Commentary: The Island has a real champion in Skelos

Long Island acquired a new asset with the election of state Sen. Dean G. Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, as majority leader. Skelos now becomes the most powerful Republican in the state and has a seat at the table when Albany's three men in a room, the governor, Assembly speaker and the majority leader, make the crucial decisions regarding New York government.

Skelos is an experienced, hands-on legislator. For the last three decades, including his 24 years in the Senate, he has been involved in the nuts and bolts of the legislative process, serving as a legislative aide, a member of the Assembly and finally as one of the most influential members of the Senate.

The worthy goals he has pursued, such as keeping track of sexual predators that resulted in Megan's Law, are also accompanied by attention to legislative detail. Skelos is not a "press release legislator," but a lawyer legislator. Several years ago, that was borne out in his tremendous work to curb Medicaid fraud, and his bill to create a Medicaid fraud inspector general.

Skelos has announced that his top legislative priority is to bring relief to the real property taxpayers of our state. He has recognized that there is a real property tax crisis in New York.

Earlier this year, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer created a Commission on Property Tax Relief and appointed Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi as its chairman. Spitzer asked the Commission to issue a report by mid- May, but the preliminary report was postponed until June 3.

There was much speculation that the commission would recommend a tax cap. In fact, the report contained recommendations that would allow an automatic annual 4 percent school district tax increase without the budget being submitted to the district voters for approval, and a procedure to permit more than the 4 percent increase if a supermajority of voters, defined as 55 percent, voted to approve the budget. In other words, the side with the most votes on a school budget election might not win.

Simple uniform tax caps will not work in this state because districts have such varying needs. For instance, Garden City and Roosevelt face totally different challenges. The assessment rolls of districts throughout the state vary widely, and in tough economic times, the district tax base can change dramatically if a major corporation decides to leave town.

The commission's recommendations also may violate the basic fairness doctrine that has been applied to elections across our country. You should not be able to win a referendum with only 45.1 percent of the vote. There is also something wrong when the district residents, who believe that more funds are needed for quality education, need 55 percent of the vote to prevail. In other words, every vote is not given the same weight. A "no" vote counts more than a "yes" vote. Consequently, a person voting "no" has more influence than a person voting "yes."

This inequality of voters does not square with the principal of "one voter, one vote" that governs how our legislative and congressional districts are drawn after each federal census.

Under the Suozzi commission's recommendations, the will of 91 voters could thwart the sentiment of 110 voters. It is not fair, or frankly, American.

The Suozzi Commission's recommendations were rejected by the Legislature. But, Skelos is on target when he says that real property tax relief must be a priority.

The challenge is to forge a solution that is consistent with our basic democratic principles.

John Kiernan is an attorney with the law and lobbying firm Davidoff Malito & Hutcher. He is a former Nassau County commissioner of Parks and Recreation and a former North Hempstead town supervisor.

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