Presentation
Before the Kent Town Board in favor of a Resolution in support
of the Cahill Bill
April 21, 2008
Good evening, I'd like to thank the Town Board for taking a stand in favor of
a permanent solution to the crushing burden of the school portion
of our property tax bills. Whether you are a homeowner or a renter
whose monthly payments may go almost exclusively towards property
taxes, a change in the way we pay for education is much needed
and long overdue.
There have been proposals
to solve this problem in the past and there are several floating
around Albany today. Among them are
legislative caps on spending and a "circuit-breaker bill" proposed
by Sandy Galef but none of these are real solutions. The Governor's
Blue Ribbon panel will most likely endorse either one or both of
these ideas because they are politically easy and will take immediate
pressure off our State Government while leaving it to someone else
to come up with a real, permanent fix to the inequities of the
current system.
However, there is a bill that proposes a permanent solution. It's
called the Quality in Education Act proposed by Kingston Assemblyman
Kevin Cahill. Mr. Cahill's bill would shift the burden of paying
for education away from the property tax structure we currently
use to a graduated income tax similar to what we had in this state
some 30 years ago. As it stands now, a wage earner making $30,000
pays state income taxes at almost the same rate as someone pulling
down $1,000,000 a year, a system that may be fair to Wall Street
executives but not to middle managers, blue collar workers and
those on fixed or limited incomes.
Phased in over a five-year
period, the Cahill Bill would take a snapshot of education funding
in each of New York's school districts
and use that number as "basic education funding" for
that district. Once the bill kicks in, districts would be eligible
for cost of living increases adjusted for local expenses, but any
funding a district wanted in addition to these basic funds would
need to pass a local referendum with a 2/3rds majority to prove
widespread popular support. With a threshold this high, de facto
spending caps would be in place and because the State would be
footing the bill, we'd see the end of unfunded State educational
mandates.
Additionally, the Cahill Bill would rework our income tax structure
so that those who earn the most would pay a little more each year
than they do now. The Fiscal Policy Institute reported recently
that a 1% surcharge on those earning more than $1 million a year
would raise some 5-7 billion dollars, a significant portion of
the monies needed to fund education on a statewide basis. The bill
also encourages shared services and consolidation but leaves school
boards in place to ensure local control of dollars spent and educational
quality.
Our State government is apparently aloof to our pain and seems
incapable of meaningful action and so we must work from the grassroots
upwards to create a tidal wave of support for change, a wave so
definite and with such clarity that Misters Bruno, Silver and Paterson
can no longer hide behind political expediency and must move to
solve this problem once and for all.
A month ago the Putnam County Legislature voted to support the
fair taxation concepts in the Cahill bill and just last week the
Putnam Valley Town Board did the same. This represents two legislative
bodies in Putnam County, mostly composed of Republican Party members,
who have endorsed a bill proposed by a Democrat in Albany. There
is bravery in this and we should applaud those willing to take
a stand in our names.
I urge this board to vote in favor of the resolution before it,
sending word to Albany and to Towns across New York State that
the citizenry demands sensible, meaningful change in our tax structure
and a quality education for all our children.
Thank You
|
