State Sen. George Latimer has introduced a bill that would authorize Westchester County to collect taxes from certain state lands in its region.
Latimer, a Rye Democrat, told the Review that he proposed the bill in hopes that the county would be granted the same authority as Rockland and Putnam counties, for which the state has paid property taxes to for several years. “I think Westchester should have the same deal as Rockland and Putnam,” he said. “It’s a matter of fairness.”
Rockland was granted the ability to tax state land in the mid-90s under former Gov. George Pataki, a Republican; Putnam’s ability to tax went into effect in 2007.
The bill would ultimately amend the real property tax law and would grant Westchester the ability to tax state-held land. However, it would not allow the county to tax buildings erected on state property.
According to Latimer, his proposed legislation came as a result of discovering the state’s unusual system of taxing its public land, which is typically exempt from taxes in other states.
County Legislator David Gelfarb, a Rye Brook Republican, said the desirability of the bill, which Latimer submitted last November at the end of the 2016 legislative session and again this month for the 2017 session, is its potential to provide an additional revenue stream for the county and local municipalities that contain state-held land. “If this is allowed in other counties, there’s certainly no reason to treat Westchester unfairly,” Gelfarb said. “We need that revenue source to provide basic municipal services for residents and taxpayers.”
While there is currently no estimate for any number of projected revenue Westchester could gain as a result of a change in the law, according to Latimer, research is being conducted by the several municipalities, including the assessor’s office in the town of Bedford, which is among the communities in the county where there is state land.
The Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, a state-owned prison, is located in Bedford, and is encompassed in the 7,000 acres of state-held land in the county. Other notable state-held properties include the Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park and the Donald J. Trump State Park in the town of Yorktown, and the Rockefeller State Preserve in the town of Mount Pleasant.
While he is optimistic about the support for the bill, Latimer said there is still the issue of the other 59 counties in the state that might seek to receive the same “fair treatment.” He added that he hopes his proposal will spark a conversation about granting other counties the ability to tax state land as well; however, at the very least, he hopes Westchester will be authorized.
The bill is currently awaiting approval by a state Senate committee, as of press time.
County Legislator Catherine Parker, a Rye Democrat, could not be reached for comment, as of press time.
