Will Consolidation Lower Taxes?

“Government ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’ cannot continue to exist long-term with an increasing level of distrust and dissatisfaction by those who are governed.” Those were the words of County Executive Robert Bondi last week when delivering his twentieth annual State of the County Address—a 90-minute talk that focused on unhappiness found throughout the county these days due to excessively high property taxes.

While Putnam ranks second lowest in New York in terms of county government taxes as a percentage of the total property tax bill, it ranks fourth highest in the state in terms of the total tax bill property owners pay.

Last year, 120 taxing authorities levied taxes in Putnam, which Bondi described as an “unbearable burden and a major reason when one out of every fives deeds currently recorded in Putnam is in foreclosure.”

Bondi called for “wholesale changes,” asking such questions as: “Do the people of Putnam County need a County Executive and a Legislature? Do the people of Putnam need 10 school districts to educate our children? Are parents willing to accept higher class sizes in exchange for lower property taxes? Does Putnam County need multiple police departments, fire departments, and highway departments to get the job done? Does Putnam need six towns and three villages to conduct business? Can services provided today by multiple governments, such as assessment, tax collection, and public works be consolidated to provide more effective and less expensive services to our residents?”

New York State has recently passed legislation permitting local governments to consolidate, and in some cases providing funding incentives to encourage the process. Bondi believes as governmental officials, the county must determine “what its residents want and have the political will to implement it.”

The executive admitted “making changes to the status quo can be difficult, but it can happen.”

Consolidation of schools was on the lawmakers’ minds. Legislator Sam Oliverio of Putnam Valley, who chairs the legislature’s Health and Education Committee and is employed as a school administrator in Putnam Valley, described the issue of school consolidation as “always too hot to handle. We are now at the tipping point, where residents are being taxed out of their homes and are willing to listen, and for the first time really consider, the possibility of school district consolidation, which can become an efficient and cost-effective means to educate our young people.”

Legislature Chairman Vincent Tamagna called exploration the “new deal” in Putnam County: “Nothing is sacred any more. Taxpayer dollars must be saved. Consolidation of services is the wave of the future. Putnam is small enough to make this happen. No sacred cows any longer. Everything will be on the table for discussion. Putnam County must become leaner and more efficient while facilitating discussion with other taxing units in order to consolidate.”

Legislator Dini LoBue of Mahopac called on her colleagues to begin its efforts by studying the issue of school consolidation: “The salaries of the area’s superintendents is ridiculous, with some chief school officials earning more money than college and university presidents.”

Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES Superintendent Dr. James Langlois said the issue of school consolidation was “nothing new. It’s been studied for years, but now that the economics of education are becoming more strained, consolidation of schools is being studied more closely.”

Dr. Langlois has suggested that schools consolidate “functionally,” as opposed to formal consolidation: “Many services are already shared through BOCES but others have been successful in other parts of New York State, including shared business offices. Payroll can be easily provided to several districts from one central location. Groups of districts upstate have shared business offices where an assistant superintendent for business serves half a dozen districts.”

Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES is currently in the midst of a study dealing with shared transportation for special education students. Dr. Langlois said districts often send children to the same place, and on many occasions “actually pass through each other in the process. Combining transportation routes makes sense.”

Dr. Langlois also said discussion has focused in the past about consolidating smaller districts such as Garrison and Haldane: “To merge larger districts like Brewster and Carmel or Mahopac and Carmel would result in extremely modest savings.”

Dr. Langlois said the “political practicality of merging districts would never take place. Very few communities want to give up their identity, but back-office activities go unnoticed and dollars can be saved.”

Legislator Mary Conklin of Patterson also supported consolidation of services, as did Legislator Mary Ellen Odell, who represents constituents in the Carmel- Lake Carmel area. Odell also suggested consolidating “back offices” as the initial place to start: “Tax collectors, assessors, and tech people can all be placed under one roof.”

Deputy County Executive John Tully is pursuing consolidated assessment services within the county and with the support of Paul Jonke, president of the Putnam County Assessors Association, the two plan to make a formal proposal later this spring that Tully said would “shape the future of the assessment function in Putnam County.”

The senior member of the legislature, Tony Hay of Southeast, remains skeptical.

“We all know that school consolidation makes sense but people want their Brewster Bears, Carmel Rams, and Mahopac Indians,” he said.

Back in the 1960s Putnam County’s education system was governed by a single superintendent with each school system being supervised by a district principal. Hay asked: “Why can’t we return to those days? People always complain about taxes. They look towards the county as government, as well as the towns, but the one government they fail to question is the school system. Eighty to 85 percent of the tax bills residents receive each year comes from the schools. There is too much emphasis placed on home turf and despite the outcry, school consolidation will never happen in Putnam County in our lifetime.”