Ball Pushes For Tying Property Taxes To Income

VALHALLA, N.Y. – New York state Sen. Greg Ball met with Mount Pleasant residents Tuesday at the Town Board meeting in Valhalla, where he introduced himself to his new constituents and vowed to help fight the battle for tax relief.

“We pay the highest taxes here, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that that money is coming back here,” Ball said.

Ball (R-Patterson) became the new state senator for Mount Pleasant after a redistricting in March. The main topic at his open forum at Mount Pleasant Town Hall on Tuesday night was taxes.

Ball said he is working on passing a bill that would factor a resident’s income when determining property taxes for school districts and municipalities. Ball said the bill has already been passed by the state Assembly, which he compared to “getting to Mars in a rowboat.” He said it is not a far-fetched proposal to help offset taxes.

“It’s important to make sure that people have the ability to stay in this area and pay their taxes,” Ball said. “People said we would never see the day where we would have a property tax levy cap, but we have that.”

Ball also said he is working on a bill that would cap tax increases for residents in New York who are over age 65.

Mount Pleasant Town Supervisor Joan Maybury said she was optimistic that the tax burden for both residents and municipalities would be resolved soon.

“It’s a necessary conversation to have, and I’m hopeful that with some help, this conversation will go somewhere,” Maybury said.

In addition to Mount Pleasant, Ball’s district encompasses New Castle, Yorktown, Mount Kisco, Peekskill, Somers, North Salem, Lewisboro and Pound Ridge in Westchester County.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Mt. Kisco and receive free news updates.