Call it thoroughly underwhelming.
We”™re referring to the final Mandate Relief report that was quietly released a couple of days before Christmas by Lawrence Schwartz, secretary to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and chairman of the Mandate Relief Redesign Team, and formerly Westchester County deputy executive under Andy Spano.
The report is officially 70 pages long, but includes a number of blank pages and press releases on the original formation of the panel as well as 40 pages of proposals “discussed” by the team.
What is odd about this report is that Cuomo gave the panel until the end of the state fiscal year 2011-12 to submit its final recommendations. Why hand in this final report three months early?
Apparently it”™s to pass the buck along to the Mandate Relief Council, which was approved by the state Legislature in June and starts work Jan. 15. Another mystery as of this writing is who exactly is on the council?
Among the travesties of the final report is how it managed to avoid the 800-pound gorillas in the room ”“ Medicaid, state pensions and the Wicks Law, which calls for multiple contractors on public projects and which essentially drives up the costs of those projects.
Unfunded or underfunded mandates are what drive up the costs for municipalities and school districts. The 2 percent property tax cap is already being overridden by towns and villages that cannot meet mandates without raising taxes.
Schwartz ballyhooed in his letter to his boss how mandate relief initiatives signed into law will save $125 million. He went on to write that “the steps outlined in this report will save an additional $245 million.”
A mere pittance when compared with the ever-rising costs associated with Medicaid and state pensions. The Medicaid Redesign Team recommended a state takeover of Medicaid.
One group that is upset by the lack of action on mandates is Lewis County lawmakers. The upstate county legislature in their final session of the year voted 10-0 to request the New York State Association of Counties to lobby for mandate cuts. The legislation requested other counties to do the same.
But, it”™s going to take more than lobbying to get the message across to the governor and state Legislature; it”™s going to take letters, emails and phone calls to lawmakers from business owners and other constituents.
Another way to get their attention is when school districts and municipalities file for bankruptcy.
People need to get riled up. Pointing out the economic inequality in our nation was easy for the Occupy Wall Street groups to gather steam. But to get taxpayers angry about unfunded mandates? That will require some work.
Since uncoupling counties from mandates won”™t come easily, the governor and lawmakers need to really study consolidation of services and back-room operations as a means to easing the tax burden on our businesses. Duplicative jobs and services exist on all levels of local and state government.
Perhaps there should be a mandate to consolidate.
