Approved
Minutes
June
18, 2007
6:00 PM
Meeting was called to order at 6:03 PM by Chairman Brown, followed by the Salute to the Flag.
The Clerk took Roll Call with all members recorded as present with the exception of Ms. Breed, Mr. Dafoe, Ms. Price and Mr. Willcox, absent. Mr. VanDee was excused.
PRIVILEGE
OF THE FLOOR
JoAnn Zech, 1157 Creal Road Extension, Homer, NY and President of the Cortland County Board of Realtors made two points. One, that we are not made aware of these issues until the last minute and have no opportunity to discuss issues in advance. Two, that property owners are targets for every increase that come down the pike. The definition of affordable housing in Cortland County is $100,000. these days and these people are the ones that are scraping. This increases closing costs from $500 to $750. She appealed to the Legislature to reconsider imposing the Mortgage Tax due to the impact it has on those purchasing homes.
Amy Cobb, 3 Stevenson Street, Cortland, NY and local Cortland County Realtor agreed with Ms. Zech adding this will make housing unaffordable for the majority of people. We have people coming from Ithaca for affordable housing and we must find another way of raising revenue away from the homeowner.
JoAnn Dukelow, 143 North West Street, Homer, NY and Commercial Real Estate Broker said that she owns a small business doing mostly property management and has an understanding the cost to homebuyers. She said that they have just brought a new business to Cortland County and one of the things they are looking at is relocating. She said it is outrageous that we are adding more taxes when the whole community is saying to cut taxes.
On the motion of Mr. Troy, second by Mr. Spaulding Resolution No. 190-07 was introduced. Mr. Cornell asked if this applied to refinancing and re-mortgage. Chairman Brown referred the question to Mr. VanDonsel who said that the additional tax would apply in both of those instances. Depending on how the refinance is documented some credit for the original mortgage might be available. But any "new" money in the refinance would be subject to the tax. Chairman Brown stated that this is the same resolution we passed in April with the exception of the end date. Senator Seward’s office has been helpful to us to get the correct wording for this to pass. It will need to be reviewed again in 2009. Mr. Tagliente asked how much will we realize from the mortgage tax. Mr. Schrader said that the County Clerk estimated an additional $350,000. annually. He reminded legislators that we actually budgeted $200,000 this year in anticipation of this passing and already has gone against raising taxes. Mr. Daniels added that the dollar amount is $250. per $100,000 additional cost. Mr. Schrader said this is actually $750. as the municipality where the home resides gets $250 and the State receives $500. There is already a 3/4 % imposed on a piece of property. Mr. Troy said that this has been discussed since 2006 and he has not received any constituent concern. Mr. Williams asked what is the average home ownership. Ms. Zech answered that it is 5-7 years and added that this tax is not just for first time buyers, includes those who upgrade too. Mr. Williams questioned whether we are creating artificial barriers for the homeowner. Chairman Brown said the purpose of this is to reduce the land tax. Mr. Schrader emphasized that the discussions around the 2007 budget process was that this tax basically saves 1.5% in real property taxes. Resolution No. 190-07 Endorsing State Legislation S3150A and A7198A Authorizing the County of Cortland to impose an Additional Mortgage Recording Tax. Resolution was adopted by a Roll Call vote with Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Clark, Mr. Daniels, Mr. Hartnett, Mr. McKee, Mr. Ross, Mr. Spaulding, Mr. Steger, Mr. Tagliente, Mr. Troy, Ms. Tytler, and Ms. Brown voting aye and Mr. Cornell and Mr. Williams voting nay.
Meeting was adjourned at 6:20 PM.
Minutes prepared by
Susan Morgan, Clerk