Legislators Want to Protest MTA Mobility Tax
But they are unsure of how to do it
While the Putnam County Legislature plans to fight the MTA’s recently enacted mobility tax through the courts, the county lawmakers appear unsure of their exact course of action.
Last month, County Executive Robert Bondi vetoed a resolution approved by the nine-member governing body, calling for the county to refrain from paying the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the tax, which will cost businesses in the commuter region millions of dollars.
Bondi agreed with the legislature that the mobility tax was an “onerous tax adversely affecting the businesses and residents of our county,” but he vetoed the resolution nevertheless, charging that it would be unlawful for the county not to pay the state. Bondi said it was his “fiduciary duty as County Executive to uphold the laws of New York State, whether I agree with them or not. The legislature also shares in this responsibility.”
Bondi urged Putnam to “pay this bill, as required by law, in a timely fashion to avoid interest and penalties and late filing fees that will adversely affect our taxpayers.”
Last week the legislature called for the county to initiate an Article 78 proceeding against the state and the MTA. Legislator Vincent Tamagna of Cold Spring believes that a “court of law must make a decision on whether the county has an issue of taxation without representation.”
No vote was taken in an attempt to override the executive’s veto. Last Thursday, Tamagna explained that the “legislature did not want to incur a penalty from the state for not paying its bill. However, if we discover through early investigative work that the county can request a stay in paying those taxes until the matter is assigned to a judge and court of law, we will then vote to override Mr. Bondi’s veto. My colleagues and I have entered our decision into a journal, which acts as a requirement of the county legislative process, accepting the fact that the executive did issue a veto message. The legislature now has 30 days for its exploration and research.”
Tamagna said that while the veto override was still undecided, “our bottom line is to fight for the people of Putnam County on the unfair tax and how to best succeed.”
The Philipstown lawmaker again called the mobility tax “unconscionable” and he urged every county in the MTA region to follow Putnam’s lead.
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