Lawmakers efforts leads to tax relief on heating bills and property taxes
The Erie County Legislature today passed a measure that will provide for real tax relief while also ensuring a road maintenance plan for county roads. The package is part of an agreement the Minority Caucus negotiated to help alleviate the tax burden and bring some assistance to Erie County taxpayers.
“I’m proud to say we are giving taxpayers an actual tax decrease. The last time homeowners saw a reduction in their property taxes was 2001. The tax and spend Democrat leadership in this state and county make it difficult for the middle and working class to get by. At a time when the cost of everything is skyrocketing, this agreement provides them with a bit of a break,” said Minority Leader and Erie County Legislator John Mills.
The terms put forth by the Republican Caucus include reducing the property tax levy by $1 million for 2024. In addition, there will be no county sales tax on home energy products during the peak months of December to February. Those home energy products include natural gas, electric, propane, wood, pellets, heating oil and coal.
“I’m glad we came to this agreement where we can help people during those particularly difficult months, when home heating bills are especially high. Reducing the cost to heat their home, as well as giving taxpayers a break on property taxes is a step in the right direction,” said Erie County Legislator Frank Todaro. “We need to continue to look for ways to make living here more affordable.”
“So often we hear about how the property tax rate has gone down. That just means assessments went up. Most residents haven’t seen their property tax bill go down. In fact, most are paying more today than they were a few years ago. We had a budget surplus of $175 million in 2021 and $96 million in 2022. That means you’re being overtaxed. This levy reduction and home heating tax break is a start, but the Administration needs to work with us to cut those costs even more,” said Erie County Legislator Chris Greene.
With the two percent tax cap remaining in place, it’s expected Erie County will save more than $80 million over the next decade with this one-time tax levy reduction.
“Since I came on in January, we successfully saved taxpayers millions in interest costs by negotiating with our colleagues and the Administration back in April over the selling of bonds, and now we’re providing a property tax and home energy tax cut. I’m extremely proud of our results. It is what our constituents expect of us,” said Erie County Legislator Jim Malczewski.
The agreement also calls for a five-year road maintenance and repair plan, and memorializes a job vacancy account that will save Erie County money by leaving positions vacant for at least three weeks once someone leaves. The agreement also negates a measure in newly proposed hotel tax legislation for Airbnb, VRBO and other online room rental sites that would have automatically given all proceeds from that tax to Visit Buffalo Niagara in perpetuity, without any Legislature oversight on how those funds are spent.
“The road maintenance plan is key because it allows us to better prepare our constituents for what projects they can expect to be completed over a five-year time period. This allows for more accountability with respect to roadwork. Our infrastructure needs a proper maintenance plan so roads aren’t neglected while the cost of repairs skyrockets,” said Leader Mills.
“As the fiscal house of Erie County, the bed tax piece was important to me. Visit Buffalo Niagara does receive a percentage of the bed tax already. But as stewards of your tax dollars, the current Legislature and future Legislators have to be able to apply a portion of those funds as they see fit to best benefit the County,” said Legislator Chris Greene.
“We are ensuring there is a long-term road plan for Erie County, we will be allocating a portion of bed tax revenue to where it is most needed, and we will be saving costs with new hires by requiring a wait-time before they are brought on board. These are all measures that respect the taxpayer,” said Legislator Frank Todaro.
“I hope this is just the beginning. Clearly residents have been overtaxed, the cost of Erie County government has grown, and our infrastructure wasn’t being given the attention needed. Every measure we negotiated in this agreement puts the people of Erie County first, which is as it should be,” concluded Legislator Jim Malczewski.