Lawsuit Challenging Tax Cap Not Likely to Occur

SLEEPY HOLLOW, N.Y. — Village Trustees have not kept their negative opinions about the recent tax cap legislation a secret.

During Tuesday’s board meeting, one resident asked whether any municipality, including Sleepy Hollow, has challenged the law.

“Not one single village or municipality has challenged their authority to do that,” Art Fisher asked.

Village Attorney Janet Gandolfo told Fisher that no one has challenged it. The Village’s administrator clarified that Elmsford was considering challenging the law. None of the officials present said Sleepy Hollow was considering challenging the law.

“The question the municipality would have to decide is whether or not, first of all as a policy, you want to challenge something that would help keep the tax rate down,” Gandolfo said. “I mean that’s basically the first primary question that you need to ask yourselves.”

Gandolfo also noted that the state has constitutional authority to mandate local municipalities and place tax limits on each municipality. Gandolfo noted that there was precedence for that authority.

“So any municipality that wishes to challenge that needs to know they may be spending a lot of money on a very unsuccessful lawsuit,” she said.

Mayor Ken Wray added that Sleepy Hollow has kept its tax increases as low as possible in recent years. The real problem with the tax cap, he said, was that the state has added more mandates to the village’s budget. An increase in mandates means the village has to raise revenue to cover them.

The tax cap legislation, he noted, did not address the problem of mandates.

Do you think the tax cap legislation needs to be challenged? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

 

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