AP
June 11, 2008
ALBANY - A proposed property-tax cap supported by Gov. Paterson, his tax-relief commission and 72 percent of New Yorkers isn't likely to reach the floor of the Legislature this session.
Powerful labor unions joined New York's teachers unions in lobbying lawmakers yesterday to kill the proposal, which would limit the growth of local property taxes to 4 percent a year.
School officials, education advocates and union leaders argued the cap would hurt classroom instruction and slow some recent progress improving student performance. They said a limit would be especially difficult in a time of rising costs for fuel, health care and pension costs. But Paterson's commission found 71 percent of a district's budget goes to salaries and benefits, mostly for unionized workers, and that despite record state aid - nearly $1.8 billion this year alone - property taxes continue to rise. They are now the country's highest, at 79 percent above the national average.
