By Norman Gersman
The Long Island Economic & Social Policy Institute of Dowling College presented an idea for permanent property tax relief to the State Commission on Property Tax Relief. The plan is known as the "Three C's" and the press release can be found...by clicking here
The "Three C's are: (1) the consolidation of teacher salaries, pension costs and fringe benefits into a item that will be financed by the NYS Department of Education; (2) the capping of the balance of the budget of each school district at a rate equal to the increase of the consumer price index or 3%; (3) and controlling the costs of the school system.
The administration of the school system and the education of the students will remain controlled by the local school districts.
The Institute claims that by transferring the responsibility to pay the teachers to the State of New York our property taxes will decrease by almost 47%. The proposal states that the money is already in the state budget for this proposal because we already pay a income tax to the state that is subsequently sent back to the local districts in subsidies and STAR payments.
The Institute claims that by lowering our property taxes more homes would be made affordable to young families because the cost of owning a home would be lower. This would bring a large increase in economic activity that would also bring more revenue to the local and state governments. Lastly, this proposal helps to "level the playing field" between the financially diverse school districts.