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John J. Mills - District 13 February, 2008 You may have heard about certain measures that the federal government is taking to spur the economy. One of the ideas proposed is a tax rebate. The idea behind that is to give people money, which they will then spend on goods and services. This spending will stimulate the economy to grow, rather than fall into a recession. The production and consequent consumption of consumer goods is a major driving force in our economy. Clearly, giving people more money to spend is good for the economy. Following that logic, letting people keep the money that they have earned must also be good for the economy. By lowering certain taxes, taxpayers will have more money in their pockets to do with as they please. I have been working on a few projects which will help Erie County taxpayers keep money in their pockets, rather than spend it on taxes. Last week, I submitted a resolution to create a property tax stabilization reserve fund. The purpose of the fund will be to create an account that can only be used to offset future property tax increases. The fund will be replenished by surplus sales tax revenues, beyond those revenues anticipated by the budget. Currently, our sales tax revenues are higher than budgeted, due to our Canadian neighbors shopping in our county. Rather than spending this surplus on projects that were not included in the county budget, I propose using this money as a reserve fund, only to be touched if property tax increases are projected. Property tax payers of Erie County need relief to spur the upstate economy, not higher taxes. The property tax stabilization reserve fund will help to deter higher taxes in the future. This week, I submitted a resolution calling on New York State to reformulate how STAR exemptions are calculated. Erie County is one of only five counties in New York State that uses a portion of its sales tax revenues to fund local school districts. However, this significant contribution is not factored into the formula for calculating STAR exemptions. As a result, Erie County residents are not getting their fair share of STAR exemptions. By adjusting the formula to consider the share of sales tax revenues given to school districts, millions of dollars will be kept in the pockets of Erie County property tax payers. This will have a significant effect on the local economy. I also continue to work on ways to reduce the additional .75% sales tax. We can do this by reducing spending. County Executive Chris Collins has also been working hard to identify ways to decrease government spending by creating efficiencies and streamlining government. I look forward to working with the County Executive to implement measures that make sense for Erie County taxpayers. If we can decrease government spending, we can begin to reduce the .75% sales tax. Eliminating the .75% sales tax would save the average consumer hundreds of dollars per year. The federal government is proposing jumpstarting our economy by giving everyone a few dollars. We can achieve the same result in Erie County by reducing the .75% sales tax. I would like to hear your thoughts about how Erie County can be run more efficiently. Please contact me at my District Office, located at 431 Main Street in East Aurora. My telephone number is 655-5650. You can also reach me by email at jmills13@erie.gov. To read about some of the issues that I have been addressing at the legislature, please visit my website online at www.erie.gov/legislature/district13. Back to District 13 Homepage