SOUTHERN TIER IN A TIME OF CRISIS

By Mark J Trabucco

After Junes flood, we are in a lot of troulbe.

In Broome County alone there were over 800 homes destroyed as of one week ago. The assessments in Tioga, Chenango, and the other counties that were severely damaged, have yet to be completed. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money will help, but ultimately the cost of this disaster will be borne by us. For example, the buyout of homes unsuitable for rebuilding requires a 25% state match as does the Federal aid to municipalities. There are also a significant number of infrastructural components (roads, bridges, culverts, riverbanks, denuded slopes, etc.) that will require state and local expenditures.

We will need to update the flood maps, and begin both long and short term planning to cope with the fact that significant numbers of us live in a flood plain. There will be greater reliance on the Health Department, and the offices of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and of the Department of Transportation (DOT). There will also be more use of state-supported social services such as unemployment insurance, Family Health Plus, Child Health Plus and Medicaid. We must also renew our depleted emergency services. The bottom line is that this flood has affected us more than we have the resources to pay for.

The Press and Sun Bulletin editors last week said that the "secret" list of Albany's member-items, valued around $200 million for 2006, is an unaffordable luxury this year. While many of these projects are worthwhile -- even if carving them out in secret is distasteful -- the editors have the right idea. A disaster the size of June's flood is not going to be solved by stopgap measures, however. What we need is a large infusion of money to rebuild and revitalize this area to stop the relocation of the affected families and businesses -- a problem that was already stifling this area before the flood.

There is one source of available cash that no one is talking about. If we are going to overcome this set of challenges, we need to use the alleged "surplus" the legislature intends to distribute this fall in the form of tax rebate checks. You will recall that the budget for fiscal '05 left some billions unspent. This is construed to be surplus, even though we have an on-budget debt of almost $50 billion, and an annual debt service of about $4 billion. In its wisdom, Albany has a plan to return "your" money just before the November election, much like George Bush did in the aftermath of his contested 2000 election. This is another luxury we cannot afford. We must let the legislators know that our recovery from the flooding is a more pressing matter than their re-election.

A significant problem with this tax refund plan is that it is tied to the STAR formula, so that a disproportionate amount of the money goes to heavier taxed areas, which were unaffected by the floods. In other words, Long Island and Westchester County residents will make out well, but we need the help. I am not arguing that as the most highly taxed property owners in the country, New Yorkers do not deserve a break. What I am saying is that this "Christmas in October" is a cynical ploy and that at this time, we really can put the money to much better use. In a time of crisis, the State as a whole must come together to aid the twelve upstate counties devastated by the flood.

Were it not for this crisis, debt reduction would be a better use of any surplus, from any source, at any time. However, because the flooding left so many in extremis, flood relief needs to be the priority for any and all moneys available.

It would be prudent for the legislature to stop living above our means. The increase in spending of almost 13% and debt of $11 billion in the 2006 budget is not affordable. The tax burden thrust upon property tax payers makes it difficult for people to maintain their homes, even in the best of times. In addition, the debt impedes the ability of the state to react in an emergency. We have no reserves, and the whole impossible situation has been thrown into high relief by the flooding. Wise policy-makers adjust to change. Times of crisis can focus the mind wonderfully which may be the only good thing coming out of them.