County group demands Adk property tax payments

I’m listening in right now to a news conference in Albany where the New York state Association of Counties is demanding that state officials continue paying full property taxes on forest preserve land in the Adirondacks.

Governor Paterson’s proposal to cap those tax payments has infuriated just about everyone in the Park, from green groups to town supervisors and school superintendents.

“It’s unfair and unwise,” says Fred Monroe, head of the Adirondack Local Government Review Board. “And if the state can’t afford to pay taxes on the land that it owns, then it should have a moratorium on the land that it purchases.”

The thing is, most environmentalists agree: If the state can’t pay taxes on the forest preserve, they say, the “social contract” for that kind of land conservation is shattered.

Consider the town of Arietta, where 90% of the land is state forest. If the state caps payments on those lands, the town is permanently hobbled.

Look for this to be a major fight during the legislative session. More during All Before Five and during the 8 O’clock Hour.