I got to wondering about this yesterday and this is what NRs 2012 budget means to me.
My home is assessed at $17,000 so the city portion of my property taxes will be $3,154.01 (multiply the assessment by the new tax rate off $185.53 and then divide by 1,000 because the tax rate is per $1,000 of assessment) then add on the garbage tax of $223.00 to bring my total tax bill to $3,357.01. Now in comparison, I paid $3,042.68 last January. To calculate the percentage increase over last year, take the difference ($314.33) and divide it by the amount of tax paid last year or 10.3307%.
This example is for properties assessed at $17,000 so if your property is assessed lower; your tax % increase will be higher because the garbage tax is fixed. Likewise, if your assessment is higher than $17,000 the percentage increase will be lower, also because the garbage tax is fixed.
Let’s all give a big thanks Noam & Chuck for the gifts they’re taking from under everyone’s tree this year.
I found it unsettling after reading several articles on the budget that Noam, Chuck and the City Council members that voted for it all complained about what a tough budget year it was and how they had to make difficult decisions and yet we the homeowners got stuck with a 10.33% tax increase so I don't think they made any difficult decisions or maybe not enough difficult decisions?
And then when I hear Noam say we need to focus on next years budget now, I’d like to know where the heck he’s been for the last decade because year after year NR has passed 1 structurally unbalanced budget after another & that’s why the increase is so large this year, because our city leaders have never reigned in any type of spending.
Our leaders have really skirted their responsibilities by handing down a 10.33% increase that's 5 times what Gov. Cuomo's tax cap calls for. And to add insult to injury, Noam thought it a good idea to hire yet another consultant for $100k to do what I have no idea nor do I care but we'll probably find their name on the Bramson donor list somewhere.
It is unclear why anyone remains in this city
As a 50 year resident, it breaks my heart to watch the bitter end to a once great city. The bad guys won. This budget is such a disgrace and really the last straw. The City Council has declared war on the taxpayers. And yet, the current people of NR not only re-elected the clowns responsible for this budget, but gave them a supermajority. This is mostly because there are more than twice as many Democrats than Republicans in NR, but I was hoping some thinking Democrats would oppose this irresponsoble regime. However, while I believe the Democrat machine that has controlled New Rochelle since early 1990s has badly mismanaged this city and created a generation long revenue crisis by giving away the store to developers with tax abatements, the Republicans have not been much better. The Republican leaders should be ashamed for running someone like St. Paul last year, a person so flawed and irresponsible that he could not even manage his own life, and then St. Paul dragged down the whole ticket on election day. And remember that the GOP controlled NR for decades before the Democrats, including in the 1980s when the economy was humming, and there was more money available for economic development from feds and state, and the downtown just got worse and worse. Folks, as the hard-working taxpayers flee NR, make sure the last person turns out the lights.
Even More Disturbing….
Fees are not tax deductible, so, you lose the discount you would receive by claiming it as a deduction. May not amount to a lot but to everybody except the city officials, every little bit counts. As that buffoon Louie rants on WVOX about challenging "anyone" to come before him and expose the "fat" in the budget, it's plain to see how many followers of Bramco are brainwashed. Louie, here's a clue for you, everyone realizes that there's no fat in the budget, that's the whole point. The people who run things refuse to make any real decisions or choices that are responsible to anyone except to serve their own ends. They've made a mockery of the running of this city. On top of that, County Legislator Sheila Marcotte reported there may be some duping (my words, not hers) of the citizens as the state looks into whether the increase in garbage fees actually goes to collecting garbage, or is part of the fee a disguise to subsidize other parts of the budget, thus hiding the actual tax increase needed. If the Mayor and his cronies were as "honorable" as they would have you believe, they would have raised the tax rate to cover their lack of leadership and accept the fallout of the citizens when they see the truth behind council's manipulations.
The tax deductablility of the
The tax deductablility of the garbage tax is an intriguing question and I'm sure thousands of New Rochelle homeowners are unwhittingly claiming the deduction as I know my bank includes the amount on my 1098 but are we doing anytihing wrong? I don't think so because its paid with the city portion of your property tax so it must be a tax.
I really think someone should file a suit against the city to clarify weather this is a tax or a fee. If a tax it would be subject to the tax cap law which NR never voted to override. But can you ever beat city hall with their unlimited resources? Who can afford to foot the bill while it litgates out?
Any lawyers out there that want to take on a pro-bono case like this?
Or a law student looking for a project? 10 to 15 years ago a law student from Stamford, CT took on Greenwich, CT over their beach access laws and won. It could happen here too as what city hall is doing is so wrong.