ROTTERDAM Parties at odds over tax bill terms BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
State and federal mandates are crushing Rotterdam taxpayers. At least, that is according to the tax bills town property owners received this month. But politics influences perceptions. Republican town officials say the “state and federal mandates” cited in annual property tax bills are bogus. They said the Democratic majority of the Schenectady County Legislature is confusing the issue, prompted by their own out-of-control spending. “It’s just completely deceptive advertising,” said Joe Suhrada, a Republican and one of the town’s four representatives on the Legislature. “They’re misleading people and it’s dishonest.” However, county officials contend that characterizing the taxes as top-down mandates is dead-on accurate. They claim county residents wouldn’t pay any taxes were it not for the mandates. “Of the property tax levy, 100 percent goes to state and federal mandates,” said spokesman Joe McQueen. The language in dispute first appeared on tax bills about four years ago. Democrats pushed to change the phrasing. Since that time, all municipalities list county taxes as state and federal mandates. The terminology change on tax bills went largely uncontested by Rotterdam residents. Dawn Pasquariello, the town’s receiver of taxes, said she normally fields a handful of calls about the term whenever town and county tax bills are sent out in January. “It does present some questions every collection season,” she said Thursday. But this tax season, other factors added to the scrutiny. First, the legislature passed a 7 percent increase in county taxes for the town this year. Then came news that the Rotterdam Assessor’s Office had erred in reporting the town’s actual value to the county, meaning residents paid less than their fair share in their 2008 tax bills. As a result, legislators tacked on a “2008 rate adjustment” to all Rotterdam tax bills this year, a measure that more than doubled the increase on most bills. Ever since, town officials and legislators have been inundated with calls from confused residents wondering about the source of the increase. Assessor Craig Surprise said his offi ce has gotten more than 200 calls from property owners demanding an explanation. “Nowhere on that bill does it suggest it’s a county tax,” he said. “I don’t blame them.” Republican Town Board members spent nearly a half-hour voicing complaints about the rate adjustment and wording included on tax bills during their meeting Monday. Board member John Mertz said the county should have caught the error and corrected it long before they did. “To try and mask themselves from public accountability is really disingenuous,” he said. Suhrada said characterizing county taxes as state and federal mandates is blatantly false. He said the county funds a number of things that aren’t mandated, such as the library system, the Glendale Home, the level of social services and even McQueen’s position as director of public information. “[Legislature Chairwoman Susan Savage] just did that to mislead people into thinking there are no county taxes,” he said. “It’s very Orwellian.” McQueen disagreed, claiming the change was made to reflect the reality. He said the county could sustain its spending on sales tax receipts were it not for 77 percent of the annual budget going toward unfunded state and federal mandates. “As it stands right now, if we did not have those mandates, we would not have a property taxes,” he said “[Medicaid] reimbursement and.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01101
First I'm glad to see Justin's name on this article and that he is still with us!!!
Second, I thought the county budget was comprised of 66% mandates...not 77%.
Third, I think that we the taxpayers are entitled to see the entire breakdown ON our tax bills. We should not have to call or attend town or county meetings to gather this information. That is just pure nonsense.
Forth, I would, as taxpayers demand a breakdown of every single dime we are charged and what the hell it's applied to. IMHO
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
The county budget should be itemized and printed in the Gazette, TU, and Spotlight so that the taxpayers of this county can really see how and where our tax dollars are spent.
Mason did a good job, and he found people that weren't too much of a girl private to speak out. I am sure there will be calls to impeach Surhada now for telling us taxpayers an uncomfortable truth again. I liked the old kind of politicians, the one who BS and sugar coats every living thing to death and tells you what you always want to hear and also says their opposition are wonderful people.
Back to reality- the fact they even HAVE A PR MAN (McQueen whoever he is) shows you how full of sh_t these county democrats really are and how they need to voted out lock stock and barrel just this once so they can reform their party with honest people who might offer us the TRUTH for once.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
Suhrada says what the 'informed' people have concerns with. (not the sheople) Thank God for him...there should be more like him!! But I can understand why no one stands up to them(the dictatorship)....look at what happened to Mr. Wright...and he was one of their own! YIKES!
On the other hand...the democratic dictatorship DOES need a PR person. Why? Because the dictatorship is HUGE!!! They are embedded in every single aspect of this county. To chase and hunt ALL of them would be impossible.
But our tax bills should reflect EXACTLY what we are paying for.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
This here is exactly why we need to get Surhadra out he is indeed nothing but a true-bomb-thrower who makes things up for his own benefit when all the bad publicity over here is hurting the local small busineses who need the people to come here and spend the money, what Surhadra should be doing over there is finding out why the county repubs who do the assesing at the county screwed up and let this here all happen??? I was never a fan of Bob God but he is right and I will now support him for taking Surhadra out of there and even if it takes legal action or a recount of some sort next tim,e. What ever it takes get RID OF SURHADRA this guy should JUST SHUT UP NOW - is anyone sick of him hogging the light while not doing anything like Judy and Tony and Ang do? WHY didnt this J Masen call Ang? WHY does he got to Surahad? WHY? This guy is the pet of the rich and the gazzette and he is for hurting the taxpayers with his trouble making. When will you all listen and learnn to get rid of this menece? WHEN PEOPLE? WHEN
Bob God- PLEASE RUN AGAINST HIM TO WIN this is the time we need a positive direction and a real change
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
well you laugh now but my sources tell me Surhadra WILL BE DEFEATED BAD and that people know he has never done anything and is not even from Rotterdam, nobodu knows who he is I know this for a fact indeed. Also with the tax going up all the time the people blame him, plus he is to negative always being against the good things like proctors and the veterans and seniors and kids to
WHY didnt this J Masen call Ang? WHY does he got to Surahad?
