I often wonder where we would be if he (Suozzi) won the Primary over Spitzer and he was governor. IMHO, we would be better off. The political atmosphere is never right to do anything to help the taxpayer. They are all reassured re-election so why pay attention to the people?

Property tax cap bid poses tough task
But panel’s leader believes Albany may yield to change

Thomas R. Suozzi can understand people’s skepticism about a new statewide commission charged with finding a way to cap property taxes.

Can it really get anything accomplished?

People have every right to be cynical about the lack of political will in Albany to deal with conditions that have made New York’s property tax burden the fourth highest in the nation, said Suozzi, the Nassau County executive who was picked in January by Gov. Eliot Spitzer to chair the commission.

But while the commission faces “a stark challenge,” it’s also working at a time when the political climate has changed, Suozzi said in an interview with the Press & Sun-Bulletin last week prior to a commission meeting in Albany.

Faced with taxpayer discontent, lawmakers in several states are looking at ways to reduce the property tax burden. The issue can be a difficult and emotional one, because property taxes provide a stable source of revenue for schools and local governments. The issue directly affects education because school district property taxes account for about two-thirds of all property taxes.

“We’re in an era of heightened concern,” said Robert B. Ward, deputy director of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government and a special adviser to Suozzi’s commission. “In large areas of upstate, people’s average incomes have not kept pace with increases in property taxes.”

New York’s new commission won’t procrastinate, Suozzi said. It is supposed to submit an interim report by May 15, with specific legislation that state lawmakers can consider before the end of the session, he said.

While not predicting the commission’s recommendations, Suozzi gave some hints about what will be in or out of the May report. Specifically:

* The commission will not recommend increasing the state income tax or sales tax to lower property taxes. Some states, notably Indiana, are looking at this approach. But the approach is “not politically viable” in New York, Suozzi said.

* The commission will have to consider ways to reduce school districts’ expenses to make any property tax cap realistic. And that means dealing with costs mandated by the state, including such things as pensions, collective bargaining rules, health care and the Wicks Law that requires the hiring of four separate contractors on public projects.

* The commission will look at the “circuit breaker” idea that would limit what homeowners pay based on income, with the state picking up the remainder of the cost. A bill to replace STAR rebate checks with these tax credits has been proposed by state Sen. Betty Little and Assemblywoman Sandy Galef.

“I’ve devoted many years to this fight,” Suozzi said. Now, it’s his job to come up with a “realistic proposal.”

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