GOSHEN – Senator James Skoufis has slammed the Orange County Legislature for not passing a resolution to enact a temporary cap on gas sales tax, calling it one of the worst decisions he has ever seen as an elected official.
Nine Democrat legislators voted in favor of the cap, which has been enacted by neighboring counties, while eight were against it during a special Legislative meeting on Tuesday. Eleven votes are needed to pass a resolution; Legislators Michael Amo, Mike Essig, Genesis Ramos, and John Revella did not attend the meeting.
“New York is averaging $4.11/gallon, well over the national average. Ulster, Dutchess, Putnam, and Rockland have all voted to cap their county’s sales tax on gas in recent months,” said Skoufis (D, Cornwall). “Orange County legislators just rejected desperately needed relief at the pump. My constituents are struggling to keep bills paid, food on the table, and gas in the tank. It’s preposterous to have a pathway to ease some of that pain and not take it. This is one of the worst votes I’ve ever seen local elected officials take, and I urge those county legislators who were a ‘no’ to reconsider their positions.”
Legislator Janet Sutherland, a Republican, fired back at Skoufis.
“As always, Senator Skoufis does not know how to stay in his lane. I voted the way my town’s Supervisors and Mayors asked me to vote,” Sutherland said. “This no vote helps my constituents in the long run, which is what is needed, not a short-term feel-good, look-good fix. Senator Skoufis is making this a blue-red issue, and it’s not. He’s making it political, and it’s not. It’s smart common-sense governing.”
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Democrat Stephen Hunter, would have capped the tax at $3 per gallon at the pump. The proposed cap on gas met pushback from Town of Wawayanda Supervisor Denise Quinn, a Republican, and President of the Orange County Association of Towns, Cities, and Villages.
“Reducing the gas tax takes money out of a broad base and puts the full load on our local property owners instead,” Quinn wrote in a letter circulated to the County’s municipalities and Legislators. “This proposal may sound good in the short term, but it’s bad fiscal policy. It doesn’t save taxpayers money overall; it just moves the cost from one pocket to another, and the wrong pocket at that.”
Town of Wallkill Supervisor Frank DenDanto, a Democrat, attended Wednesday’s meeting, telling legislators he opposed the proposal.
“Even in the smallest amount, in these hard financial times, the gas tax is a hit on our opportunity to earn.”
Comments