Veto preserves tax cap purpose
New York State Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in Lynbrook. (June 30, 2011) Credit: Charles Eckert
So much for fig leaves. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo quite rightly mulched one Wednesday by vetoing a bill that would have let New York school districts borrow more than $1 billion to fund their pension obligations.
The bill was passed as part of the tussle over the governor's proposed 2 percent cap on property tax increases. The cap was enacted with the separate pension measure as a fig leaf to give certain lawmakers cover with angry unions and other tax-cap opponents. It was well known in Albany that Cuomo opposed the measure.
Had the pension bill survived, it would have allowed school districts to kick a costly can down the road by borrowing some of the money they must contribute toward pensions for their workers. Later, of course, the districts would have to pay off the loan while making new pension payments at the same time, a dicey proposition that could lead to financial trouble.
By vetoing the bill, Cuomo lived up to the cap he'd advocated, the purpose of which is to limit spending increases and impose fiscal restraint.
Meanwhile, bond prospectuses for some local governments, including Great Neck, suggest that the new tax cap is likely to face a legal challenge based on the argument that it violates the state's constitution, which gives local governments the power to levy property taxes to pay debt.
The challenges are to be expected, and so is the outcome: wasted tax dollars. hN
