PLATTSBURGH — Plattsburgh City School District wants to hear from the public before deciding whether to implement a tax on utilities for all city residents.
And Mayor Donald Kasprzak wants to be the first to speak out.
"I am vehemently opposed to this tax, and I will do everything I can to not allow this to happen to the hard-working people of this city," Kasprzak said Wednesday. "They've had enough."
The School District is considering imposing a tax of up to 3 percent on all utilities, including electricity, gas, phone and cell phones.
The idea is to find a new revenue source in order to lower the school property tax on home and business owners.
The school tax is $20.96 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The city tax is $10.20 per thousand.
School District Superintendent James "Jake" Short said a utility tax could generate up to about $200,000 per year, but there are no figures yet for how it would affect individuals.
A utility tax would not apply to tax-exempt properties, Short said Wednesday.
The school plans to schedule a public hearing on the issue before making any decisions, he said.
"This is a very important topic, and the board will prepare to make their decision based on honest input from the public."
The mayor says that imposing a new tax is not the way to go.
He said that two years ago, when the city's Municipal Lighting Department was about $1 million in the hole, a utility tax was mentioned as a possible way to solve the financial problem.
"I flatly refused to even consider such an idea because the residents of this city have been dealing with unacceptable tax- and utility-rate increases since 2000," Kasprzak said.
"We could have easily implemented such a tax, but we chose instead to, unfortunately, reduce personnel and inventory and cut spending.
"These were difficult decisions and made me unpopular in some circles, but it was the right decision for the majority of taxpayers."
City Councilor George Rabideau (R-Ward 3) also is against the School District's idea.
"We've worked hard to keep the tax rate down, and I am very sensitive to any kind of increase," he said.
"We have seniors on fixed incomes that can't handle another tax.
"They (School Board members) need to figure out another way."
E-mail Joe LoTemplio at: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
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