Bloomberg Alone Can't Cancel Property Rebate Check

When Mayor Bloomberg announced the city's budget cuts the other week, he said he was rescinding the popular $400 property rebate to homeowners. Well, now it turns out that Bloomberg needs the City Council's approval to do so! Therefore, homeowners can expect their checks because the Council thinks Bloomberg's idea is "dead on arrival."

The reason for the about-face? During a Council hearing, City Council member David Weprin noted a city document that indicate the Council has approval over changes to the rebate, prompting city budget director Mark Page to say, "It was my belief at that time that that was true. I'm not sure it is true. I think the document you're reading is correct, as far as I know." This came after Page, according to the NY Times, initially wasn't going to address the document, "burying his face in his hands."

Cutting the rebate would save the city $256 million. Bloomberg said, "Look at it this way: If we don’t do that, we’re going to have to cut another quarter of a billion dollars out of our expenses." Still, Clyde Haberman's column today is titled, "In Bloomberg We Trust (Unless He Wants to Cancel Your Tax Rebate Checks)." And in previous years, the rebate check has been called a gimmick.

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By Jen Chung in News on November 18, 2008 11:21 AM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

Is a $256 million rebate a "gimmick"? No. It would be a gimmick if it had been $250 million.

Leon Freilich

HOMEOWNERS ON WARPATH

Folks in ancient Rome

Told the imperial wiz,

"Give us what you promised,

Bread and circuses!"

The cry is heard again

From Canarsie's decks,

"Deficit, my foot--

Mail us rebate checks!"

How to mollify

Owners waving axes?

Pay four hundred bucks

(Then raise their real estate taxes).

bsalamon

Now the city council comes to the defense of democracy?

kissel

#2, not quite. Bloomberg raised property taxes by something like 18% as a temporary emergency measure. Instead of restoring the rate once things recoverd, he decideid to come up with this stupid and expensive rebate system before his re-election as a ploy... give people a check back for their own money with a nice letter from the mayor.

What pisses me off most about bloomberg is that he raised the budget of NYC by something like 54% in his years as mayor, and now after bloating up expects everyone to pay more taxes for the waste, like the new stadiums, corrupt council projects, huge bonuses, etc.

I guess its not too hard to spend other peoples hard earned money, is it? So why is he so necessary in hard times, when he screwed the budget up so royally in good times?!

blackwhole

Who says a council of thousandaires can't buy votes?

goodcow

It was a REBATE for when times were good and coffers were flush with funds.

It makes sense to yank it and Bloomberg is right, the money will have to come from more painful cuts elsewhere instead.