To the editor:
I am proud to sponsor a resolution memorializing the Onondaga County Legislature’s support of Senate Bill 3144-A, a bill to reduce the unfunded mandates Albany places on local governments. While not perfect, the bill at least acknowledges a basic problem we face here in Onondaga County and across New York state, namely unfunded mandates. This bill has twice been passed by the Senate, but the Assembly has unfortunately refused to consider this important bill. Without a push by the citizenry, this bill will therefore most likely die in the Assembly due to the lack of support by our local representatives. This change in the law is desperately needed in order to ensure that New York state takes responsibility for the spending decisions it makes.
I cannot sum up this bill any better than its own legislative intent, which states: “State-mandated programs, unlike local service decisions, place local taxpayers and local officials in the position of paying for services that they do not control.” Increasingly, the state has set local priorities and forced municipal taxing decisions by mandating services, programs and standards. As a result, many local governments and school districts are today in an acutely difficult fiscal situation.
“[I]n order to prevent irresponsible state actions which prevent localities from making their own decisions, and which force unwanted local property tax increases, it is necessary to ensure that state mandates will not be forced on localities and school districts unless they are adequately funded.”
As noted, the bill is not perfect. For example, it defines “unfunded mandates” as only those instances of new spending, and in so doing excludes existing unfunded mandates like Medicaid spending. The fact of the matter is that a majority of our county property tax dollars are consumed by state mandated Medicaid spending, and New York spends a disproportionate amount on Medicaid when compared with the rest of the country. It is extraordinarily disappointing, therefore, that the benate Bill does not include Medicaid and other currently imposed unfunded mandates in its definition of “unfunded mandates.” The bill is, however, a step in the right direction in at least acknowledging the spending problem Albany has created and providing some level of protection against the local impact of those spending decisions.
At the Onondaga County Legislature, we will do our part in highlighting problems and solving them where possible. But in the case of unfunded mandates, we desperately need you to contact your Assembly member and ask him or her why the Assembly has not passed this much-needed legislation and demand their support. If we want our children to stay here, we need New York State to get its spending problem under control and to take responsibility for its own spending and fiscal decisions.
Casey Jordan
Onondaga County Legislator, 14th District
