Politics on the Hudson

Moody’s Investors Service today downgraded Rockland County’s $240 million in debt from A3 to Baa3, and warned the county could face further downgrades.

“The downgrade of the long- and short-term ratings reflects a significant budget gap of more than $40 million in the county’s current year, placing heavy pressure on its financial operations and liquidity,” Moody’s said. “The county had developed a plan to close this gap, but has failed to gain state approval for various revenue enhancements, including an increase in sales and other taxes, and has not garnered concessions from collective bargaining groups that would have resulted in expenditure savings.”

It’s the latest hit for the suburban county and another sign that Rockland’s finances are heading to troubling territory. Nassau County is under a state control board, and Suffolk could be next. And maybe Rockland too.

It could run out of money in months, the state Comptroller’s Office has warned.

Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef wanted the state Legislature to increase the county sales tax by 0.375 percentage points to fund operations this year and to repay a loan next year. But the state Senate won’t do it, and now county leaders are looking at massive, mid-year budget cuts.

“The review for downgrade reflects Moody’s belief that the county will be severely challenged to close the current year budget gap given the significantly weak financial and liquidity positions. It may also face challenges to market access for upcoming note issuances,” the Moody’s report says. Our review will also incorporate the county’s ability to get state approval and financing for its deficit reduction bonds.”

 

The former clerk-treasurer for the Village of Wolcott in Wayne County stole $68,000 from taxpayers over a four-year period, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said today.

State Police charged Melanie DeBadts, 35, with one count of grand larceny in the second degree, a felony, and 106 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, also a felony.

“This clerk-treasurer had a creative imagination when it came to coming up with ways to steal taxpayer monies,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Thankfully, my office’s auditors were able to expose this fraud and, with the help of State Police, bring this individual to justice.”

She was arraigned yesterday and released on her own recognizance. She is scheduled to appear in Wolcott Village Court on June 7.

DiNapoli said that last September, Wolcott Mayor Gary Baker and village officials conducted his office about extra payroll checks she cut for herself during the 2010-11 fiscal year. Auditors found that records were altered and the unauthorized disbursements were deleted.

But the findings only came after more than four years of the alleged scam.

DiNapoli said DeBadts was allegedly giving herself extra pay, overtime, health insurance buyouts, unearned leave and other payments.

A report yesterday highlighted the troubles of upstate communities with low property values, finding that many have the highest tax burdens in New York, Gannett’s Albany Bureau reported.

The city of Binghamton was the most heavily taxed city in the state last year, with an effective tax rate of $52.34 per $1,000 of property value, said the report from the fiscally conservative Empire Center For New York State Policy.

From the article:

The city had a median home value of $80,700 and the median property-tax bill was $4,224, the report said.

“Cities and rural areas with low property values are obviously going to have the highest taxes,” said Binghamton Mayor Matthew T. Ryan. “And we are one of those cities.”

The report showed that wealthier communities may pay more in taxes, but the percentage is less when compared to property values.

So the lowest-taxed community in the state was the Village of Sagaponack in Long Island’s tony Hamptons. The village had an effective rate of $1.24 per $1,000 of property value in 2011. But the median home value was $319,600 in Suffolk County.

The Rye School District portion of the city of Rye in Westchester County was the lowest-taxed area within cities, with an effective rate of $16.27 per $1,000 of home value. But the city’s median home value is $630,000, with a median tax bill of $10,250, the report said.

Empire Center director Tim Hoefer said the report is aimed at letting taxpayers compare their tax bills with other communities.

2011 Property Tax Rankings

The decision by Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, Monroe County, to not seek re-election is mainly due to his huge gaffe last year of filing a lawsuit against a couple in his district after he trespassed on their property and broke this leg, Alesi and others said.

“It’s not really about Jim Alesi,” he said in an interview with Gannett’s Albany Bureau last night. “It’s about not wanting to risk going head to head with another Republican and risking the seat in a new district.”

Alesi, 64, first elected in 1996, gained statewide attention last year when he was the first Senate Republican to say he would vote in favor of same-sex marriage. He was ultimately one of four Republican senators to support the bill, which became law last June.

But Alesi’s re-election prospects were viewed as dim because of a lawsuit he filed in 2011 against a couple in his district after he trespassed on the couple’s property and broke his leg. When the lawsuit became public, Alesi apologized and withdrew it amid the backlash.

But it was only after the Democrat and Chronicle reported on the lawsuit and Alesi was threatened with losing his committee chairmanship that he ultimately relented and dropped the lawsuit, officials said at the time.

