Village-Wide Push For Tax Relief

In an effort to bring tax relief to Garden City residents, the Joint Conference Committee (JCC) is asking Sen. Kemp Hannon, R-Garden City, and Assemblyman Tom McKevitt, R-East Meadow, to take a stand against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) payroll tax and "outrageous" pension contributions.

Claydon Road resident Dorothy Episcopia, speaking on behalf of Eastern Property Owners' Association (EPOA) president Walter McKenna, urged residents Thursday evening to take part in the village-wide letter drive.

"This is a major effort," says Episcopia, "that started with people watching the board of trustees and the school board struggle with budgets this year and at the same time having to deal with the state pension costs and the MTA payroll tax.

"Really, the problem starts in Albany and we are kind of leaning on Kemp Hannon and Tom McKevitt to try to do something about it at this point."

As evidenced during the village and school budget process this year, rising costs of pension contributions greatly affected both budget outcomes.

Residents slammed the district for proposing cuts to school programs and teachers, and questioned why the initial spending plan proposal still remained so high. School officials cited time and time again the district's obligation to make contractually and state-mandated contributions to pensions and health insurance. The district will need to contribute an additional $1.875 million to the employee pension system. 

From the 2000-01 school year to the 2002-03 school year, Garden City paid less than one half of a percent in pension contributions. With the exception of 2008-09 and 2009-10, that number has risen steadily and the proposed 8.8 percent for 2010-11 would be the most since the 1980s. This means that for every dollar Garden City pays its teachers, it must also pay 8.8 cents to the retirement fund.

On top of that, the village and school district got hit with the payroll tax, which the state legislature passed to help bailout a cash-strapped MTA. The village denounced the tax last year when it first went into effect.

Affecting all businesses, municipalities, school districts and non-profits (that have a payroll) and hospitals within the areas serviced by the MTA, the tax collects 34 cents for every $100 of payrolls.

For Garden City, the tax costs roughly $100,000 a year and will only become more costly due to village employee contractual increases. Village auditor Jim Olivo said the village didn't even know the tax was "on the radar" until New York State enacted its budget last year.

The impact of the payroll tax on the school district totals $255,547 annually. State lawmakers, however, agreed to reimburse school districts for the cost of the payroll tax. No guarantees, according to Hannon, were written into the law.

The next payment due date is July 31, which covers the quarter from April 1 to June 30. Beyond that, Oct. 31 for the period covering July 1 to Sept. 30; and Jan. 31 for the period covering Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.

Former JCC char and current village trustee Brian Daughney said Garden City's four property owners' associations have started the campaign to push residents to write their local, state-level representatives "to try and get some relief, some changes, in the pension plan laws, the MTA payroll tax laws that impact our budget directly and our taxes."

"We'd appreciate it if people will coordinate with their POAs and join the POAs and our board as well in the village to try and get change. We'd appreciate your help. Pass the word along," Daughney said.

Hannon, who voted no alongside other Republican senators when the bailout was first proposed, has stated it's an "outrage that taxpayers are expected to carry this heavy burden on their backs in order to bail out the MTA."

He estimated that the average Long Island family is paying an additional $272 per year in new taxes to cover the cost of the bailout, which MTA officials said was necessary to reduce the impact of commuter fare increases, which spiked 10 percent a year ago this month. Monthly tickets from Garden City to Penn Station increased from $185 to $204.