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Home > NEWS > Email from the President > Important Messages for the City's Future

Mayor Brown's State of the City Address 
February 17, 2011

In his State of the City address yesterday, Mayor Byron Brown pledged to create property tax certainty for residents and businesses by not raising the tax rate for the next three years, and by changing the city’s assessment process to a predictable three year reassessment cycle. 

This sends a strong message that Buffalo is continuing to strive to be a competitive place for attracting and retaining private sector businesses and residents. I loudly applaud Mayor Brown for this pledge; it’s yet another indication he "gets it" regarding what’s needed for the city’s economic vitality. 

Unfortunately, the state capitol in Albany, not the second floor of Buffalo's City Hall, is where we really need to look for the drastic reform to occur so that Buffalo (and every other municipality in the state) can truly begin to thrive. 

We still live in the highest taxed state in the galaxy; a state that has unique laws on the books that make it nearly impossible to renegotiate public employee union contracts that are strangling cities like Buffalo – and its taxpaying businesses and residents. 

Consider the following: 

•         New York State has the highest property taxes in the United States, 78% above the national average

•         In 2009, when the burden from real estate taxes is expressed as a percentage of median home value, nine of the top 10 counties in the United States are located in Upstate New York (and this includes Niagara, Erie and Chautauqua)

•         According to a recent analysis by Ernst & Young, 39 percent of all taxes paid by New York-based businesses in 2009 - totaling $21.9 billion - were property taxes

•         Across Upstate New York, salaries for state and local government employees are 10 percent higher than the private-sector average

•         New York leads the nation in per-capita contributions to public-employee retirement, at nearly $500 per taxpayer 

•         If schools and local governments matched the national average of employer contributions for health care insurance, hundreds of millions of dollars each year would be saved Upstate 

The above list is why the Partnership was in Albany Monday, calling for the state Assembly to pass a 2% cap on property taxes as the first step in a list of needed reforms and mandate relief (Governor Cuomo proposed the tax cap which was approved by the Republican-led Senate and by all of our region’s state senators).  You can help, by urging your Assembly member to support the tax cap and encourage Speaker Silver to let the bill reach the floor for a vote. 

The Partnership also has been a long (and loud) advocate for fixing two New York laws that tie the hands of leaders like Mayor Brown: the Triborough Amendment, which allows public employee pay and benefits to increase indefinitely under the terms of an expired contract and the Taylor Law, which guarantees that fringe benefits can't be changed unless both sides agree (why would a public union even agree to sit at the table?).  We’ve also fought for New York to create a new Tier 5 in the retirement system for newly hired public employees, that shifts from the current defined-benefit pension system to a defined-contribution approach similar to a 401(k) plan. 

It’s an uphill battle, but know we are fighting the good fight each and every day. 

Let me close with three other brief notes from Mayor Brown’s address: 

He thanked a number of Partnership member companies for their significant investments and job creation within the city this past year; specifically Rich Products, Galvstar, TVGA, CityView Properties and First Niagara Bank. 

The Mayor also discussed one significant outcome of the Partnership’s behind-the-scenes work to lead the city and Olmsted Parks in reaching a successful agreement on park operations: millions of dollars in new investment this year in a number of city parks and playgrounds (more than they’ve seen in 20 years). 

Finally, the Buffalo Building Reuse Project, which the Partnership is leading at the Mayor’s request, was highlighted as a major opportunity to positively change the fate of downtown Buffalo.  We hope it will also change the current approach we often see to development downtown: from knee-jerk, emotional, or political responses to individual building proposals, considered alone and without a context, to a smarter, more holistic view of how best to support downtown’s overall health and growth. Learn more about the Buffalo Building Reuse Project. 

All in all, the Mayor’s address was a good one – and one which contains important messages, which we will need to support, for the city’s future.

Andrew J. Rudnick 
President & CEO