Albany County Republican & Conservative Conference Agenda
The Albany County Republican and Conservative Conference recently highlighted their achievements and proposals to deliver much-needed relief and accountability for County taxpayers. The measures to curb taxes and control spending are the first installment in the Conference’s “Sensible Solutions” Agenda for 2023 announced last week.
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“Everyone knows taxes and the cost-of-living are too high in New York State. As County Legislators, it is our duty to protect County taxpayers and provide them relief wherever we can. I am proud to be in a Conference that pushed for a significant property tax cut in our 2023 County budget. I am proud to support relief for first responders, seniors and homeowners in our communities. But there is more work to be done. Revenues have recovered, inflation has skyrocketed, yet Albany County still hasn’t passed sufficient tax relief on to taxpayers. Taxpayers are counting on us to deliver some relief.” -Deputy Minority Leader Paul J. Burgdorf (R-C, Colonie).
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“Allowing citizens to keep more of their own hard-earned money is a top action that an elected leader can take. This is especially true during times of record-high inflation. Who should have more say on how to spend your money? You, or the government? This Conference believes it should be you.” -County Legislator Mark Grimm (R-C, Guilderland), ranking member of the Legislature’s Audit & Finance Committee.
TAXES
The Republican and Conservative Conference has historically opposed any County budget that does not provide sufficient tax relief for residents of Albany County. Our members’ efforts helped lead to a nearly 8% County property tax cut in the 2023 budget, which our Conference supported unanimously. This represents significant tax relief to most Albany County residents, something the Conference will work to build on in this year’s budget.
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More recently, the Republican and Conservative Conference voiced its support for a measure to provide a 10% County Property Tax Exemption for eligible active Volunteer Firefighters & EMS workers. The bill passed committee unanimously last month, and will soon become law after a hearing and vote by the full Legislature. The Legislature will also be considering enhanced real property tax exemptions for senior citizens, and the Republican and Conservative Conference looks forward to working with its Democratic colleagues on the issue.
The Conference will also continue to oppose efforts by the state to tax hardworking New Yorkers more. This includes a recently proposed tax on streaming services, as well as Governor Hochul’s plan to intercept federal Medicaid dollars meant for Counties. The proposal being pushed by the Governor could cost Albany County taxpayers more than $8 million annually.
SPENDING
The Republican and Conservative Conference remains fully committed to ensuring fair and transparent practices to ensure the taxpayers receive honest value from their government. The County Legislature is the primary body responsible for approving Albany County spending contracts, and our members take this responsibility seriously.
Many Albany County contracts, especially those providing programmatic services to residents, have no fact or metric-based information to show how effective they are. This means that the public has little access to see how effectively their tax dollars are being spent. The Republican and Conservative Conference will continue to push for these figures from County officials, and will also work in a bipartisan basis to create transparency requirements. By asking hard questions and continuing to push for effectiveness metrics on Albany County contracts, our members will ensure taxpayer dollars are being used responsibly.
To learn more about the Conference’s ‘Sensible Solutions’ Agenda for 2023, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
