By JON CAMPBELL
Albany Bureau
ALBANY -- A coalition of advocacy groups put out a six-point plan Tuesday they say would help relieve local governments from state mandates. Labor unions signaled they're ready to aggressively fight the proposal.
The supporters of the proposal - including the state Business Council, Farm Bureau, School Boards Association, the Westchester County Association and seven others - said the plan would help governments and school districts live under the state's new 2 percent property-tax cap, which takes effect Jan. 1.
"I think we're already seeing some of the difficulties that local communities are having in trying to operating under the cap, and we need to have this kind of local relief available to them," said Heather Briccetti, acting president of the Business Council.
The plan outlines six major steps the groups want to see Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature take. Among them are new, less-generous pension plans for new public workers, reform of a law that requires multiple contractors on construction projects and changing the state's arbitration laws for union negotiations.
The groups proposed offering two types of retirement plans to new state and local employees. One plan would exclude overtime hours from pension calculations, increase employee contributions to 6 percent from 3 percent, and increase the retirement age to 65 from 62, among other changes.
The other option would be a 401k-type plan, with the employee contributing 3 percent of his or her salary and the state putting out 9 percent. That plan would define the exact amount state and local governments would contribute, rather than guaranteeing the benefits the employees receive.
Brian Sampson, executive director of Rochester-based business group Unshackle Upstate, said reforming the retirement system would make pension costs more predictable for local governments. Pension costs have soared in recent years, with school districts hit with a 29 percent increase this year and state and local governments eyeing a 16 percent jump next fiscal year.
"We need plans that are affordable, plans that are sustainable, but most importantly plans that are not guaranteed by the taxpayer," Sampson said.
The proposals were met with stiff opposition from labor unions, including the Civil Service Employees Association. Union President Danny Donohue called the coalition's plan "a perversion of reality" and "bile," calling it a "front group" for Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The union said the coalition is trying to shift the focus from Cuomo and business groups' opposition to a state tax on New York's top earners. An added tax on New Yorkers making more than $200,000 a year expires at the end of the year and brings in about $4 billion a year in revenue to the state.
"It's always easier to change the subject and scapegoat rather than face up to the ugly truth," Donohue said in a statement. "Governor Cuomo and his front group are in the wrong place on these issues, as they talk about shared sacrifice and the common good. Clearly they mean for some, not all."
Denis Hughes, president of the state AFL-CIO chapter, knocked the coalition's plan as one that would hurt blue-collar workers in an already difficult economy.
"The governor asked for ideas, and they came up with bad ideas," Hughes said. "These are things that really affect the livelihoods of working men and women, the efficiency of state government to a certain extent, and it just doesn't make sense in this climate."
Relief from state mandates for local governments and school districts has been a perennially hot topic at the state Capitol, but especially so since the state enacted its property-tax cap in June.
The tax cap will limit the growth in property taxes to 2 percent a year, but local governments can override it with a vote of 60 percent of their governing body. Schools could override the cap with a 60 percent of voters when budgets are voted on each May.
Most local governments' budget run on a calendar year; school budgets run from July through June.
A panel tasked by the governor with easing the costs did little to alleviate municipal leaders' concerns this year, but Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Tuesday they would continue to work on mandate relief.
"It is a constant exercise," Cuomo said. "We made progress on the mandate relief this past session; some would say not enough. We'll do it again next session. I think it's an continuing process."
Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, said finding ways to limit costs to local governments and schools is a priority, but it shouldn't come at the expense of important services. He cited a pre-kindergarten program, which is partially funded by counties, as an important initiative to continue.