Brockport joins lawsuit filed by municipalities

Municipalities across Monroe County are banding together against a lawsuit brought by Monroe County to shift sales tax revenue away from towns, villages and school districts. The county's case was to be heard June 23 in state Supreme Court.

The county has filed a lawsuit to determine the legality of using sales tax revenues - generally shared with the municipalities and school districts - to cover Medicaid costs. If the county is successful, it would allow for the county to deduct its share of Medicaid costs from sales tax revenues prior to distributing the funds to the municipalities and school districts.

"Hopefully this gets resolved," Mayor Mort Wexler said last week.

The village could lose between $300,000 and $400,000 if it lost sales tax revenue. "The loss of that revenue would be devastating," he said. "It would be a disaster."

The county is facing a budget deficit of $102 million for 2007 and 2008. Monroe County Attorney Daniel DeLaus Jr. said if the court approves an intercept plan, the county will reap the benefits while the sales tax revenue left over for the rest of the county would dwindle significantly.

"We're against the proposed sales tax," Wexler said. "We've heard that the county executive doesn't want to do this (use the sales tax revenues to cover county Medicaid costs) but we haven't received anything in writing that it won't happen."

The Town of Sweden budgets $210,000 a year for sales tax money and usually receives a little more than that. They, too, have joined the other municipalities in responding to the county lawsuit.

Sweden Supervisor Buddy Lester said he is "confident that County Executive Maggie Brooks won't do anything to hurt the local municipalities."

Lester, an attorney, said he "doesn't mind that the county filed the suit in order to get a legal determination. That was probably the prudent thing to do."

Town of Ogden Supervisor Gay Lenhard said the town currently enjoys about $300,000 in sales tax revenue. "If we lost that, and in order to maintain services as they are, I would have to raise taxes 10 percent," she said.

Ogden is involved in the group lawsuit.

"Approximately 15 towns are together in not opposing this move, as the intent of going to court is to determine the legality of whether the county can enter into an intercept program," Lenhard said. "In addition, we have been promised by the county executive that she would not enter into this arrangement, unless, she can make the municipalities whole through the additional sales tax of three-quarters of a cent. I am confident that she means what she says."

June 25, 2006