Asked if the lawsuit was a key factor in his decision, Alesi said, “You could point to that. There’s absolutely no way of making that go away. I’ve apologized, and every time it comes up I reiterate my apology.”

Alesi faced a primary challenge from Assemblyman Sean Hanna, R-Mendon, Monroe County. Republicans hold a slim 32-30 seat majority in the Senate, and a primary battle would have given Democrats a better chance at winning the seat, Alesi said.

Hanna is announcing this morning he’s running for the seat, which next year will run through the eastern Monroe County suburbs and into Ontario County. Monroe County legislator Ted O’Brien, the former chairman of the county Democratic committee, is running on the Democratic line.

Bill Nojay, the former Republican chairman of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, is expected to run for Hanna’s seat and announce his plans Friday. Richard Burke, the former mayor of Avon, Livingston County, is also seeking the Republican nod for the Assembly seat.

Alesi had previously ran with the support of the county Conservative Party, but the party vowed not to endorse any candidate who backed same-sex marriage. They were planning to back Hanna.

County GOP chairman Bill Reilich said last night that Alesi’s undoing was the lawsuit. Reilich, who blasted Alesi when the lawsuit was filed, said he did not believe Alesi could win re-election.

“I think the decision he has come to was the right one,” Reilich said. “He recognized that he made a mistake, he apologized for that mistake, but it still resonated with the voters. And he understood that.”

Alesi told YNN’s Capital Tonight that he wasn’t pressured into his decision. He said he would serve the remainder of his term, which runs until year’s end.

Most insiders believed Alesi’s support of same-sex marriage would probably be a wash with voters. He’d lose some support among conservative Republicans, but he would gain support among some Democrats—particularly since the district added more voters in the city of Rochester.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, praised Alesi’s service and said in a statement that “I was sad to learn the news, but respect his decision and wish him the best.”

Skelos added, “I am confident that if he had decided to run, he would have been re-elected.”

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Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, Monroe County, said tonight that he won’t seek re-election, saying he doesn’t want risk Republicans losing the seat in November.

“It’s not really about Jim Alesi,” he said in an interview with Gannett’s Albany Bureau. “It’s about not wanting to risk going head to head with another Republican and risking the seat in a new district.”

Alesi faced a primary challenge from Assemblyman Sean Hanna, R-Mendon, Monroe County.

Last year, Alesi was the first Senate Republican to say he would vote in favor of same-sex marriage, and was one of four Republican senators to support the bill.

But Alesi’s re-election prospects were viewed as dim because of a lawsuit he filed in 2011 against a couple in his district after he allegedly trespassed on the couple’s property. Capital Tonight reported earlier tonightabout Alesi’s decision.

Asked if the lawsuit was a key factor in his decision, Alesi said, “You could point to that. There’s absolutely no way of making that go away. I’ve apologized, and every time it comes up I reiterate my apology.”

Alesi said he would serve the remainder of his term, which runs until year’s end.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo applauded President Obama’s decision today to support same-sex marriage, saying “it’s a major advancement for equal rights in this country.”

Cuomo said the president’s decision will cause people around the country to think about their position.

“I applaud the president’s courage. I believe it will be respected by the people of this country,” Cuomo said. “I think it will be a great boost for marriage equality. I think his voice will give people yet another reason to analyze this issue and be open to the issue.”

The Democratic governor last year shepherded through the state Legislature the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York, the largest state in the country to do so. Cuomo said he and Obama didn’t discuss same-sex marriage on Tuesday when the president was in Albany for an event.

Cuomo said his own views on same-sex marriage have evolved. He once only supported civil unions, and he pointed out that the state Senate rejected a same-sex marriage bill in 2009—only to approve it less than two years later.

“The American people were already evolving on this issue, in my opinion, and I believe public opinion was already changing,” Cuomo said. “But I think the president saying this today will accelerate that reevaluation evolution.”

Cuomo said he was undeterred by states’ decisions to pass constitutional amendments in support of marriage between one man and one woman. He said he didn’t see same-sex marriage as a litmus test for candidates, saying “I think that this is an issue of conscience.”

He also rejected that it’s a religious issue for governments, saying “This is not a religious judgment. It’s a civil judgment.”

Congratulations, parents. Less of your savings for the kids’ college education is going to Wall Street.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said today that New York’s 529 College Savings Program Direct Plan has negotiated lower fees with its investment manager, Vanguard, and program manager, Upromise Investments.

“We believe higher education should be possible for all families and we are always looking for new ways to help them save for that goal,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “The changes to New York’s 529 program we are announcing today will allow us to better help parents save for their children’s futures.”

