Ball Updates Pound Ridge On State Of The State

POUND RIDGE, N.Y. – State Sen. Greg Ball (R–Patterson) met with the Pound Ridge Town Board at its meeting Thursday night as part of a districtwide tour designed to provide communities with an update following this year’s legislative session.

Ball told the board that while taxes and job creation remain the top two issues in Albany, the Legislature has grown less dysfunctional and has begun to move in the right direction. He pointed to Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the major reason for the change.

“This governor has done a fabulous job at pushing Albany in the right direction,” Ball said. “We were able to close a $10 billion [budget] gap without raising taxes. We now have the lowest middle-class tax rate in 58 years.”

The 2 percent property tax levy cap enacted by the state last year was also a major part of Ball’s presentation. The senator said that while the cap isn’t perfect, it is a step in the right direction.

“It is forcing school districts and towns to tackle tax issues that families have been grappling with for a long time,” he said. “We had been seeing a lot of double-digit increases in school taxes, and that has since changed.”

Ball also discussed issues and legislation that focused on women, veterans and animals, but acknowledged that jobs and helping keep small businesses in New York should be the top priorities.

"Slogans are not enough," he said.

Ball also said that since school districts and towns have to navigate under a tax levy cap, state lawmakers should implement a statewide spending cap.

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