Albany Must Listen to Local Cry for Property Tax, Mandate Relief

Legislative Column by Assemblyman Marc W. Butler (R,C,I-Newport)

February 22, 2011

As the old adage goes, there are few things in life that are certainties, one of which is taxes, especially as New Yorkers. The money crunch seems to be getting worse these days. Families are tightening their belts, reducing spending and finding creative ways to stretch each dollar. New York , as a whole, is in a position where many of the same common-sense money-saving practices employed in our homes should be adopted by politicians to make our state more fiscally viable and less burdensome on taxpayers.

 

As your assemblyman, I’ve heard time-and-time again that property taxes are rapidly getting out of control. In the past, we’ve used STAR property tax rebates to relieve some of the burden, and some talk about a circuit breaker tied to income, but none of those really address the problem of rising property taxes.

 

Homeowners in the 117^th Assembly District are paying nearly twice the national average in property taxes as a percentage of home value. For example, Fulton, Herkimer and Otsego counties paid on average 2.19 percent, 2.17 percent and 1.47 percent respectively, over the last five years. Additionally, over a ten-year period from 1999 to 2009, the real property tax rate in our state rose by 80 percent. There is no question that families need relief.

 

To get at the root of ballooning taxes and change real property taxation, we need to not only cap its growth, but eliminate the hundreds of costly unfunded mandates on your local governments that cause rates to rise. Albany would like to ignore that the two are connected, but there is no way around it, they must be addressed together.

 

I know our counties are trying their best to keep costs down, but literally their hands are tied due to unfettered and uncontrolled unfunded mandates from Albany . The New York State Association of Counties just released a report outlining over 200 mandates and items that, if removed, would create huge savings for county governments and you, the taxpayer. The suggestions range from addressing the inflated rising costs of Medicaid, pensions, and procurement, among many others.

 

While well intentioned, many of the mandates and directives that trickle down from Albany are overreaching and continually burden already challenged county finances. What once were safety nets for health and assistance to our most vulnerable and needy have grown into catch-all services that are unparalleled in the nation and among private-sector benefits.

 

We need to begin to ask ourselves, is this sustainable for New York ? Furthermore, with Governor Cuomo’s proposed $19.8 million in cuts to local government aid, mandates must be lifted in order to keep taxes and costs from rising to unprecedented and crippling levels.

 

I am among the many who believe we can discover efficiencies that do not detract from the quality of service provided by our local governments. I trust their ability to rightly assess the needs of their residents and to deliver them accordingly.

 

As always, if you have any questions or comments on property taxes and unfunded mandates or any other state matter, please don’t hesitate to contact me at either my Johnstown office at (518) 762-6486, my Herkimer office at (315) 866-1632, or send an email to butlerm@assembly.state.ny.us.

General Herkimer Home Eyed for Closure by Albany Pols

Legislative Column by Assemblyman Marc Butler (R,C,I-Newport)

February 11, 2011

There is little argument that New York ’s financial outlook is bleak, and that radical spending cuts are needed in order to stay afloat in the coming years. However, the pain must be shared by all and I am troubled by the state’s second attempt to close the General Herkimer Home and park that is so deeply intertwined in our American and regional history. This American hero’s home is not only a jewel in our region; it’s a nationally registered treasure of Revolutionary history.

 

I have serious concerns over the seemingly careless closure of our parks, preserves, and historic structures and lands. While the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation may have announced that they were not planning on closing parks, they still have opted to remove all personnel from the General Herkimer Home and are apparently intent on closing the site. I feel our community and my district are being unfairly targeted.

 

Every one dollar investment in public parks generates five dollars of revenue for communities. One of New York’s greatest assets is its beautiful locations and historic sites as proven by the state’s vibrant tourism industry worth $46 billion, which generated $13 billion in local and state tax revenue between 2009-10. Tourists visit and spend money at our local mom-and-pop shops, inns and restaurants. To me, it’s clear that investment in our parks is an investment in jobs.

 

What is a community to do if they are slated to lose such an asset? A bill I sponsored, which recently passed the Assembly, requires public hearings six months before a proposed park closure. It is only right that the stakeholders of parks and historic sites have the right to argue the benefits and merits of keeping such a site open. At such a hearing, we’d be able to raise concerns over the protection of the 160-acre site, the historic building and the many priceless relics and artifacts of the Revolutionary War.

 

I am encouraged by the passion and enthusiasm from the community and the Friends of the General Herkimer Home. I hope that, jointly, we’ll discover a way to protect, maintain, and keep the site open through contributions, volunteerism and corporate sponsorship. It is reassuring to know how many individuals care about our history and community. I believe we’re just getting started and we’ll find a way as a community to open the Herkimer Home by spring.

