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County wants $1M back
Schenectady's decision to cut tax paybacks from resolution spurs dispute
By Lauren Stanforth
Published 10:35 p.m., Sunday, February 19, 2012

SCHENECTADY — The county is threatening to sue the city for more than $1 million it says is owed in back taxes.

Two years ago, the city decided to stop making good on a more-than-100-year-old promise to make the county whole on unpaid property taxes by simply passing legislation that eliminated the language from the city's charter.

The solution was one way then-Mayor Brian U. Stratton balanced a budget that had a $12.8 million hole in it. Schenectady was apparently one of the only cities statewide that was responsible for making its county whole on unpaid property taxes.

But Schenectady County now claims the legislation was passed in the same year taxes were due in 2011, and thus the county is still owed the money.

Mayor Gary McCarthy confirmed that litigation has been mentioned, but that "discussions are polite" between city and county officials. Delinquent city property taxpayers owe the county about $1.5 million from 2011, but the county also has to pay about $400,000 back to the city for hazardous materials training given to county first responders.......................>>>>..............>>>>................Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/County-wants-1M-back-3343198.php#ixzz1mv7Artmj

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Schenectady, the City of no friends to and now no family.  

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McCarthy said he expects the city will pay the money soon. He wouldn't elaborate on where the dollars from the cash-strapped city will come from, other than it would be moved from other accounts that hopefully will be replenished in 2013.

They had to have known this was going to be an issue................yes?
This is yet more proof on how the city DOES impact the entire county.....in  more ways than one.
Let's hope that elected county officials do the right thing for the taxpayers that they represent.

Rather shows that consolidation does not necessarily work?

County would be better off having it's own tax collector to collect the county taxes.   Certainly an existing account clerk can accept the checks, enter them into a computer and send them to the bank, I mean it would not necessitate a whole separate "tax collection" department at the county level

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about $400,000 back to the city for hazardous materials training given to county first responders.

wasn't there grant money for this after 9/11?

Working together works.

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SCHENECTADY
City agrees to cover delinquent county taxes
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.

    The City Council has decided to pay the county tax bills that so many Schenectadians ignored, even though it might mean layoffs of city employees.
    The decision wards off a potential lawsuit from the county, Mayor Gary McCarthy said. It also preserves the city’s total authority over foreclosures, a power the city is planning to use on more than 100 abandoned houses this spring.
    Council members met behind closed doors for more than an hour Tuesday to discuss what they would cut to pay the $1.5 million bill.
    The city owes the county for taxes that property owners failed to pay — it is the city’s responsibility to make the county whole and then try to collect the delinquent taxes.
    With that responsibility comes some power: The city can foreclose on properties and sell them without getting permission from the county. If the council decides not to make the county whole, all foreclosurerelated actions would have to be approved by the county and the city.
    McCarthy said it would be better for the city to pay the delinquent taxes in return for having control over the timing of foreclosures and sales, as well as being able to select buyers.
    The county has already managed to take back about $350,000 of the bill by refusing to pay the city that amount of money for hazardous materials cleanup and police services. The city has also managed to collect $200,000 from delinquent taxpayers. That leaves about $1 million to be paid by cutting other expenses from the budget.
    Councilman Carl Erikson immediately proposed layoffs.
    “At the end of the day, from my perspective, it is which employees we get rid of,” he said before the council closed the meeting to discuss specifi c names.
    McCarthy said he thinks the city could find the money without laying anyone off.
    “We can do it within the existing budget,” he said.
    After the meeting, Erikson said the council tried to come up with other cuts.
    He said he thinks the council could fi nd $200,000 in over-budgeted items, particularly the snow budget. The city did not spend much money on plowing and salt in this dry winter.
    The council may also ask department heads to try to impose a 1 percent cut on their budgets. And they’re hoping to collect more money than expected in taxes, fees and other revenues. ..........................>>>>...................>>>>...............................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01200&AppName=1

Thanks for trying Carl.  Dissolve the city into the county.

