Common-Sense County Budget Initiatives...

Hey there folks...

Free tomorrow (Tuesday) at lunch time for a bit?...

If you are, you're invited to join us at 12:30 pm for a press conference in front of our County Office Building at 22 Market Street in Poughkeepsie-- calling on county government to save county tax dollars the four ways below-- in order to pay for the other common-sense initiatives listed below-- (let us know if you can join us)...

Note as well...

Fact: The County Executive has proposed raising an extra $12 million in taxes inthree ways-- re-instating a sales tax on clothing and footwear under $110, continuingthe current 3.75% sales tax, and hiking the mortgage tax from 1% to 1¼%-- to avoid14% increase in county property tax or massive cuts in county services (see http://www.DutchessNY.gov ).

Fact: Both property and sales taxes are too high and unfairly regressive, as theyoften bear little relation to our ability to pay (unlike income taxes). DutchessCounty’s homeowners now spend well over half a billion dollars a year on propertytaxes for school, county, town, village, and city governments, and fire and librarydistricts. 80% of New Yorkers now actually pay more in sales taxes than they doin property taxes. 60% of New Yorkers pay more in property taxes than they do onincome taxes (see full chart on this at http://www.ITEPnet.org/wp2000/ny%20pr.pdf ). Don't forget-- millionaires here in NY now pay half the state and local taxes that middle-class New Yorkers do as a percentage of income because of what's happened to NY's tax code since Rockefeller in the early 70's (see http://www.FiscalPolicy.org ; http://www.ABetterChoiceforNY.org ).

Fact: Only 40% of NYC’s local tax revenue comes from property taxes because NYC has a local income tax— while across the state well over 70% of local government tax revenue comes from property taxes (because there are no local income taxes, except in Yonkers). [Q: Is it time to consider a local income tax in Dutchess to slash property taxes?]

In ANY case...

Please check out the "best practices" ideas below I've culled from across the state-- and feel free to zip off an email to countylegislature@co.dutchess.ny.us and countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us if you agree with any/all of 'em!...

Pass it on...

Joel Tyner
County Legislator
Clinton/Rhinebeck
(845) 876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net
http://www.JoelTyner.org

p.s. You're all also invited to forums I'm holding in Northern Dutchess County on the county budget as a three-year member of our County Legislature's Budget, Finance, and Personnel Committee-- at Clinton Town Hall Nov. 28th at 5:30 pm, at Rhinebeck Village Hall Nov. 28th at 7 pm, and at Rhinebeck Town Hall Nov. 29th at 8 pm; perhaps most importantly, don't miss the official annual county budget hearing Thursday Nov. 30th at 7 pm at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie...

p.p.s. You're all also invited to call in with your thoughts on this or any other issue you might have to "The Real Majority Project" at 437-7178 Sunday nights 9 to 11 pm on WVKR 91.3 FM...

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Without further ado-- here below are the common-sense initiatives we'll be referring to at tomorrow's press conference...

Four Ways to Save County Tax Dollars...

1. Save a million dollars a year by allowing county employees and retirees the option of being reimbursed for prescription drugs from Canada-- as is already the case in Schenectady County and G.O.P.-led Rensselaer and Lewis counties. (Schenectady County now saves a million dollars a year for taxpayers there this way-- with fewer county employees and retirees there than here in Dutchess, no less). [see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SaveOnRx ]

2. Get local report on exactly how much local taxpayers now pay for Medicaid for county residents working at profitable companies like Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts-- towards getting those companies to pay their fair share for health care for their employees instead (such a report has recently been completed in Westchester County).[see http://westchestergov.com/currentnews/2006pr/medicaidsurvey.htm ]

3. Save tax dollars by stopping chronically mentally ill homeless county residents from cycling in and out of local hospital, jail, and mental hospital-- start "housing-first" program setting up such individuals with their own apartments and support services (Westchester cut their homeless population in half this way with Pathways to Housing; New York City, San Francisco, and Chattanooga have found success with this program as well; Jail Administrator Gary Christensen told county legislators yesterday there are usually about twenty homeless county residents in our Jail).[see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/House1st ; http://www. PathwaystoHousing.org ]

4. Implement common-sense alternatives to incarceration suggested by our county's Criminal Justice Council-- such as housing for electronic monitoring of county residents currently without homes, and additional probation officers and social workers for expanded and expedited juvenile electronic monitoring, court reporting, mental health screenings, and drug treatment programming.[see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ATIs ; also some information on some of this in the County Executive's budget message at http://www.DutchessNY.gov ; long-time Criminal Justice Councilmember Sam Busselle has pointed out that the electronic monitoring/housing option alone recommended by the CJC would save half a million dollars a year for county taxpayers (note-- thanks to Co. Leg. Fred Bunnell for much time and energy devoted to this)]

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Two Ways to Help Revitalize Our Local Economy...

1. Fully fund our local microenterprise loan fund (GET: Gateways to Entrepreneurial Tomorrows)-- currently the only funding GET has for actual loans to budding microentrepreneurs is the $35,000 it now shares with a similar nonprofit in Westchester County.
[see http://www.GetHudsonValley.org ; http://www.MicroBizNY.org ]

2. Have our county's Central Services/Purchasing Department initiate a Small Business Registry so more county contracts can go to local small businesses (such a program has been up and running successfully in Rockland County).[see http://www.co.rockland.ny.us/Legislature/Fried/business.htm ]

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Eight Consumer/Health Initiatives...

1. "Shred-Mobile" to combat identity theft (as in Westchester County)
[see http://www.westchestergov.com/currentnews/2006pr/Shredmobile.htm ]

2. Adds to Consumer Affairs website-- list of ten worst businesses; firewood warnings (as in Suffolk County).[see http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp3.cfm?dept=3&ID=20 ]

3. List of restaurants without trans fats on county Health Department website (as in Westchester County)
[see http://www.westchestergov.com/Health/TransFat/TF.htm ]

4. Prescription drug take-back program with local pharmacies to protect drinking water (as in Maine)http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Senatedemsall&id=25170&v=Article

5. Interactive map on county Health Department website of MTBE/other groundwater contamination [with links to information from NYSDEC, Albany Times-Union, and ToxicsTargeting.com]
[see http://www.timesunion.com/TUNews/SpecialReports/HiddenPoison/index.aspx ; http://www.ToxicsTargeting.com ]

6. Alternative non-salt de-icing materials for county roads to protect drinking water (as now in Rhinebeck-- thanks to Highway Superintendent Kathy Kinsella)
[see http://www.ecostudies.org/road_salt.html ]

7. Quarterly countywide Saturday forums at DCC on sustainability, student government, sex offenders, etc.-- to shed light (and facts)-- not heat on these and other crucial issues

8. Mailing to all county residents on benefits eligible (Child Health Plus, Family Health Plus, food stamps, etc.), and known groundwater contamination in county, along with recycling law facts-- and invitation to attend/schedule of County Legislature meetings