The state budget proposal must be a tool for change here in upstate New York. We have many job creators and community leaders making every effort to spur economic growth and change our communities for the better. It’s through the budget that we can meet some of our state’s biggest challenges.

In this year’s budget, I hope to see a real commitment to tax relief for hardworking New Yorkers, unburdening our job creators and investment in our communities. We’ve accomplished some important tasks over the last several years, like a state spending cap, a property tax cap and more. Now it’s time to fully commit and bring about the relief New Yorkers so desperately need and deserve.

Earlier this month, before the State of the State, the governor announced his tax relief proposal, and while I welcome many of the suggestions, I am not convinced this is enough to provide meaningful relief. For example, the governor identified property taxes as the most troublesome of taxes for New Yorkers. I don’t disagree, as a percentage of home and property value, upstate New Yorkers pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation.

The governor outlined a plan that would freeze property taxes statewide for communities that adhere to the two percent property tax cap, and would impose efficiency requirements on municipalities for the freeze to continue into the second year. On the surface, this seems like a good plan, but what New York homeowners and job creators truly need is a plan that leads to property tax reductions for everyone.

What struck me in the governor’s tax relief plan announcement was the absence of an unfunded mandate relief plan for municipalities and schools. Mandates are the programs and policies that Albany passes onto our local governments and requires them to foot the bill. In fact, according to the New York State Association of Counties, nine mandates alone consume nearly 90 percent of the local tax levy. It’s been an abysmal practice of passing the buck onto our local communities, and property taxpayers are paying a price for it.

When so much of our local governments’ budgets are mandated, not much is left for investment in community renewal, economic development or property tax reductions. New York must commit to its communities and taxpayers and reduce these crippling costs.

The cost of property taxes is a problem that needs fixing, and now it’s time to address the problem by removing unfunded mandates and continuing to encourage fiscal discipline across the board. This is how we offer real, lasting property tax relief to New Yorkers.

I will be examining the governor’s budget proposal carefully to ensure that your best interests are served. If you have suggestions about the governor’s budget proposal, tax relief or any other state matter, please call me at 493-3909 or email me at blankenbushk@assembly.state.ny.us.