamber of Commerce
Orchard Park Chamber of Commerce
Otsego County Chamber of Commerce
Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce
Poughkeepsie Area Chamber of Commerce
The Greater Rochester Metro Chamber of
Commerce
Rockland Business Association
The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce
Schenectady County Chamber of Commerce
Southern Saratoga Chamber of Commerce