New Yorkers need property tax relief. Our homeowners pay among the highest property taxes in the nation. This burden is often too much for many residents to bear, so they migrate out of the state to more affordable parts of the country.

As your assemblyman, I have been fighting tirelessly for property tax relief. For me, the solution to providing lasting property tax relief is twofold. One, we needed to cap property taxes, and we did that, we capped them at two percent. The numbers show it’s working. Since 2012, when the cap was put into effect, it has saved New Yorkers $7.6 billion. In that same time period, according to the Public Policy Institute and the Empire Center, North Country property owners have saved more than $142 million, while the Mohawk Valley saved nearly $175 million. There is a clear reason to make the cap permanent.

As I have said before, unfunded mandate relief is a major component of providing property tax relief. I applaud many of our municipalities for staying within the two percent property tax cap. Nevertheless, New York has failed to assist our local governments in providing this much-needed relief.

Unfunded mandates are the programs and policies that state government has required our local governments and schools to not only adhere to, but also pay for. There are nine mandates that consume nearly 90 percent of the local tax levy. A large portion of local budgets are dictated by the state government.

When I first took office and we began the discussions on property tax relief, the governor and others promised that after implementation of the tax cap, unfunded mandate relief would become a reality. Three years later, the governor has barely followed through.

Fortunately, there has been movement in the Senate on an unfunded mandate relief bill which I support. The measure would require the state to take financial responsibility for any policy or program imposed on municipalities that would cost more than $10,000 or $1 million annually. Putting the onus back on the state would help to slow down and possibly prevent new mandates. Furthermore, I support other legislation that would put a moratorium on mandates.

I urge the Assembly to take up the missing component of meaningful and lasting property tax relief – mandate relief. There are about a dozen days left on the legislative calendar, we cannot wait any longer.

I welcome your ideas on this or any other legislative matter. Please share them with me by emailing me at blankenbushk@assembly.state.ny.us or by calling 493-3909.