Property taxes: Paying your unfair share

A debate that has appeared in the American political scene for what seems to be an eternity is the premise that everyone should “pay their fair share”. So much attention has been trained on this matter at the national level that most people have almost totally ignored the concept at the local level where it should carry even greater weight.

You see, there’s nothing fair about property taxes.  

In comparing properties of equal size, why should a childless couple pay as much as a family of four, when the family of four consumes far more in public services, especially public schooling?

How is it just that municipalities and schools in Allegany County and the Adirondacks reap revenues from what are basically absentee landowners living elsewhere (camp owners) who come to town just a few weekends and weeks a year and acquire almost no benefit from the taxes they’ve paid? Why should those non-resident property owners be excluded from having a vote in how their hard-earned dollars are being used in the places where they are paying them?

In rural locales, why should farmers carry the highest portion of the revenue burden just because they happen to own vast tracks of land? It’s not as if they are receiving a proportionate amount of services.

Why should property owners pay so much for Medicaid (in most New York counties it’s 52 to 64 percent of the county tax) when it should be the obligation of the population as a whole to fund this forced benevolence?

Why should senior citizens on fixed incomes who have been paying into the system their whole adult lives continue to pay high taxes for things they won’t use anymore, but once did and once paid for accordingly through taxation at that time?

Why should someone who loves his home and wants to make it better with a swimming pool, patio or an addition have to suffer the consequences at reassessment and end up paying more in taxes than someone who left his land idle?

Beyond those glaring displays of wrong, consider the very act of property taxation itself: Your bank account is a form of property – would you like the government collecting a tax on its value each and every year? 

You wouldn’t stand for that because it’s “yours” not “theirs”, so why do we allow it with our home and land?

That begs the question: Is it really even “yours”?

You are led to believe that you own your home – and you even possess legal documents that show as much.

You really don’t; ownership is only theoretical.

It’s more accurately stated that you are renting the property from your local governments and school districts at a premium because if you didn’t pay your taxes it wouldn’t take long for that governing body to take that home from you --- even if the mortgage was fully paid-for! How is that fair?

This travesty carries special meaning in New York State where property taxes are 70% above the national average.

Across America, people think of their property taxes in terms of hundreds of dollars. Here, we think of them in thousands of dollars.

In Niagara County a home assessed at $100,000 has a total property tax bill around $3,000, meaning that local homeowners pay over $1,200 more than their peers in other states with equally-assessed properties. Someone whose home is valued at $200,000 pays about $2,400 more than their peers elsewhere.

The extreme view would see property taxes abolished. We know that will never happen.

But, a myriad of changes could be accomplished to mitigate the unfairness of property taxes in the Empire State or, at least, decrease their size.  

Just a few of those ideas: Replace the state’s Medicaid program with an HMO-driven voucher system; add another 1 to 1.5 percent to the state sales tax to use a fairer consumption-driven tax to decrease property owners’ contributions to Medicaid; utilize clawbacks on businesses that break their promises to IDAs; end all corporate welfare that uses 100% tax-free abatements (they have to pay something); introduce assessment caps; adjust assessments to true market value (looking back, how in the world did assessments go up during the Great Recession?); and have a state commission provide oversight of proposed bills that would impose and/or increase unfunded mandates upon counties, towns, villages and schools.

Those are all common sense measures that could cut back on some of the unfairness and high costs that are inherent to our property taxes. But, instead of pursuing them, it seems like the state Legislature and Governor prefer to maintain an air of unfairness by adding more unfunded mandates and more enrollees to Medicaid without relief to residents.

It’s no wonder that so many young minds and retirees have left.

They want someplace fairer to work and live…and, despite what Governor Cuomo says, it has nothing to do with fairer weather.

 

From the 13 May 2019 Greater Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily News

Hoping for a long life for Niagara County’s lifeline

During the first weekend of May in 1999 I had severe abdominal pain and chalked it up to food poisoning. 

I fought through it best I could – I moved into my home and played some softball that weekend, saying I wouldn’t let pain and bad food ruin my weekend.

Over the course of those two days it got worse and worse, and, without my knowing, my appendix exploded. Only after the poisons made their way through my body did I go to the ER. By then, it had caused potentially-fatal peritonitis. I needed emergency surgery and spent a week in hospital followed by weeks of recovery.

Now, every morning when I look in the mirror and see the large scar that travels vertically across my stomach I count my blessings. I was likely hours away from kicking the bucket but I was fortunate that Lockport Memorial Hospital and its people were there for me – Dr. Hodge was able to work his magic on my innards and the wonderful doctors, nurses and assistants made sure my stay was helpful and comfortable.

I’m forever indebted to those good people and the Hospital for saving my life.

Last week’s reflection on the twenty year anniversary of my second chance at life was countered by sadness for Eastern Niagara Hospital, the system that now runs that hospital and its satellite enterprises, for on that same day the news came out that ENH was on a path to further downsizing: They will be closing the Newfane dialysis center and radiology facility and shutting the doors at Newfane Express Care.

In the biggest shocker, ENH will be closing the maternity ward at Lockport – the same unit that brought me into the world, saw the birth of one of my sons, and nearly birthed our twins a few weeks ago (their premature delivery demanded a move, by ambulance, from Lockport to Oishei’s). 

It’s incredibly sad that the ward which created memories for literally tens of thousands of parents will become but a memory itself.

But, I know it’s a necessary move that reflects the reality of the world we live in – or more accurately, the state we live in.

If you’ve read this column for any length of time you know I fret quite often about the ongoing decline of Upstate New York. Decades of poor leadership from state officials have turned it into a sinking ship, with businesses, people and prosperity abandoning the woebegone region at unprecedented rates.

