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Diverse Groups Support Forestry ProposalGovernor’s Budget proposal includes funding for municipalities significantly impacted by forest tax programFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 2, 2004, Albany, NY – A broad and bipartisan group of local governments, forest products businesses, environmental organizations and state legislators spoke with one voice on Tuesday, March 2, as they called for Legislative approval of Governor Pataki’s plan to compensate rural towns, villages and school districts for their mandated participation in New York’s forest tax law programs.
“The breadth of interest groups supporting improvement of the forest tax law is virtually unprecedented,” said Kevin S. King, executive vice president of Empire State Forest Products Association. “We hope that the State Legislature will see the value of this proposal and approve it as part of this year’s budget.”
State Real Property Tax Law provides programs through which private forest owners who commit to maintaining their land as open space and adhering to a state-approved forest management plan are assessed at a value reflecting their land’s role as working forest rather than its potential for commercial or residential development. These programs are designed to promote forest management and maintain open space in New York by helping to keep private forest ownership affordable to families and industrial owners alike.
Municipalities and school districts, while recognizing the value of private forestland to the economy and environment of the state, have voiced concern that the programs do not allow them to maximize property tax revenues. Currently, the state does not reimburse localities for these programs. The programs decrease the tax base and shift the tax burden to other property owners in the town.
Governor Pataki’s proposal recognizes these concerns and provides state assistance for what is largely recognized as a state mandate with broad benefit to New Yorkers statewide. It is estimated that the Governor’s proposed $3.3 million reimbursement fund could provide as much as $100,000 to some rural towns.
“Many communities in the Adirondacks are struggling to balance a limited tax base with various state mandates. The Governor’s proposal helps to provide a measure of relief while recognizing the important contributions of these programs in encouraging and allowing large and small forest landowners to be able to practice good stewardship,” said Senator Betty Little (R-Queensbury), chair of the Senate Local Government Committee.
“This proposal is critical to helping many small landowners and families continue to be able to hold onto their lands while also achieving the state’s objectives of maintaining open space,” said Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D-Forestburg). “This program is vital in a community such as Forestburg where the tax base is so limited and affordable housing is at a premium.”
"Reimbursing local school districts for lost tax revenue provides immediate help for students in affected communities while ensuring that local school taxpayers don't shoulder the full burden of state land use policies," said Timothy G. Kremer, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association.
Enacting local reimbursement is critical to improving the forest tax programs’ ability to stabilize private forest ownership in the state for its many environmental and economic values, particularly within the Adirondack Park and the New York City Watershed.
“Too many Adirondack towns suffer from a lack of revenue because of tax exemptions granted by the state,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director Brian L. Houseal. “The abatements were created in the 1920s to conserve timberlands and prevent them from being converted to other uses. That helps the entire state by preserving open space, ensuring a steady supply of renewable timber and retaining jobs at the same time. It only makes sense that the state should pay for the programs. Taxpayers in the tiny towns of the Adirondacks should not carry this burden alone.”
The Office of Real Property Tax Services and the Department of Environmental Conservation estimate that there are 1.3 million acres of private forestland statewide enrolled in the forest tax programs.
# # # The Empire State Forest Products Association has a diverse and growing membership that stands at over 400 businesses and individuals. Members include forest landowners, timber harvesters, furniture companies, lumber manufacturers, pulp and paper companies, and other wood product manufacturers from across New York State. Members own and manage 1.2 million acres of New York forests and represent many of the 65,000 individuals employed in the forest products industry in New York State. |
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