Now, I know that I can’t have it both ways.  I can’t, under the current circumstances, both keep taxes down and continue the current level of services.  I am prepared to accept a small tax increase this year to make sure that the streets are still plowed, the leaves are still collected and the police remain on the beat.  But I believe that with some corrections to the budget process, reform of how the town government operates and more competitive bidding of goods and services purchased by the town, we can avoid tax increases for the next four years.

In fact, as a candidate for Amherst Town Board, I am prepared to go on the record, refusing to vote for a tax increase for the next four years if that is what the residents of this town really want.  To express this approval, all they have to do is vote for me as well as other candidates willing to make a similar commitment.  I believe that with a more professional board, we can make improvements to our town that will save money in the short term and more importantly the long term.  Here are a few of the ideas (not necessarily all my own) I would like to see implemented to achieve those goals:

• Start the budget process in January.  Current councilmember, Mark Manna, once told me that everything else you do as a board member is just a prelude to the budget.  Since this is the most important role of the board, then they should be working on it all year long.  The Supervisor should not be left to craft the budget by himself.  The board members, as liaisons to the different departments, should play an integral role in the development of the budget.  More communication between the board and the departments will greatly increase the odds of uncovering opportunities to decrease costs or increase revenues.
• Make sure that all departments are taking full advantage of the Purchasing Department.  We need to make sure that we are getting the best prices on all purchased goods and services.  The post of Purchasing Director was created to save the Town money, so let’s make sure that he is being utilized to the absolute fullest.
• Carefully analyze all services provided by the Town.  We need to make sure that the Town is not involved in activities better suited to private businesses and that the services provided are provided at competitive costs.  This is probably the trickiest of them all.  You can’t just look at the revenue and expenses related to each activity. You must consider the intangible benefits of having the service performed by the Town, the fixed costs that won’t go away even if you stop providing the service, the indirect costs to other departments that relied on the service, etc.  This requires significant understanding of cost accounting and budgeting.  I expect that this analysis will uncover cost savings through more sharing of services between departments and other municipalities, or possibly even the merger of departments or, dare I say, municipalities.
• Take into account the effect of current events on long term budgeting.  The Town does not operate in a vacuum.  When the economy slowed down last year, the Supervisor should have expected that sales tax revenue and building permit revenue would have dropped as well.  Furthermore, when the stock market crashed, the Supervisor should have realized that the Pension fund would take a huge hit which would result in a much larger required contribution from the Town than previously budgeted.  These should not have been surprises to the Supervisor when making this year’s budget.  Anticipating that expenses would jump should encourage the board to be more prudent in their current spending.
• Plan for the future.  When budgeting gets tight, it is very easy to slash the repairs & maintenance and capital improvement budgets.  Similarly, it is easy to lease equipment rather than buy it so the current year budget only has to absorb the lease payment rather than the full purchase price.  However, in many cases, these are painfully short-sighted decisions.  Every budgeting decision made by the Town should be considered on a net present value basis.  This ensures that we consider the long-term ramifications of our decisions.  To aid in planning for the future, I would like to see the Town of Amherst establish a Budget Committee of professionals to assist the board in making budgeting decisions.

I am sure that many of the other candidates have similar ideas and goals. My question is, who do you trust most to implement these ideas?  I submit to you that a Certified Public Accountant who understands Financial Statements, Budgeting, Tax Policy, Internal Controls, Business Management, and is trusted by hundreds of clients with their most personal financial information, is ideally suited to fulfill this mission.

If you agree with me and are registered to vote in the Town of Amherst, then please commit to voting for me on November 3^rd, telling two more people about me and committing them to tell two more people and so on.  If you are not registered to vote in Amherst but like my message, then please pass it on to two more people.  With less than two weeks left to go, we have to get the word out that Amherst does not have to operate business as usual with the constant threat of higher taxes or reduced services.  A proactive board with a fresh perspective can make changes that will help improve the Town for years to come.  Please help elect me to that board.  Thank you.

Written by guest blogger Steve Sanders, candidate for Amherst Town Board.

Join the official Sanders for Amherst Facebook group.

I asked him first why he was running governor. He explained, “When I was growing up my parents taught me when there’s trouble with a neighbor or a friend you run to go help them, you don’t run the opposite direction, And this state is my home state, it’s the only state i’ve ever known.”

He then expressed his dismay over the number of people giving up on New York and moving out of state, and doesn’t want that to happen with his kids, who he hopes will not only be able to stay in the state, but want to. “Maybe they’ll move out because they fall in love with somebody or meet somebody, or maybe they got a great career opportunity, but I don’t want them to feel like they have to move out because they can’t afford to live here, there are no jobs here, and they’re not proud of the state.” That, he explained, is what makes running for governor so important, and he wants to take his public and private experience to help his home state.

Lazio told me that until recently, he never thought he’d run for public office. He’s previously been asked to run, and declined all offers since his failed 2000 Senate bid. But the current crisis in New York has brought him to seek office again. According to Lazio, it’s mostly a crisis of faith. “People just don’t believe this government works for them. And it seems like they prove it everyday.”

Lazio placed blame for New York’s current crisis on both parties, who have let the state slide the past 30 to 40 years. They “have no vision, no sense of who we are as a state and who we need to be.”

I told him my experiences with New York not being very business friendly, and he agreed, noting that the tax burden that is the highest in the country, which not only sends a bad message to businesses, but to families.

At this point, I agree with all that he was saying, but I wanted to know how he felt he could change the way the state is ”One person can’t change it by themselves, but one person can lead a movement to change it.”

We talked about how every election cycle people complain about the state government, but continually reelect the same people who are causing the problems. “People need to be motivated to go out there and send a message. They need to come out in large numbers to support a change candidate and a change movement [...] a movement that has got ideas behind it.”

So what are his ideas? Good question. First, he wants to “get our fiscal house in order” by controlling spending and putting a cap on property taxes. Next, he wants to reduces the state’s mandates and provide more decision making to the local level. Lazio says the state needs to allow for more decision making at the local level since “the state operates by stalemate and avoiding responsibility,” while local leaders are more in tune with the needs of their communities.

Then there’s the structure. There are dozens of state agencies that collectively issue about a 140 billion dollars in debt  (larger than state budget) and they are acccountable to nobody. Lazio wants to see more transparency and accountability, and believes that that debt needs to be issued through the comptrollers office, and there needs to be ceilings on debt.

Is this something he can do? He told me that he understands make up of government. “The governor has to be able to work with the legislature and be a partner.” He added that he is perfectly comfortable using the veto to hold the line on spending.

While it was easy for us to discuss all the problems with the state, he was confident that something can be done. “All of our problems are solvable, all it requires is the political will.”

Of course, holding the line on spending is important, so is spending wisely. Lazio says that the state infrastructure improvements that will actually increase productivity, He mentioned the big mistake that has been made with stimulus money.

Lazio says that education is key to working ourselves out of this problem we are in now. He believes in increasing charter schools, holding schools accountable, paying for performance. “I believe in a merit-based system.” he said.

We talked about a recent New York Times editorial that called Albany a swamp,and said everyone ought to be thrown out. “I’ll be the guy who drains that swamp,” he promised.

There were a lot of issues that came up in our discussion.

He supports non-partisan drawing up of districts. We get “better quality public servants when they are in competitive districts.”

He supports term limits at all levels of government. He wants politicians to serve then live under the rules they created.

He supports a unicameral legislature, which he says would increase transparency and end those backroom deals. “The structure of New York government has to change in order for us to get better outcomes.”

Of course, talking about all these issues facing state, I knew I had to ask about Upstate New York and Western New York. “The people of Western New York have good reason to be skeptical of politicians who go to Albany and forget their promises to them.” He asks that people look at his record to see that he follows through on his promises. He recognizes that property taxes are hurting upstate (since we have a more difficult time shouldering the burdens) and that’s why he supports a property tax cap. He also feels that by allowing local leaders at the city/town and county levels will be very beneficial to our region. ”I won’t be a master, I’ll be a partner. That’s want to be with upstate.”