Not only is it something that keeps me up at night running a factory that serves clients from around the world, it also dominates my thoughts while serving as board president for two local non-profits that serve area residents.

Both of those non-profits have lost a significant number of potential clients, which reflects the shrinking and aging population of WNY. Because of that, we’ve instituted major changes, have plans in the works to transform those organizations to meet the changing demographics, and often ponder long-term nuclear options if the decline of the region happens at a rate even greater than what it has.

That is, quite likely, the same mess that ENH is in. Fewer area residents equal fewer patients which equals fewer revenues. On top of that, there’s the “use it or lose it” syndrome: 65% of area women from a population of potential child bearers that is 24% lower than it was 20 years ago choose facilities other than Lockport to have delivery.

So, changes are necessary to save the organization, changes that include downsizing or elimination of underutilized services to ensure more “popular” and universally necessary operations can continue in Lockport. Thousands of businesses and non-profits across Upstate have been making such decisions for years – and they will continue to.

I doubt any of this is comforting to those who need or have used ENH’s services or those who work hard to provide them.

I’m in that boat -- it especially pains me to think of the skilled and caring ladies in the maternity ward who will be out of a job. They’ve helped my family through some times that have been happy and scary.  

So, for their sake -- and all of ours -- let’s hope that what ENH is doing is exactly what the doctor ordered and that this critical lifeline for Eastern Niagara County lives on.

Lockport Memorial saved my life. It likely saved someone close to you.

If all goes according to plan it will save itself, too.

Let’s pray that it does.

From the 08 May 2019 Greater Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily News

Summer camp becomes victim of New York’s gun safety bill

Having been a Boy Scout, camp counselor and volunteer for the past 30 years, I can attest that the shooting sports program is one of the most popular – and most important – aspects of summer camp.

For more than a half-century, boys have been thrilled to use the rifle range at Camp Dittmer, the Finger Lakes-based property that serves the Boy Scouts of our local Iroquois Trail Council. Being able to learn about and use firearms is not only a highlight of their summer, something they look forward to all winter, but it’s also a highlight of their lives as it provides respectful exposure to an interest they will carry with them forever.

Because of the seed planted at our shooting range they later pursued involvement in: shooting sports clubs, giving them a competitive outlet at their schools or conservation clubs; hunting, which has helped them put food on the table for their families; and public service, which has seen them protect our citizens through law enforcement or the military.

Knowing that impact, the shooting sports are not something taken lightly at the Council. They‘ve made sure the facilities are well-equipped and well-fortified.

Through the years the Council has invested in the best rifles and shotguns and have secured donations of the same from organizations like the Safari Club. The scouts use .22-calibre rifles, black powder guns, and shotguns of various gauges. 

Just last year, local scouters oversaw the construction of a new shotgun range at Camp Dittmer, the outcome of an idea and sizable gift from an Orleans County benefactor who knows the magic of camp. The facility became a reality because of him and dozens more donors who chipped in after WHAM’s Bob Lonsberry graciously gave me airtime to talk about the campaign.

The new facility was a $14,000 investment that will pay huge dividends in the boys’ lives...that is, if they can use it.

The days might be numbered for most scouts to earn the rifle shooting merit badge thanks to a threat from legislation that has passed the Senate and Assembly and is now awaiting the Governor’s signature.

You likely saw television news stories or read newspaper reports about A02686A /S02450A, an alleged response to school shootings that amends provisions relating to requirements for storage of firearms. It requires gun owners to lock their guns away when minors are in the home or in their presence unless the child is at least 16 years of age or possesses a hunting permit.

Much has been written on editorial pages or talked about on radio about the flaws of the bill, primarily how it inhibits the ability of homeowners to have immediate access to their firearms if they have to defend themselves -- usually predators don’t give victims time to go get their guns and unlock them. 

One thing that has been mostly overlooked is the impact the nuanced language of the law will have on Camp Dittmer, every other camp in the state, and shooting organizations like the sporting clay club recently started by Albion High School.

Last week, in a letter to the editor of the Watertown Daily Times, Lewis County Sheriff Michael Carpinelli wrote, “…the law prohibits the owner of a firearm from knowingly allowing any person younger than 16 to have access to their firearms unless the firearm is in their “immediate possession or control” outside of the home, unless said youth has a hunting license and is hunting. The only way for a loaded firearm to be in the “immediate possession or control” of the owner is to be within arm’s reach at all times.”

The good sheriff continued, ”this bill will effectively outlaw all youth shooting activities, competitions and training for those individuals younger than 16 who are not hunting.”

If his assessment is correct – and it should be; he is, after all, a lawman – then what happens at summer camps and every other youth-focused shooting event will not be allowed -- that is, a certified riflery instructor and assistant overseeing up to 10 kids at a time at a range. There is no direct one-on-one for each shooter; it’s done in a well-organized group setting.

This would destroy the summer camp experience for local boys. At the age of 16 most age out of Scouting; as the adage goes, they succumb to fumes – car fumes and perfumes. Almost all attending Dittmer are ages 12 to 15. None of them would be allowed to utilize the shooting range unless they had a hunting license, which many scouts don’t – the whole point of our facility is to get them interested.  

If this bill is signed by Andrew Cuomo, 2019 might be the last summer that various camps like ours can offer shooting sports without otherwise adding significant manpower and, in turn, a very significant cost to the campers’ families (which won’t fly in the stressed upstate economy). A02686A /S02450A has the very real potential to deny countless young men a critical part of the summer camp – and life -- experience.

From the 22 April 2019 Greater Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily News