By Steve Levy
Tomorrow, the Suffolk County Legislature will vote on whether to approve for a referendum to increase the Suffolk County sales tax.
We call on the legislators to vote against this tax increase.
This is not a case of voting “yes” for the tax increase or “no” to sewers. We can have plenty of money to construct needed sewers without resorting to this increase that will never go away.
There’s also a bit of a sleight of hand involved here in that the Legislature is quietly folding into this tax increase a further extension of the present quarter-cent sales tax that was implemented back in 1986.
This program is not slated to need an extension for another seven years, yet they will be seeking to extend it for an additional 30 years. It just goes to show that, once these tax increases are implemented, they basically become permanent
Even after the original purpose of the funding stream is no longer necessary, we may not have a problem extending the quarter-cent sales tax, but it should not be done without a proper review as to where the money is going.
The fund was originally created for the main purpose of buying open space. It has been quite successful in doing so. Over $1 billion has been raised by county taxpayers through this program over the years to preserve thousands of acres. That was a good thing, but the days of buying swaths of land by the thousands is long gone. Much of the land is either preserved or developed at this point. So why not consider reconfiguring that program to put some of that money towards sewers instead of having yet another tax increase?
Moreover, the county is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in reserves that should go to sewers rather than more positions and a bigger government.
So tell your legislator to vote “no.”
The Center for Cost Effective Government is a think tank dedicated to exposing wasteful government spending and educating the public on various measures that can control taxing and spending for the purpose of creating more hospitable conditions for taxpayers and the business community. www.centerforcosteffectivegovernment.org