Tax-cap division in Franklin County

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November 30, 2011

Legislators say override may not be necessary

DENISE A. RAYMO Press-Republican The Press Republican Wed Nov 30, 2011, 02:28 AM EST

MALONE — Some Franklin County legislators concerned over voter backlash say they won't agree to override a mandated tax cap even as a precaution.

Legislators Paul Maroun (R-Tupper Lake) and Marc "Tim" LaShomb (R-Malone) said this week that they cannot support a resolution that Finance Committee Chairman Timothy Burpoe (D-Saranac Lake) intends to offer Thursday that will give the county the ability to go beyond the state-required 2 percent property-tax cap when adopting its 2012 budget.

The meeting is set for 11 a.m. in the fourth-floor Legislative Chambers of the County Courthouse.

'TAX LAWS UNCLEAR'

During a session Monday, legislators heard the final recommendations from County Manager Thomas Leitz to bring the $115 million budget in with a tax-levy increase of 1.98 percent.

He also suggested the county pass the override in case his calculations don't match what the State Comptroller's Office figures for the county's 2 percent tax threshold.

"The taxing laws are not really clear," Leitz said.

There are exemptions granted to counties, he added, for payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreements, State Retirement Fund payments and other factors that bring the county's actual taxable limit to more like 3.23 percent instead of 2 percent.

GROWTH FACTOR

Leitz said in a follow-up email that the state sees PILOTs as property-tax revenue for a county.

If the PILOT payments increase, the county can charge less in taxes, he said.

Franklin County expects to receive payments from St. Lawrence Gas when it brings the natural-gas pipeline online in late 2012.

Also, a portion of a county's Retirement Fund contribution is exempt from the tax-cap calculation, the county manager said.

"There is also a tax-base-growth factor that influences the amount we are allowed to levy under the cap," Leitz said, which leaves Franklin County with the ability to raise its levy to 3.23 percent and still remain within the tax-cap limits.

The trouble is, "the Comptroller's Office won't confirm the numbers," he said.

'ON THE FRONT LINE'

That means local lawmakers must decide whether they want to pass the override to the tax cap as a precaution, just in case the state calculates the exemptions differently than the county has done.

Leitz said there is no mention of penalties associated with exceeding the cap, but if the county doesn't have the override in place and exceeds 2 percent without it, there could be future complications.

"Why do we have to pass this?" Maroun said. "If the comptroller's wrong, and we pass it, then we look like bad people here. We're under the 2 percent."

Legislature Chairman Guy "Tim" Smith (D-Fort Covington) added that voters will look at the override as something they wanted but legislators ignored.

"They'll say, 'We didn't put you in (office) for that.' It puts us on the front line. They always think the worst," he said of taxpayers.

'MAKES ME SICK'

Chateaugay Democrat Billy Jones said voters see the override "as a loophole."

And Legislator Gordon Crossman (D-Malone) said he is tired of state lawmakers looking like they help struggling New Yorkers when they are merely passing the bulk of responsibility on to local elected officials.

"We're perceived as the bad guys," he said. The override "looks like a card up our sleeve we can use if our backs are against the wall.

"The state plays this game so we look like the bad guys, and it makes me sick that I have to do this."

Email Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com