Court action delays mailing of bills for property taxes in Erie County
Payment deadline remains unchanged
The court hearing that should decide Erie County’s property tax rate for this year has been postponed to next week, holding up the issuance of some 365,000 tax bills for at least a few more days.
Also delayed are the tax bills for town governments that the county prints and includes on their behalf. In most years they would have been on their way to landowners by now.
However, nothing changes for the taxpayers. County and town taxes will still be due by Feb. 15 in the cities and larger towns of at least 10,000 people. Taxpayers in smaller towns have until March 15. Penalties accrue after those deadlines.
Personal schedules — not a last stab at compromise — pushed the court date from Thursday of this week to 9:30 a. m. Monday before State Supreme Court Justice John A. Michalek.
County Attorney Cheryl A. Green, who will represent County Executive Chris Collins against the Legislature, had a long-standing commitment and asked that the court date be reset.
The Legislature’s outside lawyers did not object, said attorney Paul Cambria, who will argue the Legislature’s case after both sides exchange written briefs this week.
The Legislature’s Democrats took Collins to court to force him to accept their no-tax-hike budget. They believe they cut spending deeply enough to rid Collins’ budget proposal of the additional $18 a year he would have charged a $100,000 home in his original budget proposal.
Collins, however, says the Legislature exceeded its powers. To him, lawmakers made a $5.2 million mistake by moving a revenue estimate to another page of the budget. He also restored some spending because, he said, lawmakers committed technical errors in cutting it.
He said he must raise taxes $10 million more than the Legislature allowed, now adding $24 a year to a $100,000 home.
The Legislature shortly after Christmas obtained a restraining order preventing Collins from mailing tax bills until the matter can be settled by a judge. The lawmakers believed that Collins was ignoring their authority and went to court.
“It has to be done,” said Legislature Chairwoman Lynn M. Marinelli, D-Town of Tonawanda. “Otherwise there is a vast breach on what people will be taxed. We felt we cut enough to hold the line on taxes. Oddly enough, it is the county executive who is fighting to raise their taxes.”
Collins offered a compromise on the $5.2 million, which he agrees will be derived from an auto registration fee despite the Legislature’s apparent error. He offered to devote $5.2 million to a tax-relief fund for 2010. But Collins would still be collecting more in taxes this year than the Legislature wants. His offer did not settle the dispute.
There is a political backdrop. Many lawmakers don’t want taxes rising this year as they head toward re-election. In that vein, Collins is OK with raising taxes now and then holding them flat as he heads toward his election in 2011.
If the judge rules in the Legislature’s favor, Collins’ property- tax staff would have to print a new batch of tax bills, which would take more than a week. So— assuming Collins does not appeal — taxpayers would have even less time to meet their payment deadline. But they will have dodged a county tax increase. If the judge rules for Collins, the tax bills could go out almost immediately, again assuming no appeal.
The Legislature authorized that up to $10,000 be spent on outside lawyers, but that was on research. With the matter now in court, the amount will go up, Marinelli said.
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