Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutTwitterGoogle+LinkedInPinterestPosted!A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Log InSubscribed, but don't have a login?Activate your digital access.To kick off 2017, lohud reporters are assessing the state of critical issues on their beats. In this story, investigative reporter and columnist David McKay Wilson looks at the state of taxes in Westchester County and beyond.Taxes remain a constant topic of conversation in the Lower Hudson Valley, and no more so than in Westchester County. With a recent announcement of Indian Point closing in the next decade, a new president promising federal tax cuts, a governor outlining a vision of consolidation of local governments and mayors and town supervisors struggling to maintain the quality of service their respective residents have come to expect under a tax cap, 2017 promises to bring a stream of debate and ideas to address these competing visions.With high property taxes a defining issue for Lower Hudson Valley homeowners, residents are bracing for 2017, hoping that policy changes on the local, state and federal levels move in their favor.
On the national level, Congressional Republicans and President Donald J. Trump have promised to pursue federal tax reform, by simplifying the federal tax code. That process could impact New York upper-income taxpayers if that reform includes caps on the deductions of mortgage interest, as Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s nominee for U.S. Treasury secretary, suggested in a Dec. 1 CNBC interview.On the state level, look for the Cuomo administration to make more efficient its system to issue millions of checks to New Yorkers in rebates for savings under the state property-tax freeze and the reformed STAR program. He also wants to encourage local governments to share services to cut local costs.SCARSDALE: Tax battle in Scarsdale ragesOn the local level, New York state’s tax cap, instituted in 2011, will dip to its lowest level ever in 2017, putting pressure on local governments and school districts to keep under the taxing limit.The tax cap has been successful in reining in local property taxes.
In 2017 it has been set at 0.68 percent, even less than in 2016, when the allowable tax increase was just 0.73 percent.“In what is becoming the norm, New York’s local governments must cope with extremely limited growth for property taxes to stay within the tax cap,” said state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. “Local officials have faced growing fixed costs and limited budget options for years, but 2017 will necessitate even tougher financial choices.”Local governments have overridden the cap with a super majority vote of their municipal boards. But passing school budgets that exceed the tax cap has proved a tougher sell at the ballot box. The growth rate for schools, which was 0.12 percent in 2016, is not expected to exceed 1 percent in 2017.With the tax cap so tight, expect governments to seek alternative revenues in 2017. Astorino has his sights on privatizing Westchester County Airport. A request-for-proposals is expected to be released sometime this spring, to see whether the open market can bring a better offer than the $150-million proposal from Oaktree Capital Management.Tax equity is coming to towns in northern Westchester and Putnam County in 2017 when homeowners learn in March the new taxable values of their homes, and have an opportunity to contest those new values later in May.
But Yonkers, which had been part of the consortium with Ossining and Greenburgh to conduct a revaluation with Tyler Technologies, won’t be moving forward with a revaluation in 2017.The Yonkers City Council did not approve $4 million for the citywide effort that Mayor Mike Spano had included in his 2017 budget proposal.Homeowners in Carmel and North Salem in March will learn the results of their town’s revaluation project, with new taxable values set.Scarsdale homeowners have sued the town over its 2016 revaluation, hoping to overturn the results, which boosted taxable values for those in lower-priced homes, and provided big savings for those in top-end homes.Edgemont residents in the town of Greenburgh have collected signatures in their campaign to create the town’s seventh village. A vote on the measure could come in 2017.State Sen. George Latimer, D-Rye, has filed legislation that would require New York state to pay property taxes on 7,000 acres it owns in Westchester County, just as it does in Rockland and Putnam counties.
Latimer has also proposed legislation to require New York to pay property taxes on land in Bedford by two state prisons, just as it does in Ossining by Sing Sing.Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino runs for re-election on his string of seven no-tax increase budgets.In many municipalities, the valuations of real estate for property tax purposes are sorely outdated. That leads to inequities in the tax system, with residents owning under-assessed homes receiving tax breaks while being subsidized by other property owners who are fairly assessed. Property taxes are also a potent political issue, with Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino to test whether his no-tax increase brand continues to resonate with county voters. He’ll seek his third term in November, with County Legislator Ken Jenkins, D-Yonkers, so far the only Democrat in the race.Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino: He has won approval for seven consecutive no-tax increase budgets. His 2016 budget is balanced with a $15 million payment from privatizing Westchester County Airport.
But the airport deal is far from certain.New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo: Cuomo’s 2016 budget will include several costly initiatives, including free tuition at state universities and community colleges, and doubling the state tax credit for child care. He also wants to cut local taxes by encouraging consolidation initiatives. State Sen. George Latimer: The Rye Democrat is leading the effort to bring tax equity to Westchester with a bill to put Westchester on similar footing with Rockland and Putnam counties, with the state paying property tax on the value of its land.Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, D-Ossining: She chairs the Assembly Committee on Real Property Taxation, so any tax reform bills come through her committee.County legislator Ken Jenkins: The only Democratic challenger to Astorino so far.Feb. 15: State determines tax-base growth factor for school districtsEarly March: Numbers will come out for CarmelMay 16: Annual school budget vote$548 million: Westchester County's tax levy.$168 billion: The value of Westchester real estate.$41 million: Putnam County tax levy,$30 billion: The value of Putnam County real estate.