Poughkeepsie Residents Respond to Potential Tax Cap Override

Pictured is Common Council Majority Leader Evan Menist during the Sept. 18 meeting. Credit: Rebekah Hendricks ‘24

On Sept. 18, Poughkeepsie residents spoke up against Interim Mayor Marc Nelson’s proposal to override the New York State tax cap.

Poughkeepsie’s Common Council held a public hearing regarding the proposed local law to override the tax levy cap. Mayor Nelson believes that a tax increase of around 7% is necessary to prevent slashing programs from the budget. This budget has yet to be released to the public or the council, a decision that has been met with criticism.

“Common Council members often request additional financial analysis before moving forward with a vote on a resolution. The budget process and its tax cap should be no different. Concrete and specific data is needed before you can make your best decision,” Poughkeepsie Resident Naomi Brooks stated at the hearing. 

Last year, the budget was released prior to the public hearing regarding the 2023 budget on Dec. 5, 2022. 

Poughkeepsie resident Laurie Sandow criticized holding the hearing without the availability of a document for the public to comment on which is potentially nonexistent along with the budget. 

Common Council Majority Leader Evan Menist has expressed concerns about the lack of budget transparency. 

“I am not aware of any requirement that we approve the tax cap being pierced prior to seeing a budget,” said Menist in a meeting on August 30. In this same meeting, Menist described a previous year the council was pressured to pierce the tax cap before receiving a copy of the budget. “I asked for legal clarification on that and nothing was ever provided that indicated we were required to do it.”

Menist held his ground in the September 18 meeting, stating that he will not vote on the tax cap override until he sees a budget. 

In this meeting, Mayor Nelson shared that the tax increase would be around 7%, a significant increase compared to the 2% cap. 

“A 7% increase on our 2023 budget’s property tax revenue of almost 29 million dollars comes out to 1.8 million dollars. A 2% increase would be 517,000 dollars. That’s a difference of 1.3 million dollars,” said Brooks, highlighting the gravity of this 5% difference. 

Many people are concerned about what this will mean for the people of Poughkeepsie. Brooks has been living in Poughkeepsie for 11 years and has never seen her taxes go down. 

Tax rates don’t come down after an increase as mentioned by Brooks after the meeting. She stated that the taxes are levied on the value of homes, which fluctuates year to year.

She predicts this tax increase will have large consequences for residents, noting various residing populations in Poughkeepsie with some living on lean budgets. One extra expense can make a critical difference for them. 

Marta Knapp, a Poughkeepsie resident for over four decades, stated to the council how it feels as though Poughkeepsie is being sold down the river to the highest bidders without consideration for the residents

“I have a problem when I see people living in the street and nobody's doing much to help them at all.” said Knapp. 

An increase in tax may not just affect property owners, but anyone living in Poughkeepsie. 

“The tax rate affects everyone whether they own property or not. Renters may see rent increases because the landlords have increased expenses,” Brooks explained. 

“When I hear about a tax increase, I think of evictions,” Knapp said after the meeting. “It will hit poor people the hardest.”

Mayor Nelson believes that overriding the tax cap is a necessity, expressing that without an increase in revenue the cuts to the budget will be extreme. In 2020, Poughkeepsie received $20 million in COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Nelson states that these funds allowed the city to maintain the New York State tax cap, but changes need to be made now that the money is running low. 

“We've got to do it now or we will not be able to deliver the services to the community that the community demands and deserves,” Mayor Nelson stated. “I'm telling you as members of the public and I pay taxes, too, that if we don't do this, the cuts will be significant and you're just going to have to do it next year.”

Nelson leaves it up to the council to decide whether or not the tax cap will be exceeded. 

“My commitment to you is that I will not use my veto power to override your council, but I'm not going to do the cuts myself because I believe those services, particularly public safety, are absolutely imperative to the city,” Nelson promised.

As of now, the Common Council has yet to vote on the law to exceed the tax levy cap.