 

If you’d like to join in our efforts to preserve the General Herkimer Home or have questions regarding our local economy or any state issues, please don’t hesitate to contact me at either my Johnstown office at (518) 762-6486, or my Herkimer office at (315) 866-1632.

Governor’s Executive Budget Echoes Transition Needed in New York

Legislative Column from Assemblyman Marc W. Butler (R,C,I-Newport)

February 3, 2011

The unveiling of Governor Cuomo’s 2011-12 Executive Budget proposal is the starting point of a two month dialogue on New York’s fiscal future. The last few years have been trying, leaving a great feeling of economic uncertainty, all while state finances became increasingly troubled. Now is the time to set New York’s finances and economy straight.

 

The truth is that our state is in transition. New York’s once vast empire of enterprising small businesses and manufacturers has been displaced by great institutionalized government spending. Big government has only created a dangerous dependence on public spending, which has ballooned into a $10 billion current year budget deficit.

 

The governor recognizes that for the state to be healthy and vibrant economically, budgetary policy must foster private-sector job growth, and as the ranking Republican member on the Assembly Committee on Economic Development, I have to say he is right on target.  The executive budget proposal to right size and restructure state government, in conjunction with targeted investments in small business and innovative development, will put the state back on track.

 

I commend the efforts made to consolidate agencies with overlapping services and missions that could create nearly $102.4 million in savings. It’s critical that New York maximize the use of every dollar. I am particularly interested in the plan to consolidate the state Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation, which helps keep New York on the forefront of emerging technologies and research ingenuity and the Empire State Development Corporation, which provides tools and resources to attract and support businesses. Such a merger would help to focus resources and talent on the very important task of revitalizing our economy and getting the nearly 800,000 New Yorkers back to work.

 

Furthermore, the budget proposal empowers 10 newly-created Regional Economic Development councils to allocate $200 million in already approved capital funding and tax credits from last year’s Excelsior Jobs Program. These councils will be critical in efficiently allocating badly needed economic development funds and will be better attuned to our local needs than an Albany centralized organization.

 

I’m encouraged by enhancements to the Excelsior Jobs Program, which will help New York become the competitive economic leader it once was. Increasing the Research and Development Tax Credit, doubling the benefit period to 10 years, and linking real property tax credits to capital improvements are critical steps in getting people back to work in good-paying jobs.

 

I am hopeful for the future of our state. Now, more than ever, New York needs wise fiscal restraint which prioritizes supporting private-sector growth rather than increase bureaucracy. As I study the budget, I will keep you abreast of new developments and how state fiscal policy will affect you.

 

As always, if you have any questions or comments about our local economy or any other state issue, please don’t hesitate to contact me at either my Johnstown office at (518) 762-6486, or my Herkimer office at (315) 866-1632.

Butler: Budget Will Mean Big Changes

Statement from Assemblyman Marc Butler (R,C,I-Newport) on Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget Proposal

February 1, 2011

“Today marks the beginning of an arduous process of enacting a state budget, and Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget proposal is putting spending reductions at the forefront of the discussion. There is no question that this budget is stark on spending, but New York can no longer maintain the spendthrift habits it developed in the 90s, when our economy was stronger and revenue was more abundant. I am ready to examine the details of the budget and to make sure that spending cuts aren’t made at the expense of families and businesses in my district.”

Albany Event Sends Clear Message to State Leadership: Sportsmen and Outdoor Recreation Means Tradition and Jobs

Legislative Column from Assemblyman Marc W. Butler (R,C,I-Newport)
January 26, 2011

Assemblyman Marc W. Butler (R,C,I-Newport) speaks with a Remington Arms employee at the 2^nd Annual Assembly Republican Sportsmen & Outdoor Recreation Legislative Awareness Day.

 

Thousands of hunters, anglers, shooters, and snowmobile and ATV enthusiasts this week joined me and my colleagues for the Assembly Republican Sportsmen & Outdoor Recreation Legislative Awareness Day in Albany. Between my conversations with constituents who visited my office and participants at the expo, it was clear that outdoor recreation is not only an important tradition shared by generations, but also a pivotal part of the upstate economic engine. Knowing how important it is to our region, we should do everything we can to protect the second amendment right and encourage new generations of outdoor sportsmen.

 

I had the pleasure of meeting with local sportsmen, including members of the Pine Tree Rifle Club in Fulton County and several employees of Remington Arms, a firearms manufacturer that employs many of the residents throughout the 117^th Assembly District. James A. Rabbia, the company’s Ilion plant manager, informed me of the successful expansion that took place at the site and the relocation of two out-of-state plants to New York, but warned that the annual “Majority Gun Bill” package threatens the recent great strides they made in creating and retaining 1,200 jobs.