Mr. Mason is the best reporter the gazette has. I trust his judgment and reporting style. IMHO
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Bravo to Joe Suhrada! What Joe McQueen stated was a complete lie and he should be immediately terminated. 100% of County taxes are not for "State Mandates". The library, nursing home and many added DSS programs are not State Mandated. Also, County Property taxes went up a record 9.3% not 7% as reported. Where's the fact checking at the Gazetto? Sick of these Krats passing the buck for their complete failure to budget nor make any spending cuts.
Joe McQueen {Krat disinformation officer}, Kosiur and the idiotic "Special Events" Coordinator are the type of make work positions that add nothing and cost the County sheeple plenty. Together with horrible Metrograft these are the reason we lead Upstate in high taxes and job/population losses.
Posting below a Letter to the Editor that I submitted to the Daily Gazette and Spotlight Newspapers on January 8th. To date, my letter has not been published. I'm pleased to see that the Gazette Reporter (Justin) wrote an article to address the issue.
Property Tax Bills Distort Government Spending Reality
In reviewing my 2009 tax bill, I was incensed by the rampant annual increases in taxation on county property owners brought about by the irresponsible tax and spend policies of the Schenectady County Legislature. Further, the misrepresentation by county government representatives that the excessive spending results overwhelmingly from mandated state and federal programs is an insult to the intelligence of tax-paying property owners.
A Daily Gazette story ("Democrats to send state message 3 on county board call idea a 'distraction'") written by Michael Lamendola and published on October 14, 2008, reported that mandates, which were described as, "basically, health and human service programs delivered locally and funded, in part, by county property taxes" comprise 77% of the 2009 county budget. Additional statistics provided in the story, however, of $155M in mandated program spending represents approximately 55% of the $279.9M spending plan, not the cited 77%.
As further deception, the county property tax is represented on 2009 property tax bills as "NYS & Fed Mandates". As such, it suggests that none of the revenues collected through taxation are used to fund non-mandated programs and services. These include services for senior citizens, veteran and youth programs, the county library system, the county nursing home, the Albany Street business center, a full-scale health department, funding for arts and entertainment, and political patronage positions. Such representation suggests to uninformed citizens that there are no areas in which responsible government leaders could implement meaningful cuts in spending. Playing an accounting "shell game" with collected revenues to advance a claim that 100% of property taxes fund mandated programs is political folly. Should residents thus presume that the sales tax revenues and county fees fund non-mandated expenditures?
The presentation of the "% Levy Change from Prior Year" misleads property owners to believe that the year over year increases in their property tax bill are lower than actual. In 2007, the Schenectady County Legislature passed a 2008 County budget that was advertised to carry a 4.5% property tax hike. The year-over-year increase in property tax rates per one thousand dollars in property assessment, however, ranged from 6.07% in the Town of Niskayuna to nearly 19.97% in the Town of Princetown. The 2009 Schenectady County budget of $279.9M is reported to carry a 8.9% increase in the tax levy.
I propose that the annual property tax bills be revised to delineate the taxes charged to support NYS and federally mandated spending from the amount billed to support non-mandated county expenditures and to include a % change in county property tax rate from the prior year. If the county Democrats want to help the taxpayers "connect the dots" between state program requirements and local costs, as quoted from County Legislator Hughes in the aforementioned article, such delineation in accounting is required.
Only with the recommended changes and full disclosure will the public be ensured transparency and accountability of the cost of government.
well you laugh now but my sources tell me Surhadra WILL BE DEFEATED BAD and that people know he has never done anything and is not even from Rotterdam, nobodu knows who he is I know this for a fact indeed. Also with the tax going up all the time the people blame him, plus he is to negative always being against the good things like proctors and the veterans and seniors and kids to
Funny, all the scuttlebutt I hear on Surhada is that he is a shoe-in and people wish there were about 6 more voting with him against all the insane tax and spend. My aunt told me recently that "he is a breath of fresh air in a stale town." And I hate to break it to you Sal, she is a "senior." As far as Procto's goes, plenty people like it but aren't happy the democrats dumped 10 million smackers into it at a time when people are losing their homes because they can't afford the taxes 9which are incidentally higher than the mortgage in most cases per month.)
Sal, go back to the democrat party HQ and tell them GodLOSEski is just that- A LOSER!
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
Some may call Suhrada a 'loud mouth', but the fact is that he is the ONLY one out there that exposes the dictatorship for what it really is. And let me remind everyone that it was Suhrada that spend thousands of HIS dollars to fight for US, THE TAXPAYERS in a lawsuit. Name me just ONE thing that Robert 'no change' Godlewski has done for the taxpayer? NOTHING!
Oh and you can just bet that we will be hearing more from Robert 'not change' Godlewski in the coming weeks and months ahead.He will try to smear someone. And that is because that is all he's got to give. And let me remind everyone that it was Robert 'no change' Godlewski that sat at the county meetings while the legislature smugly shoved a 9% tax increase on us and said absolutely NOTHING!!!!! NOTHING FOLKS!!
And we can expect the same from good ole Bobby if he ever should be elected to position that will represent us.IMHO
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Logged
Bravo to Joe Suhrada! What Joe McQueen stated was a complete lie and he should be immediately terminated. 100% of County taxes are not for "State Mandates". The library, nursing home and many added DSS programs are not State Mandated. Also, County Property taxes went up a record 9.3% not 7% as reported. Where's the fact checking at the Gazetto? Sick of these Krats passing the buck for their complete failure to budget nor make any spending cuts.
