11/21/07 - Legislature to receive city sales tax request

(As published by Cortland Standard, Evan Geibel reporting)

The county Budget and Finance Committee has decided to forward the city’s request to reopen sales tax negotiations to the full Legislature, despite disagreements with the city’s method of broaching the subject.

Committee chair Ron Van Dee (D-5th Ward) said the manner in which city Director of Administration and Finance Andy Damiano requested that the city’s poor financial state be taken into consideration and the 2006 sales tax agreement renegotiated was “a very poor way to conduct business.”

Damiano brought up the sales tax agreement and the city’s difficult financial situation in a letter to the editor of the Cortland Standard that was delivered on Oct. 30 — a copy of the letter was also sent to Legislature Chairman Marilyn Brown.

Van Dee said he was willing to put aside the manner in which it was received and instead concentrate on the request itself.

“I think that’s the proper thing to do,” Van Dee said, “for all 19 legislators to say ‘Yes, we will reopen the contract,’ or ‘No.’”

The measure passed without any opposition, clearing the way for Damiano’s proposal to be debated at the Legislature’s Nov. 29 meeting.

Still, Brown and county Administrator Scott Schrader pointed out that the county and town budgets have been either already drawn up or passed. Schrader said he believed there was little chance of any renegotiated contract having an effect on next year’s city tax rate.

Brown contended that the city should have realized that it was on the verge of a 9.8 percent tax rate hike and perhaps should not have sided with Cortlandville’s request for an extra 1 percent of the sales tax revenue last year.

Van Dee wondered if Damiano “trusted” the county at the time of the negotiations for the six-year agreement that went into effect at the beginning of this year.

Damiano asked in his letter that the county amend the sales tax agreement to give the city a larger percentage of sales tax revenue in light of its 9.8 percent proposed tax rate increase and a depleted fund balance.

Under the current agreement, the city would receive 18 percent of 2008 tax revenue while towns and village would split 27.5 percent and the county the remainder. The city would receive 18.2 percent in 2009, and the towns and villages would split the remaining 29.8 percent.