| BALCONY Joins Successful Battle vs.
Property Tax Cap |
|
BALCONY, the
Business and Labor Coalition of New York, has joined an
even larger alliance representing over one
million New
Yorkers opposing suggested Property Tax Cap
legislation. Relying on a survey conducted by TREND
NY which indicated that New Yorkers by two to one
prefer an income-based cap on their taxes rather than a
cap on local school levies, the vast majority of
coalition members fear that a property tax cap will
adversely affect funding quality instruction for the
state's public schools.
TREND NY also found that
respondents said their primary motivation was to limit taxes and not curb
school funding, by a margin of 82% to 18%. The
income-based approach, known as a circuit breaker bill,
would provide appropriate relief for all property owners
more equitably than the property tax cap, which treats a
rundown shack and a mansion as equivalent, thereby
allowing an unfair advantage to the mansion owner.
NYSUT
Executive Vice President Alan Lubin said, "New Yorkers
support their schools. While property tax relief
is needed, a cap is too arbitrary and too destructive to
education. A circuit breaker is the way to
go." BALCONY business Co-Chairman Bruce
Ventimiglia added that "a circuit breaker provision
provides immediate tax relief whereas a property tax cap
will at best stop future increases."
Even though the opponents of the
Property Tax Cap have won a temporary victory, Albany
insiders expect this issue to re-surface in the fall, so
the reasoning and arguments behind the circuit breaker
approach must be trumpeted far and wide.
|
| BALCONY Produces "Health
Care Pulse of New York for Small Business;"
Hosts Forum on Health Care
Surveys |
Click here to read the entire forum
report. |
| BALCONY
BRIEFS |
BALCONY Supports Labor's Fight
for Retiree Health Benefits: Urges Governor Paterson to
Sign Retiree Health Insurance Legislation
BALCONY has joined its labor members in
continuing to fight back against misrepresentation of
legislation that would protect retiree health benefits.
The legislation was approved by both houses of the
legislature and will soon go to Gov. David Paterson.
"This legislation is about what is right and fair in
making sure that localities live up to their
responsibility to retirees that their promised health
care coverage will continue to be there," said CSEA President Danny
Donohue, one of the key members of the BALCONY
Coalition.
The Retiree Health Insurance legislation
(S. 6457a/A.9393a) provides for a one year moratorium on
unilateral employer action by local governments to
change health benefits for current retirees. The bill
also calls for a legislative study of the issue.
Stan Winter, President of the Retired
Public Employees Association (RPEA) added, "These
tax-paying New Yorkers dedicated their working
lives to the service of the people of this State and
must not be abandoned now that they are in their later
years and existing mostly on fixed incomes." BALCONY urges Governor Paterson to sign
the Retiree Health Insurance Legislation as soon as
possible to continue retiree benefits at current
levels.
###
BALCONY Supports St.
Vincent's New Plan To Build New York City's First
Hospital Of the 21ST Century
As
part of its effort to ensure quality and affordable
health care for all New Yorkers, BALCONY announced its
support for St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center's plan
to build New York City's first hospital of the 21st
Century. "St. Vincent's Hospital is dedicated to
providing quality medical care to thousands of union
families, small businesses, and government workers on
the West Side of Manhattan," stated BALCONY Co-Chair
Alan Lubin. "We support the hospital's revised plans to
bring 21st century medicine and care to our
communities."
Arthur Cheliotes, President
of CWA
1180 representing more than 10,000 municipal
employees, and member of BALCONY, testified before the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in
support of the St. Vincent's revised plan at a public
hearing on June 3, 2008. The new hospital-- the first to
be built in New York City in 20 years -- will feature
many of the latest technological advances to improve
healthcare
efficiency. |
|
BALCONY Allies Stand
Together |
|
From left to right: Bill Ferris, AARP; Ron
Deutsch, Microbiz NY; Lou Gordon, BALCONY; Bruce
Ventimiglia, Co-Chair BALCONY;Troy Oechsner, NYS
Insurance Dept; Joseph Sano, OMCE; Eleni Delimpaltadaki,
BALCONY; and Peter Slocum, American Cancer
Society. | |
| |
|
REMINDER!
Join Us @ BALCONY's
Inaugural Golf Outing
with Guest of Honor:
NY City
Comptroller William Thompson Jr.
Monday, July
21
Rockville
Links
800 N. Long Beach
Road in Rockville Center, L.I.
Click here to sign up and for more info, including
directions. |
|
NOTABLE
QUOTE
Eric Dinallo, NY
Insurance Superintendent on BALCONY's "Health Care
Pulse of New York for Small Business"
Survey:
"The Insurance and
Health Departments are working
on finding practical ways to provide health
insurance to all New Yorkers through the
Partnership for Coverage. As this survey shows,
solving the health insurance problem for small
businesses is an essential part of that effort.
Right now, we are helping small businesses through
the Healthy NY program. We hope to apply the
lessons of Healthy NY and of this survey to our
larger effort to make quality, affordable coverage
available for New York's small
businesses." | |
| BALCONY , the Business and Labor Coalition of New
York, represents more than 1,000 New York businesses,
labor unions, and trade associations. BALCONY seeks
common ground in the public policy debate in New York to
spur economic development through the adoption of
business/union friendly, socially responsible common
sense laws that maintain and improve the quality of life
for working New
Yorkers. |
|
Call, Write, or Email
BALCONY: |
|
BALCONY:
265
West 14th Street, Suite 203
New York, NY
10011
212-219-7777.
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