In the 2021-2022 legislative session, New York State Assembly Bill A7072 was passed. The bill was called the 2% “2% Real Estate Tax Reduction Act.” However, we are facing an almost 8% increase in our taxes. How is this possible?
The bill states that the tax cannot exceed a cap of 2% unless 60% of voters (in the case of school districts) or 60% of the total votes of the governing body (in the case of local governments) approve the increase.
The law is as useless as a Russian visa card and here’s why. There are almost 28,000 people in Jamestown, give or take. Kim Ecklund became mayor of Jamestown on January 1, 2024, with 2,413 yes and 2,204 no votes, a modest 17% of voters. An embarrassing turnout, but a turnout nonetheless.
To not vote for a property tax increase, 60% of our residents would have to vote “no.” We cannot therefore even come close to voting against the increase, which is probably intended. The law also states that 60% of our governing body (City Council) would have to vote yes, or about 5 votes. It’s a placebo for us naive people, not for us humans. This is absolute madness.
Additionally, on December 16, 2022, the Compensation Review Committee approved a 4% pay raise effective in 2024 and a 2.5% step increase for most city employees. The mayor and council president can conveniently choose who will sit on the committee. The whole process doesn’t seem fair.
The Salary Review Commission recommended increasing council members’ salaries to $7,000 a year, the council president’s to $8,000 a year and the mayor’s to $82,000 a year – for a total increase of $28,000. And now we’re dealing with an 8% tax increase.
These two processes, the Compensation Review Commission and the “Maximum 2% Property Tax Act”, seem like something you would find in a third world country. Not a very nice play on words for the taxpayers of Jamestown.
As far as I’m concerned, an 8% tax increase would be $325. This is not a change. Coupled with money printing and the value of the dollar at 75 cents, this is hard to digest. This is absolute madness.
It would be inappropriate to call the mayor’s office. The mayor didn’t cause these problems. Her predecessors did it and now she herself is struggling with the problem and the consequences. I voted for mayor and I will vote for her again. I realize that a tax increase is just in case, but contingency measures are generally taken out of necessity. Of course, it would be nice if we didn’t need it. History has shown that this is usually implemented.
What I disagree with the mayor is his reluctance to lay off employees. You should start at the top and work your way down. No one should be immune. Why should taxpayers take responsibility? We didn’t cause this problem. And with the increase in BPU and the possible garden waste sticker fee, the situation becomes even worse. I looked at salaries. They are a public register. Taxpayers in Jamestown are quite generous.
I have lived here all my life and have made many friends – friends who work at competitive employment agencies and government agencies, including Jamestown. I hope I didn’t offend anyone because I didn’t mean to. But gosh, people, the only reason you do what you do is because you can get away with it.
If you cannot make any changes to existing policies and practices, the only thing you can do is let us know when the City of Jamestown goes bankrupt. To say we won’t do it is just plain stupid. We cannot follow this path forever. You have to realize this. Stop putting it on the next guy. It’s not fair to the people who pay taxes. Please stop this madness.
Bruce A Piatz is a resident of Jamestown.
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