Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R,C-Black River) and assembly colleagues yesterday held a press conference to push for relief from state mandates on local governments.

“Unfunded mandates are just another symptom of Albany’s inability to control its spending addiction, but this time they pass on the costs of their pet projects and programs to local schools and governments, and in turn to already struggling homeowners,” said Blankenbush.

“I’ve been fighting for a property tax cap, but have been troubled by Albany’s sudden silence on mandate reform and relief.”

The 122nd District assemblyman, the former chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Legislators, noted that Albany’s unfunded mandates were among the most contentious and costly contributors to county spending and therefore rising property taxes. New York property taxes are about 80 percent higher than the national median, and within the last decade the rates have grown by twice the rate of inflation, Blankenbush said.

The New York State Association of Counties has specifically identified nine mandates that controlled 90 percent of local spending and were largely responsible for rising tax levies. Blankenbush recalled that a majority of the county’s spending was already dictated by these mandates and that there were hundreds more that could be removed to lower costs.

The mandate relief legislation described by Blankenbush would enact a spending cap, tied to a three-year average of the rate of inflation. This would help to rein in the rising cost of mandates, which in recent years has grown at such a rapid pace, especially Medicaid and pensions, that local governments were struggling to make ends meet.

The assemblyman further proposes an immediate moratorium on mandates that cost $10,000 locally or $1 million statewide with a sunset clause on these costly items.

“I am proud to sponsor this legislation to get at the root of rising property taxes on behalf of home, business and farm owners in the North Country,” Blankenbush said.