White Plains CitizeNetReporter - "Thrifty 8" Harpoon 1% Sales Tax. "Never in That Position:" Brodsky

WPCNR County Clarion-Ledger. By John F. Bailey. February 5, 2003: In the aftermath of the announcement that the Westchester County Legislative Delegation would refuse to sponsor a 1% budget-gap closing sales tax as requested by County Executive Andy Spano, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, leader of the Assembly delegation from Westchester County, indicated to WPCNR that the 1% Sales Tax never had a chance in the first place, that it was never even close to being offered to both Albany houses.

WPCNR asked Mr. Brodsky what had changed within the last week when it appeared that the 1% Sales Tax had a chance of being offered to both houses, according to remarks made by County Executive Spano, and a reported (in a Journal News article), conciliatory attitude of Mr. Brodsky, himself. Brodsky told WPCNR he and the rest of the delegation “were never in that position.” Asked why County Executive Andy Spano had indicated to reporters that he felt the delegation would sponsor the increase, Brodsky said, “You’ll have to ask him that question.

Brodsky: “No.” Bronz: “Frustrated.”

Eight members of the Westchester County Delegation of State Senators and Assemblypersons assembled in Albany Tuesday afternoon to give the county the bit of bad news that there would be no sales tax bailout. They gave the message to Lois Bronz, Chair of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, in a conference call according to The Journal News, which was then telephoned with apparently exclusive news of the decision in their own conference call with the eight legislators.

According to The Journal News, Bronz who was planning a meeting on the bill was informed of the decision.

Ms. Bronz told WPCNR Wednesday afternoon that the first she had learned of this was from a telephone call from Mr. Brodsky, not from her County Executive Andy Spano.

She said Mr. Brodsky called her to tell her “there was no consensus on the bill.” She said she had taken that to mean that the legislators were having problems with the “language” of the bill and that she was still, as of 4 PM Wednesday hopeful of passage of an amended bill. She said the date of the sales tax increase to go into effect was incorrect, being June 1, instead of March 1st, as requested and there were a few “technical difficulties.” Ms. Bronz said the corrected bill was sent back to Albany Wednesday morning.

Asked if the County Board of Legislators expected the bill to be offered, Ms. Bronz also told WPCNR that she and the other County Legislators had, based on what they had been told, expected that the Westchester delegation of state legislators were going to sponsor the bill in both state houses before yesterday afternoon’s events. “I’m frustrated,” she said.

Mr. Brodsky, when asked about this different “take” by Legislator Bronz on his conversation with her, said the bill can always be amended, but when asked by WPCNR if it would be coming out of committee and going to the floor, he said, “No.”

The Thrifty 8

A spokesperson in Senator Nicholas Spano's office said that the eight legislators “not in consensus on the bill” present on the conference call were: Senator Nicholas Spano, Yonkers, head of the New York Senate Westchester delegation, Senator Vincent LeibellThe Third, representing Northern Westchester, Assemblyman Adam Bradley (White Plains, North Castle, New Castle), Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, Assemblywoman Sandra Galef (Ossining), Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (Scarsdale-White Plains-New Rochelle), and Assemblyman James Gary Pretlow of Mount Vernon.

Brodsky: County Tactics to Blame.

Brodsky, commenting to WPCNR, explained why he and the delegation was never supportive of the sales tax increase: “ Number 1, the county got into this mess from fiscal gimmicks undertaken before the last election to reduce property taxes. Number 2, their remedies (to the budget gap) were deeply unfair and regional, and let big companies off the hook entirely.” Brodsky added a “Number 3,” stating that the 1% sales tax increase would have had residents paying up to $500 a year more in sales tax, as opposed to only $100 more in property taxes on average for most residents, if the county raised the property taxes instead.

“It was not fair. It burdened the working poor, it did not treat municipalities fairly.” He said, and said he had told Ms. Bronz this in his original call to her.

The Assemblyman indicated the delegation was not pleased with County Executive Spano’s campaign for the sales tax: “The tactics they used, using campaign funds, the advertising. They were awful.”

Ms. Bronz said the county disagreed with Mr. Brodsky’s figure of $100. She said “That is the problem, the variation in (property) taxes in so many different communities.”

The County Executive Office responds.

Susan Tolchin, Chief Spokesperson for County Executive Andy Spano, asked to explain this contradiction of impressions as to whether the 1% Sales Tax was truly dead, and the ultimate fate of the bill that was dead one day and on life support the next, told WPCNR, “We’re still plugging away, working very hard. You know Albany, something may be dead one day and revived the next. If the Assembly delegation fails to act, the people of Westchester will face a senseless double digit increase in property taxes.”


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