Former Sen. Elijah Melnick released the following statement on Thursday slamming incumbent Sen. Bill Weber for attacking him over the NY Education Secretary forcing a property tax hike of 4.8%:
Public school students in East Ramapo deserve better than they’re getting, and East Ramapo voters deserve the same rights as every American citizen. Letting unelected officials overturn election results is a betrayal of fundamental democratic principles, and Senator Bill Weber has failed to protect taxpayers from this decision. The status quo doesn’t work for the district, but neither will State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa’s unilateral and legally questionable action. One of the founding principles of the United States is “no taxation without representation.” The decision by Commissioner Rosa turns that principle on its head. I strongly object.
Growing up in Rockland, I was fortunate to receive an excellent education from Nyack Public Schools, and every child deserves the same opportunities. During my time in the Senate we boosted state aid to East Ramapo schools by more than $30 million in just two years, but clearly much more help is needed, including a change to the state Foundation Aid formula to fairly reflect the huge number of private school students and English Language Learners in the district. But these vital needs cannot be an excuse to subvert the democratic process and trample on the rights of taxpayers.
In New York, taxpayers have the constitutional right to vote on local school budgets. And in Rockland, we already pay some of the highest taxes in the nation. To have an unelected state official overrule local voters because they disagree with the outcome of an election is an attack on democracy, and it sets a terrible precedent.
Though the courts will ultimately address this issue, I have serious doubts that the Commissioner has any legal authority to order a tax hike. The Commissioner cites a Long Island court case from 1926 as her legal basis to overrule a school budget election, but if this authority has always existed, why has it gone unused and unnoticed for nearly 100 years? The fact is that no one until this week ever thought the authority existed.
Bill Weber is asleep at the wheel and he should be ashamed. Weber has been in office for nearly two years, and while the situation in East Ramapo has gotten worse for students and worse for taxpayers, all Weber does is complain and attack. Rockland County desperately needs a Senator who can do more than just talk.