RESTRUCTURING OUTDATED LOCAL GOVERNMENT

In this piece I shall enlarge upon my view that the County of Onondaga can and should play a more significant role in improving the financial affairs of the City of Syracuse. A dispassionate public discussion airing the pros and cons of the present City/County relationship would be in the public interest.

This is not about who is to blame for past omissions. Syracuse is but one of many northeastern cities that face grave financial problems. A recent analysis of census figures by Syracuse University’s Maxwell School reveals that upstate New York cities lead the nation in child poverty. Narrowing it down to poverty among Latino children, we find that Syracuse has the second worst record in the country, following only Buffalo, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Why is this so? Most would agree one of the major root causes is the out-migration of the middle class to the suburbs and the gradual reduction of the City’s tax base. The fact remains that Syracuse is left with a disproportionate number of the poor and the social problems attendant upon poverty.

Unfortunately, our governmental structures have not kept pace with these demographic changes. For example, it makes absolutely no sense for our community to support two law enforcement agencies, the County Sheriff and the City police, both housed in the Public Safety Building and both engaged in police work in separate adjoining territories.

County Executive Pirro says in his response to my article that I do “this community grave harm by suggesting that there is a wall between the City and the County that stands in the way of progress.” But he of course knows that such walls have long been in place. They were constructed in an earlier time and they can be found standing in the Public Safety Building. They serve to perpetuate the inefficient and wasteful separation of the County Sheriff’s Office and the Syracuse Police Department. If these law enforcement bodies were merged under the jurisdiction of the County, we would necessarily tear down these real and symbolic barriers and consolidate all police activities under the umbrella of a single cost-effective agency.

The financially strapped City of Buffalo is on the verge of being run by a Control Board, not unlike the one that was in place in New York City a number of years ago. The need for increased governmental efficiency was recently recognized by Erie County Executive Joel A. Giambra when he urged City/County consolidation and in particular the merger of the City of Buffalo Police Department with the Erie County Sheriff. I would like to see County Executive Pirro and Mayor Driscoll take a similar public position here in Onondaga County.



In the meanwhile, the present system is penalizing Syracuse property owners. It is manifestly unfair to compel them to pay millions of dollars in taxes to finance County departments which give them nothing or little in return. These include a Sheriff’s Department that makes no arrests in Syracuse, a County Parks Department that maintains parkland only outside the City and a County Transportation Department that limits its construction, repair and maintenance work to roads in the towns and villages.

On the subject of parks, County Executive Pirro asserts that although 10 of the 12 County parks are located outside the City, the County does more for the City by supporting two large facilities that are located within Syracuse, namely, the Rosamund Gifford Zoo and the P&C stadium. He points out that together they consume 38 percent of the County Parks Department budget. I would respond that these are not traditional local parks where nearby residents take their families for a picnic. Both the zoo and the stadium attract patrons from all over Onondaga County and in fact visitors come here from towns and villages throughout Central New York. In no way should either the zoo or the stadium be paid for solely by City taxpayers.

It is instructive to note that nearby Monroe County takes a different approach to its financial relationship with the City of Rochester. In 1961, the County agreed with the City to operate and pay for the maintenance of a number of large Rochester Parks even though the parks remain under City ownership. These properties currently include the 297 acre Seneca Park which houses Monroe County zoo, the 150 acre Highland Park, the Arboretum, the Genesee Valley Park, and two lakefront parks, the Ontario Beach Park and the Durand Eastman Park. This a sensible payback to the City for tax contributions made to the County Parks Department budget.

So also, the Monroe County Transportation Department spends millions of dollars on traffic control, signal maintenance and street lighting within the City of Rochester. No such benefits are bestowed upon Syracuse taxpayers who help finance the Onondaga County Department of Transportation.

Furthermore, from 1985 to date, Monroe County has greatly increased the percentage of sales tax monies allocated to the City of Rochester. It now comes to 35.6% of the total local sales tax collected. Onondaga County, on the other hand, allocates 25% of the local sales tax collected to the City of Syracuse and despite the similarity in economic trends, currently gives no such special treatment to the City with respect to future growth in sales tax revenue. In addition to picking up a large part of Rochester’s traffic control, street lighting and park maintenance expense, Monroe County turns over to the City $514 of sales tax revenue per capita. Onondaga County provides no financial aid to comparable City of Syracuse departments and gives to the City $327 per capita from sales taxes collected. There are also, of course, counties such as Erie, at the other extreme, which give much less aid to Buffalo thereby contributing to that City’s insolvency. Yonkers, on the other hand, while receiving slightly less than Syracuse in sales tax receipts, has much more valuable real estate and therefore takes in twice as much as Syracuse from real property taxation.. Yonkers also benefits from special State legislation that allows it to garner substantial funding from an Income Tax Surcharge.

The subject of tax equity and governmental efficiency is complex subject, not given to easy solutions. To my mind, there is a great need for an in depth study of the fiscal and structural relationship between Syracuse and Onondaga County governments. This should be conducted by an impartial major accounting firm, staffed with experts on municipal finance. The detailed information obtained could help settle long-standing disputes about the fairness of the current system and hopefully set in motion programs for modernization and efficiency.


But studies must necessarily take time and the City of Syracuse is in urgent need of money now if we are to stop the gang wars, drug traffic and rising homicide rate. Onondaga County government could expedite help by voting to increase the local sales tax rate from 3% to 4%, so as to be in line with every major county in New York State. This would bring roughly 65 million dollars of added sales tax revenue into the County as a whole to be used in the manner chosen by each governmental recipient. The City of Syracuse could take the 16 million dollars of new income it would receive and invest it in crime prevention; neighborhood restoration and schools. Every other locality could utilize the added money based on its special and individual needs, one of which might be the lowering of its real estate tax rate.

The old governmental formulas are no longer compatible with today’s realities. However, solutions to the City’s problems are at hand and can be realized with the aid of sound political leadership and active community support.