After talking about his ideas and plans, I wanted his thoughts on Governor Paterson. I asked if felt that Paterson deserved any blame for current crisis. “Paterson spent many years in the legislature casting votes that brought us to the point we are at now.” He added that members of both parties voted for pensions and programs they knew we couldn’t afford and weren’t sustainable because they got them through elections.

“Does Paterson have responsibility? Yes. Does he have responsibility since he’s been governor? Absolutely. while he’s said many things i agree with, he’s been completely inconsistent. He talked about how bad the budget was [...] then signed the budget.”

One of the biggest hurdles Lazio will have is being a Republican candidate in a blue state. So, I asked about his ability to gain the support of Democrat voters. He told me he’s spoken with many Democrats who have said they’d never voted Republican in the past, but will vote for him because of their disappointment with the way Democrats have run the state. He said they like his mix of public and private sector experience.

“This is not the time for people to give up, but to stand up and make a difference.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Lazio before the interview. But I found myself impressed at the end. He was not only able to tell me his position on a wide variety of issues, but he was able explain his positions, and demonstrated a true knowledge of issues facing this state. He was perfectly willing to place balme on both parties for not doing their jobs and keeping the best interests of the state first, and for that, he deserves credit. Paterson has spent the past several months blaming everyone but himself for his problems, and for the current crisis.

It’s going to be a tough battle to bring this state out of the financial crisis it is in. His ideas make a lot of sense, and he is optimistic that the problem are fixable. Some might be wary or dismissive of his candidacy after his 2000 Senate campaign, but I think he deserves a clean slate to share his ideas with the people of New York.

This interview was conducted in-person October 19, 2009.

We won, and now Rush Limbaugh is leaving New York forever. 

Why is Limbaugh packing it in?  In the new state budget, millionaires will now have to pay higher taxes than a trucker or a janitor. It’s a big victory for fairness—and for the schoolchildren, elderly, disabled, and homeless New Yorkers who were threatened by budget cuts.

Well, this “fairness” has claimed another notable wealthy New Yorker, Tom Golisano:

Thomas Golisano announced Thursday he is changing his residence to Florida, citing the burden of income and property taxes in New York.

Golisano made the announcement during his speech at the 2009 Financial Executive of the Year Awards luncheon, which is co-presented by the Rochester Business Journal, showing his Florida driver’s license in a slide accompanying the presentation.

He spoke about how local property taxes are higher than most areas of the country and even other parts of the state, and said the system for making and challenging assessments is flawed.

Considering the wealthy already were paying a majority of the taxes in the state, when taxes get high enough that the wealthy decide it is not worth it to stay in New York, they will leave. This didn’t start with Rush Limbaugh, and it doesn’t end with Tom Golisano, This is part of a growing trend that is not only sending the source of a majority of the state’s tax revenue away, but will also keep new taxpayers from coming in.

So really, the WFP shouldn’t celebrate when wealthy taxpayers leave for Florida or somewhere else that won’t rob them of their money. The schoolchildren, elderly, disabled, and homeless would much rather have them in New York. 

Robert Harding over at  The Albany Project noted liberal groups were pretty psyched by the news. Unfortunately, a tax hike on millionaires doesn’t “address the issue of high property taxes” as Harding suggests. Instead of addressing high property taxes, it shifts the burden of paying those taxes to the wealthy. If such a bill were to be signed by the governor, it would certainly dissuade wealthy people (business owners who employ people) from coming to the state, and encourage those that are here to leave.

Instead of raising taxes, the state needs to be more efficient and responsible with our money. High taxes drive people out and hurt businesses. Union bullying can’t blind people to the truth.

UPDATE, 8/20/08, 4:01 PM: The left-wing pro-union “Working Families” Party sent out an email moments ago, declaring victory in the Assembly,

Over the last few months, the WFP and its allies have pushed for a new approach to the property tax crisis. With the help of over 15,000 calls and emails from supporters like you, we got the message to Albany that New York needs real tax solutions.

It worked. In a rare bi-partisan vote, the State Assembly rejected the ‘tax cap’ gimmick and instead passed a groundbreaking bill that would give immediate property tax relief to working families without threatening our schools.