| 2012 WLM Tentative Agenda |
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NYCOM Winter Legislative Meeting 2012 Tentative AgendaSunday, February 26, 2012Jimmy Vielkind covers state politics and policy-development on a daily, hourly and oftentimes minute-by-minute basis for the Albany Times Union. His insightful commentary, with a strong pop sensibility, offers a refreshing look at the inner-workings of the State Capitol. Jimmy is also very familiar with the challenges facing cities and villages, as he has written regularly on topics such as pension costs, local government consolidation and mandate relief. His wry and perceptive observations on the state of the Capitol in 2012 are sure to entertain and enlighten attendees. Monday, February 27, 2012Hundreds of municipalities have adopted budgets under New York’s new property tax cap law. This session will address how the tax cap is being dealt with at the local level, issues to consider as you make your way through the process, the state’s role in the tax cap’s implementation, the rate of compliance to date and the most common errors encountered in the tax cap calculation. Speakers: Barbara VanEpps, NYCOM Deputy Director; Nora McCabe, Assistant Director, Research and Policy, Office of the State Comptroller A workshop on how to ease the stress of workers' compensation cost with a panel of experts to answer your specific questions. A discussion of the rising costs, pro-active concepts you can do to reduce your exposure and future costs, and best practices to accomplish these goals. It doesn’t matter what program you choose, these factors affect all of us. Speakers: Howard Bitner, Claims Account Manager; Roger Cuva, Manager Risk Services; Aaron Reader, Marketing Representative, New York State Municipal Workers’ Compensation Alliance; and Ronni Travers, President, Public Sector HR Consultants LLC Lt. Governor Robert Duffy In 2011 the Governor and State Legislature imposed a new mandate known as the “tax cap.” Capping, controlling and even reducing taxes is the desire of all local officials, but any resident of New York knows that you can’t control taxes if you aren’t allowed to control spending. The cap on property tax levies has sharpened the public’s focus on the local budget-making process and enhanced the public’s understanding of the causality between state mandates and high property taxes. If the tax cap is going to succeed over the long haul, the state must provide authentic mandate relief that allows local officials and their communities to control their destinies. Mandate relief that tinkers around the edges (e.g., paperwork reduction, procurement reform) is not what the public wants or deserves. The speakers will discuss meaningful mandate relief proposals and strategies for achieving such reforms. Speakers: E.J. McMahon, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute – Empire Center; Brian Sampson, Executive Director, Unshackle Upstate 1:15 p.m. Concurrent Sessions Speakers: Mayor Richard Donovan, Village of Minoa; Mayor Sam Teresi, City of Jamestown; and Mayor Dayton King, City of Gloversville Derelict and Abandoned Buildings: The Challenge Presented and a Way Forward Discussed Few issues present a greater challenge for local government officials than derelict and abandoned buildings. Decades of economic decline have left cities and villages littered with hulking commercial and industrial buildings, sitting vacant and blighting the community cores. Rundown and abandoned residential properties, although generally not as costly to deal with, can present just as significant a problem. Development and demolition costs that exceed the properties’ value, shell corporations, out-of-state property owners, and clouded property titles are just a few of the factors that complicate redeveloping or demolishing these problem properties. This session will address how some communities have effectively dealt with these properties and will conclude with an overview of changes that need to be made to State law to allow local government officials to more effectively deal with these types of properties. Speakers: Mayor Shawn Hogan, City of Hornell; Wade Beltramo, NYCOM General Counsel Lessons Learned From the Dissolution of Seneca Falls There is a strong perception that duplication of services is driving taxpayer expense in New York. In recent years, several village dissolution studies have been conducted, leading to referendums. While few have received voter approval, there are strong advocates for the perceived benefits -- such as tax savings and operational efficiencies -- of dissolving local governments. The residents of Seneca Falls, voted to dissolve their Village, leaving the Town and County to provide services formerly provided by the Village. In this session, former Village officials and their support team will review the dissolution process, including the dissolution study and plan, the impacts, and the many unforeseen circumstances that arose in Seneca Falls. Discussion will consider the unintended consequences of dissolution, the lessons learned in Seneca Falls, and a focus on efficiencies and shared services as a positive alternative. Speakers: Diana Smith, Former Mayor, Village of Seneca Falls; Connie Sowards, Former Administrator, Village of Seneca Falls; and Paul Reichel, Attorney, Bond Schoeneck & King Law Firm 4:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions The rising cost of health care benefits for employees is a leading cause of local fiscal stress and property tax growth. This session will provide participants with successful strategies to help control these costs. Speaker: Elayne Gold, Esq., Roemer Wallens Gold and Mineaux LLP Spreading the Cost of Government Services to Not-For-Profits As if the tough economic times weren’t making it difficult enough to finance basic local government operations, the tax cap is putting tremendous pressure on municipal budgets. Compounding the problem is the proliferation of tax-exempt entities that are taking properties off of city and village tax rolls. This session will identify some of the options that local governments have for spreading their costs to not-for-profit property owners. Speaker: Richard Sinnott, NYCOM Counsel Economic Development Tools Representatives of ESD will present an overview of a number of recently created programs developed under the leadership of Governor Cuomo to support New York’s small businesses, create jobs and assist in revitalizing and rebuilding local communities. Programs covered will be: the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI); the New York State Land Bank Program; and the Hurricane Irene-Tropical Storm Lee Flood Recovery Program. Speaker: Kevin Younis, Deputy Commissioner and Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Empire State Development |
Upcoming Events
- february 26-27, 2012
Winter Legislative Meeting
Hotel Albany - May 6-8, 2012
Annual Meeting
Gideon Putnam Hotel, Saratoga Springs - September 10-14, 2012
Fall Training School
Lake Placid, Crowne Plaza - October 22-24, 2012
Public Works School
Canandaigua Inn on the Lake, Canandaigua