The 529 plan will reduce expenses by a third, from 0.25 percent to 0.17 percent, DiNapoli said. He said that the investment management and distribution of New York’s 529 plan will change Columbia Management to J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

The changes take effect this week.

New York’s 529 plan is the nation’s largest college savings program, DiNapoli said, with more than $11 billion invested in more than 575,000 college savings accounts.

New York taxpayers can invest and deduct up to $5,000 (or up to $10,000 for married couples filing jointly) from their state taxable income each year. For more information, call toll-free 1-877-NYSAVES or visit www.nysaves.org.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and members of the state’s business advocacy group announced they had launched a campaign featuring seven television ads to highlight congressional candidates’ stance on issues important to businesses, Gannett's Aaron Scholder reports.

The campaign is part of a four-state initiative by the Chamber to highlight the importance of the issues. The voter education campaign in New York is the largest of the four.

The ads will run in districts in counties including Westchester, Putnam, Ulster, Chenango, Broome, Cortland, Tompkins, Cayuga, Wayne and Monroe.

The Business Council of New York, an Albany-based association that represents more than 2,500 businesses in the state, joined the Chamber in launching the campaign.

“The goal of this campaign is to clearly define the records of the candidates in New York on issues important to the American recovery,” said Rob Engstrom, the national political director of the Chamber of Commerce. “For those who have consistently voted with us in favor of the free-enterprise system, they will find no better friend. For those who have consistently voted for big-government solutions, we will hold them accountable.”

The Business Council is co-sponsoring three of the seven commercials that will be airing.

“New York historically has been a place where strong advocates for the business community often have a hard time once they’re in office,” said Heather Briccetti, the president of the Business Council. “We decided to partner with the U.S. Chamber on this so we could support pro-business candidates at the national level.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo stood clear of offering advice to President Obama on how to handle the pressure on the president to take a stance on same-sex marriage.

“I believe in states’ rights,” Cuomo told reporters today after a cabinet meeting at the Capitol. “I would like to see a place where this law is accepted all across the nation. I’ve advocated as such. I don’t know that the solution should be the federal government telling states what to do. I think the American people will get there, and I think they are on the road to getting there.”

Cuomo last year shepherded through the state Legislature last year the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York, the largest state in the country to do so.

Cuomo didn’t let on what he and Obama discussed yesterday when they were in Albany together. Asked by our own Jon Campbell about the conversation, Cuomo joked, “He said Jon Campbell is his favorite journalist, he reads him every day and is there any way I could introduce you guys?”

After the laughs, Cuomo said: “Most of the conversation you guys heard. Most of it was at the facility. I had a few minutes with the president alone. It was basically a private conversation; nothing that I would want to share or I would think would be especially relevant to you.”

After North Carolina voted yesterday to approve a constitutional amendment declaring marriage as between a man and a woman, Cuomo said each state can choose its own course.

But he said, “I think a lot of the increase in this dialogue may very well be in part because of the action this state took. I think the influence of New York is being felt.”

As for offering advice to Obama on how to proceed on the controversial issue, Cuomo said that isn’t his role. Obama has said he is “evolving” on the issue, though Vice President Joe Biden last weekend offered support for same-sex marriage.

“I have my opinion, as you know, Cuomo continued. “I’ve stated my opinion clearly to the people of the state. I’ve taken the action I’ve deemed appropriate, vis a vis the people of the state. I wouldn’t presume to tell the president of the United States what his opinion should be or his politics or his strategy.”

And as for speaking yesterday at the presidential podium, the potential 2016 presidential candidate said he didn’t notice the seal until he later saw pictures of himself in front of it.

“As podiums go, I thought it was a nice podium,” Cuomo said.

Here’s some video of President Obama yesterday as he greeted supporters at the Albany airport on the windy and rainy day.

With Gov. Andrew Cuomo nearby, Obama tells the crowd, “Everybody know your governor? He’s doing an outstanding job.”

The comment was illustrative of the good cheer between the two Democratic leaders—one who is seeking re-election in the fall and one who may seek the presidency in 2016.

During his speech at the University of Albany nanocenter, Obama praised the first-term governor for his “extraordinary leadership” and “outstanding work.” And when Cuomo introduced Obama, he was full of pep, saying the president’s “leadership has brought this nation through the storm, and we thank you.”

Here’s also a second video of Air Force One’s arrival, both shot by Gannett’s Aaron Scholder, who braved the weather on the tarmac through the day.