There are many issues that must be addressed in order to provide meaningful property tax relief to New Yorkers—the biggest being New York’s expensive state unfunded mandates.
Unfunded mandates are the programs and policies that Albany implements but won’t pay for and passes on to our municipalities and schools.
The New York State Association of Counties says that just nine mandates consume 90 percent of the local tax levy.
There are hundreds of other mandates as well, which continue to chip away at local budgets and resources, essentially tying the hands of our local governments. Continue reading