The Governor’s speech today promised some great things for our Western New York community. I am pleased that he touched on property tax reform, although I, like the rest of Western New York, know that we don’t need another commission or task force to tell us that skyrocketing property taxes are killing our economy.

I would like to see the Governor follow my example and take a more proactive leadership role on this issue in our state. With 14 other states succeeding with already instated property tax caps, why do we need yet another study on it? Enough with the talk – let’s implement a tax cap now so that we can protect the homeowners of this state right now.

Unfortunately, the Governor also did not address reducing other taxes plaguing our area, such as the gasoline tax. I had hoped that he would bring an end to the ever-escalating gas prices by addressing my plan to cap the state taxes collected on fuel. However, this issue was ignored.

The Governor also touched on the need to reform Wick’s Law, although he did not elaborate. This is a very important issue in Western New York that I will continue to work to reform. Hopefully, the Governor’s message of “one New York” will be continued through any efforts he makes to reform Wick’s Law, rather than accepting past proposals that shortchange our community.

However, I am pleased to see that the Governor seems to realize that revitalizing our community in Western New York will help strengthen the entire state. I look forward to hearing more about his plans at his State of Upstate address in Buffalo next week.