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Sch’dy now will pay for election-year budget pretense

    Politicians rarely seem able to deal honestly and openly with problems. Rather than face those problems head on, rather than give voters an opportunity to judge them on their success in addressing those problems, politicians far too often present things in a way they know is blatantly false. They will do or say anything to get elected.
    Schenectady is obviously no exception to this approach to politics. Last year, in the course of the mayoral campaign, the Alliance Party repeatedly stated Schenectady was marching towards a financial cliff. At the time, we were concerned with the cavalier approach of the Acting Mayor [Gary McCarthy] and City Council that the city would simply not pay Schenectady County and would delay paying the Schenectady school district the fi nancial obligations incurred by the city.
    By our calculations, the money owed to Schenectady County approximated a 5 percent increase in a homeowner’s taxes and the obligation to the school district approximated another 9 percent increase in taxes. However, when the city’s 2012 budget was revealed in the fall, there was no reference to either obligation. Instead, the budget — when fees were taken into account — resulted in an increase of roughly 4.5 percent (and, even then, fees were not calculated into the announced tax increase of less than two percent).
    The law is clear: the city is obligated to pay the school district until the state Legislature passes legislation relieving the city of its obligation, and it is obligated to pay Schenectady County this year. While the city may have been able legally to postpone its obligation to the school district for one year, and while some may have operated under the illusion the city could walk away from its legally incurred obligation to the county, we now find — three months after the election — we do have to pay the county. And guess what that means? Either the mayor and City Council make significant cuts to the budget or gamble that a very light winter this year, lesser budget cuts, and the use of reserves will allow them to make the $1.5 million payment.
    Winning elections at all costs may be good politics. It is, though, terrible public policy. And it certainly is the opposite of what a leader should provide because, first and foremost, a leader has to state honestly and openly what the problem is, outline a plan that provides a solution, and rally public support to that plan.

ROGER HULL
Schenectady
The writer founded the Alliance Party and was its candidate for mayor in the election.

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r03002&AppName=1

Working together works.

Add it to the list of Suprised we have seen so far this year.  $25000 deductibles for example.

http://theallianceparty.org/platform-issues/budget-transparency.html


Budget Transparency        
Friday, 01 July 2011 12:18  
“Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant…”

                                                                   -Louis D. Brandeis

The difference between Gary McCarthy and Roger Hull is that McCarthy will tell you what he wants you to know and Roger will tell you what you need to know about the true state of our finances.

And what the people of Schenectady need to know right now is that eight years of One-Party Rule has driven Schenectady to bankruptcy.

For eight years Gary McCarthy and his followers on the City Council have deceived the public.  Election after election, they have hidden the truth from the taxpayers in order to consolidate and extend their political authority.

This year, it’s going to be different!

Roger Hull, Madrea Chaires, Jacquie Hurd, Vince Riggi and Phil Tiberio believe that Schenectady’s budget and finances require an independent assessment.  Before we can resolve our problems, we need to know—we all need to know—how deep the hole is that we need to fill.Under Gary McCarthy and his City Council…

The City of Schenectady failed in its obligation to pay the full city share of school tax revenues to the Schenectady School District in Fiscal 2009-2010 and has no intention of paying its legally mandated share for Fiscal 2010-2011.  The amount McCarthy and the Council owe our school children is $3,700,000 for last year and millions more for this year.  

The City of Schenectady has no intention of paying county government its legally mandated share of county tax revenues for the current fiscal year.  The amount McCarthy and the Council owe Schenectady County is $1,700,000.

The General Fund Surplus has declined by over $2,000,000 in just one year.

The City of Schenectady was the only municipality in the state that deliberately refused, since 2007, to disclose the true cost of retiree health benefits.  We will soon find out how many millions of dollars taxpayers will owe for health care obligations to retirees.
These are catastrophic events that should never have happened and might not have occurred if the taxpayers of Schenectady had only known the truth.  We need sunlight through an independent assessment.  We need openness and honesty.  And we need a change in leadership on November 8 to bring them about.

The Alliance party called it a long time ago.  How long before the retiree health care obligations starts hitting the headlines.  

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McCarthy said he thinks the city could find the money without laying anyone off.
    ......
    After the meeting, Erikson said the council tried to come up with other cuts.
    He said he thinks the council could fi nd $200,000 in over-budgeted items, particularly the snow budget. The city did not spend much money on plowing and salt in this dry winter.


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DUH !!!     HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO    !!!!!!

Uh, how about taking away the 100% property & school tax exemptions from the well heeled and politcally connected downtown?????

The answer is right in front of their eyes and these dems "can't find"  or need to "make cuts"  

The taxpayers struggle, they were robbed of $10 million for a theater that they can't afford to go to, and they pay the fatman over $200,000 in salary so he could flee the city (to live) but refuses to take a pay cut so that the for-profit business (Proctors) pays taxes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Totally UNREAL



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Working together works.

After Election Day it's every man for themselves. As the City assessments continue to tank because of sick taxes look for more shell games.

Working together works.