Chris Eachus (D-New Windsor), an Orange County Legislator who is running for New York’s Senate District 39, said he would lower taxes by cutting unfunded mandates, giving tax credits to middle class families, and diverting more state aid to public schools if elected.
In a press release, Eachus said he would work on cutting the number of unfunded mandates from Albany imposed on Hudson Valley municipalities, which he says are squeezing budgets and raising property taxes.
For example, he suggested combining election days so the congressional and local primaries match up, having the state immediately take over the cost of indigent legal services, a changeover currently set to take place in 2023, and a state takeover of early intervention services.
He called for tax credits using a “circuit breaker” program that would ensure property taxes do not exceed a certain percentage of a family’s income.
“Circuit breakers have already been proven successful in other states,” the press release states, such as Maine and Maryland.
He also advocated for more state aid for public schools by reallocating aid being sent to charter schools in New York City, a privately-run school system with public funding that was introduced to improve the city’s education system. While the schools are open to the public, they require a lottery system to get in, and serve a much smaller demographic than traditional public schools.
He supports the 2 percent tax cap, saying it encourages municipalities to use tax dollars more “wisely and prudently,” but that that it needs to be accompanied by “meaningful tax relief.”
Eachus is running against Republican incumbent William Larkin, who he ran against earlier in 2012.
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