State commission calls to reform ‘outdated’ local government structure

Jamie Rogers named to commission

George Earl, For the News
LAKE PLACID — For the past year, 15 commissioners collaborated with elected leaders from communities across the state to tackle a major problem — the state’s burgeoning local tax burden, which this commission reports is presently the highest in the nation.

Lake Placid Mayor Jamie Rogers was one of those 15 commissioners, selected statewide, to partake in the state Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness. State Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, and Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, were also selected as members. The commission emphasized the importance of modernizing local governments by consolidating their functions and sharing services between them.

“It’s so important for local leaders who have ideas to get them out there and start sharing with others,” Rogers said, “We cannot afford to function in our own little bubble.”

Stan Lundine, the commission chairman and former lieutenant governor of New York, said the municipal governing system is seriously antiquated.

“Our commission was launched with the conviction that New Yorkers are living under a very outdated local government structure,” Lundine wrote on behalf of the commission. “The vast majority of our municipalities were established and their boundaries set during the horse-and-buggy era. There are also outdated laws and offices for which no modern rationale exists. Over the years we have added to this outdated system, but rarely simplified, and today we have nearly 5,000 local government entities.”

Rogers reported on the commissions’ findings at a public hearing in Lake Placid on April 29, and the commission submitted its final report to Albany the next day.

There are big obstacles in the way of accomplishing the commission’s goals, however.

“The problem is, everybody wants to see less government and lower taxes and no change in services,” Little said.

Little also said state laws have to change in order for progress to take place.

“The (state) Commission of Corrections requires every county to have its own jail,” Little said. “We need to allow counties to work together to regionalize jails instead of being required to have a large capacity and lease space. It was always very frustrating to me because the Commission on Corrections was not helpful in bringing that about. That kind of legislation needs to be changed in order to remove obstacles from sharing services.”

In the past 10 years, Rogers’ village of Lake Placid and the surrounding town of North Elba have done several things to increase shared services, including creating the Lake Placid/North Elba Joint Review Board that brought village and town land use under one uniform code. Rogers said this consolidated personnel from 38 to 19. Lake Placid and North Elba also share park maintenance, public transportation, a grant writer and a building department, Rogers said.

“We are way, way ahead of most towns and villages on this,” Rogers said. “Now that we have the data and information, we need to finish up the rest.”

Rogers said the focus should not be on dissolving municipal boundaries (repeated efforts to dissolve the village into the town have failed) but to share services in the most efficient way possible, regardless of divisions between villages, towns and counties.

“Don’t focus on dissolution; focus on function,” Rogers said. “I believe it is our responsibility as elected leaders to focus on reducing the tax burden, not on boundaries; otherwise, we get into unproductive arguments and the taxpayer loses.”

Still, the changes in places like Lake Placid have not been enough to cut the growing tax burden, Little said, adding that the hard work lies ahead.

Lundine said the commission encourages local leaders to be bold.

“It is our view that big changes are necessary, although many will be difficult to achieve. With these recommendations, and a lot of hard work at all levels of government, we can adapt our best tradition — local democracy — to a 21st-century model.”

More information can be obtained by visiting the state commission Web site at nyslocalgov.org.