Members of the Erie County Legislature’s Republican Caucus were joined by several elected town leaders to speak out against a proposed new local law, calling it nothing more than a political power grab that, if passed, could have serious ramifications for the majority of municipalities in Erie County. The consequential measure seeks to silence the voices of all Erie County residents, by removing their current right to approve the extension of sales tax at a public referendum and giving up that right to a fewer number of lawmakers. This move weakens democracy and makes it easier to apply a tax burden on the public. The only reason to take away the public’s right to approve tax increases is because some lawmakers fear their bosses will disagree with their decision. This isn’t a good reason to change the charter and silence their voices. It’s a reason not to.
Currently New York State requires the Erie County Legislature to authorize extending the 1% and 0.75% sales and compensating use tax every two years. There are two options to authorize extending the tax; a super majority vote of the legislature, or a majority vote that puts a referendum before voters. This procedure has been in place for decades. The new law removes the public’s role in the process, and, if passed, would require only a simple majority vote to extend the sales tax, without the necessity of a referendum. The only reason the Democratic Caucus and Poloncarz Administration are trying to push this through is so they don’t have to work across the aisle. Historically, when negotiating whether to support extending the sales tax, Republican legislators have required the County Executive and Democratic legislators to cut costs elsewhere. The result has been a property tax levy decrease, and borrowing less, resulting in millions of dollars in savings for taxpayers.
“It appears that my colleagues across the aisle want to simply go on a spending spree. They don’t want to have to work with us. They want to be able to act without input from residents or from the legislators that represent most Erie County communities. The real purpose for this local law is obvious, it is shameful, and they should be embarrassed to have even proposed it,” said Minority Leader Legislator John Mills.
The proposed local law was clocked in at 5pm on a Wednesday, left off the agenda for session the following day, and a public hearing was quickly, but quietly called by the Democratic Caucus.“It’s obvious they are trying to fast-track this before anyone notices. Their intentions are clear. This represents the absolute worst in government. My Democratic colleagues should be ashamed of themselves. To not allow hundreds of thousands of Erie County taxpayers representation is dangerous, reckless, and wrong. If this was actually good public policy, they wouldn’t be trying to sneak it through, as they obviously are,” said Legislator Christopher Greene.
“This is bad politics, bad governing, and it’s disturbing. With this local law, taxpayers lose. This sets a dangerous precedent by silencing the will of the people. This disrespects and disregards the suburban and rural communities of Erie County. They even eliminated the referendum, which would at least give residents the opportunity to decide whether to extend the sales tax,” said Legislator Frank Todaro.
“This proposal is a blatant attempt to silence the voice of the people of Erie County. By removing the requirement for a supermajority and public referendum, the Democratic majority is trampling on the democratic process. If this measure truly served the best interests of our community, there would be no fear of letting the public have a say. This is government at its worst. The majority caucus should be ashamed of this proposal and effort to silence the people we all represent,” said Legislator Lindsay Lorigo.
“I am very disturbed by this attempt by the majority in the county legislature to silence the voice of the public when extending the additional Erie County sales tax. Erie County already has the highest sales tax rate in the state, and I fear passage of this law will open the door to even higher county sales taxes in the future,” said West Seneca Town Supervisor Gary Dickson.
“Lancaster is a growing community in Erie County. The fact that citizens in this town wouldn’t have a say is incredibly troubling. Silencing the will of the people is simply bad governance and bad politics, and this measure needs to be rejected,” said Lancaster Town Supervisor Bob Leary.
“As the President of the Association of Erie County Governments and Boston Town Supervisor I know the importance of ensuring each of our communities are heard. The sales tax revenue has a big impact on our budgets, and the people we all represent deserve to have a say. No referendum and no super majority vote ignores the will and voices of a majority of towns and villages in Erie County,” said Boston Town Supervisor Jason Keding, who also serves as President of the Association of Erie County Governments.
“As the town supervisor of a rural community, we rely on our county legislators to be our voice in county government. It’s important small towns like ours have a say in what happens. To think that our opinions and concerns wouldn’t even be heard with this local law is deeply troubling,” said Alden Town Supervisor Colleen Pautler.
The municipal sales tax sharing agreement of 1977 is also at risk. Cities, towns, villages, and school districts currently receive financial support through this sales tax revenue. However, if this local law is passed, what is to stop Democratic Caucus legislators from changing the equation of how much each community receives? Since members appear eager to sneak this Local Law through, what is to stop them from working to change that formula, which they could then do without the input of several towns and villages in Erie County?
Some of the many joining the Republican Caucus in opposition are; Alden Town Supervisor Colleen Pautler, Boston Town Supervisor Jason Keding, Colden Town Supervisor Jim DePasquale, Concord Town Supervisor Phil Drozd, Village of Depew Mayor Kevin J. Peterson, Eden Town Supervisor Rich Ventry, Elma Town Supervisor Wayne Clark, Elma Town Board members Leroy Kupczuk, Daryl Nolan, Holland Town Supervisor Geoffrey Hack, Lancaster Town Supervisor Bob Leary, Marilla Town Supervisor Earl Gingerich, Marilla Deputy Supervisor Brian Nolan, Newstead Town Supervisor Dawn Izydorczak, Village of North Collins Trustee Lisa Voss, Village of Orchard Park Mayor Jo Ann Litwin Clinton, Village of Orchard Park Deputy Mayor Matthew Hartung, Village of Orchard Park Trustees Lauren Kaczor Rodo and Dale Pyne, West Seneca Supervisor Gary Dickson, West Seneca town board members Jeff Piekarec, Scott Robertson, West Seneca Town Clerk Kate Newton.