 

Gun control bills supported by some downstate politicians are little more than an effort to curtail the protected and upheld second amendment right for law-abiding citizens to bear arms. They claim that it’s to curb gun violence, but the reality is that micro-stamping and ammunition shell identification banks are costly to manufacturers with little impact on preventing firearm crimes.

 

As your assemblyman, I have made it a priority to educate my downstate assembly colleagues on the real issues surrounding guns and outdoor recreation. I encourage them to instead try to understand how New York’s 1.4 million sportsmen positively impact our state and contribute $6 billion to our economy. I encourage and sponsor legislation that fosters future generations of hunters, anglers, outdoor enthusiasts and wise conservationists.

 

The excitement I witnessed at the event reaffirmed my eagerness to work on protecting and expanding outdoor activities in this state. Next year, I hope that many more residents from my district will come to meet with peers with common interests, learn from dozens of outdoor vendors and organizations, and be inspired by leading national and state sportsmen advocates.

 

Sportsmen in my district have an open invitation to visit me anytime, not just on Sportsmen & Outdoor Recreation Legislative Awareness Day. As always, if you have questions or comments about our sportsmen and second amendment right issues or any other state issue, please don’t hesitate to contact me at either my Johnstown office at (518) 762-6486, or my Herkimer office at (315) 866-1632.

New York Government Must Follow Lead of Its Residents

Legislative Column from Assemblyman Marc Butler (R,C,I-Newport)

January 21, 2011

New York has the opportunity to take a new positive direction fundamentally different from its past. In this new year with our new leadership and a class of legislators who are eagerly dedicated to redefining how New York government should conduct business, it is just possible that we may finally see some meaningful reform in Albany.

Governor Cuomo in his State of the State Address put the condition of New York in simple terms – past spending and taxation habits are unsustainable and are crippling our state. Indeed, we are facing troubling times. Over 800,000 New Yorkers are currently unemployed and families are trying to make ends meet while the government has done little to close the increasing $9 billion deficit or reduce the tax burden. It is no wonder that we’ve lost so many families to other states with better opportunities.

I have always believed that our state is full of the most resourceful and intelligent people in the nation and we need to follow their lead. As families have adjusted their spending, so should New York make every effort to stretch tax dollars by making government more efficient. Consolidation and setting efficiency standards will help to curb increasing costs. Additionally, New York needs to seriously look at its troubling debt and backdoor borrowing, overly generous spending on Medicaid, state employee pension plans and other programs that are in need of revision. New York taxpayers can no longer afford the staggering bill.

We need to trust that small business owners, manufacturers and farmers are attuned to what will make and grow private-sector jobs. New York policy has consistently caused a rift between the state and the business community as they struggle to pay ever-increasing taxes and costs and contend with dozens of state regulatory agencies and layers of bureaucratic red tape. Recovering economies need entrepreneurs and businessmen to take the lead in growing jobs while government should act as a partner to give them the tools needed to get New Yorkers back to work.

Finally, just as New York expects its residents to lead ethical and lawful lives, we need to impose the same standard on ourselves as politicians and legislators. This year, we must begin to restore trust with the public and insist on a new level of openness and transparency.

Simply put, the very things I advocate for in Albany follow straightforward commonsense thinking in a place that is full of people who seem to wish to overcomplicate things as they accommodate special interests. My only special interest is you, the taxpayer. I look forward to working with Governor Cuomo on matters for which I have constantly fought, and I am glad to have many new partners in the Legislature to help meet these goals. I will work diligently on informing and educating our leaders on areas where we don’t agree to fight for your best interest.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this or any other state issue, please don’t hesitate to contact me at either my Johnstown office at (518) 762-6486, or my Herkimer office at (315) 866-1632.

Butler: Governor Starting on a Good Foot

Statement from Assemblyman Marc Butler (R,C,I-Newport) on Governor Cuomo’s State of the State Address

January 5, 2011

“For years I have advocated for fundamental changes to how our government operates in New York, and based on his remarks in the state of the state address it appears that governor Cuomo shares many of the same priorities.  I am encouraged that working together, we can revive our economy to encourage private-sector job growth, change the state’s out-of-control spending habits to become financially stable, address the ever increasing tax burden on our families to give them a chance for prosperity, and put an end to the dysfunctional past so we can better serve New Yorkers. I look forward to addressing these urgent needs in our state and will make sure we never lose sight of what is important.”