McMurray: Wrong and Wronger

Fact check: property taxes are regressive.

…if two individuals in the same tax jurisdiction live in properties with the same values, they pay the same amount of property tax, regardless of their incomes.

But the way we typically say “inflation in housing prices” is “property values increase” or “appreciate.” In fact, home ownership is the broadest and most applicable driver of household wealth in this country, as not everyone is so blessed as to have a six-figure income in a five-figure income town and stock options or profit-sharing.

Anyhow, Nate here used to be the supervisor of a small town, so he knows how this works – yet again, he’s assuming you don’t and that you’re dumb and gullible. The county, after all, does not set the assessments – the towns do. The county merely sets the rate, which has gone down continuously as property values appreciated.

And those taxes pay for all of the things that County Executives actually oversee, as opposed to international rail and state projects.

The County Executive – the County – doesn’t run the Library system. They help to fund the library, but they don’t get involved in day-to-day operations.

The escalators in question weren’t “broke” – it’s just that they date back to the construction of the Central Library in 1963. When they became too expensive to maintain or replace, once the ADA-compliant elevator project was complete, the Board decided instead to shut down and enclose the old escalators, which cost $80,000 per year to maintain and would cost over a million dollars to renew. The escalators will eventually be removed. There are two stairwells that offer access to the 2nd floor, and the elevator. That is how the library used its finite resources to accomplish two things at once.

As for the disruptions, those were a topic for discussion at yesterday’s meeting and the administration is dealing with that situation, which is far too complex than some tweeter calling the libraries “places of violence and disrepair” in order to politicize something apolitical.

Finally, Nate keeps saying Buffalo has the “worst job market in the country.”

I would love to see a citation to that purported fact. Maybe it’s just “vibes.”

The only change Nate McMurray would bring is a return to fiscal irresponsibility, relentless politicization of apolitical things, settling of scores, endless grievance, and a lot of time wasted on stuff that has nothing to do with running a county.