File #: Res 0885-2005    Version: * Name: NYS Legislature to enact a commuter tax and direct funds to the MTA to alleviate its budget deficit.
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on State and Federal Legislation
On agenda: 3/23/2005
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to enact a commuter tax and direct funds to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to alleviate its budget deficit.
Sponsors: Gifford Miller, John C. Liu, Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., Charles Barron, Leroy G. Comrie, Jr., Lewis A. Fidler, Helen D. Foster, James F. Gennaro, Vincent J. Gentile, Alan J. Gerson, Sara M. Gonzalez, Letitia James, G. Oliver Koppell, Miguel Martinez, Michael E. McMahon, Annabel Palma, Christine C. Quinn, James Sanders, Jr., Kendall Stewart, Albert Vann, David I. Weprin
Council Member Sponsors: 21

Res. No. 885

 

Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to enact a commuter tax and direct funds to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to alleviate its budget deficit.

 

By The Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Members Liu, Addabbo Jr., Barron, Comrie, Fidler, Foster, Gennaro, Gentile, Gerson, Gonzalez, James, Koppell, Martinez, McMahon, Palma, Quinn, Sanders Jr., Stewart, Vann and Weprin

 

Whereas, Governor Pataki has not contributed any direct funds to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) 2000-2004 Capital Program while the City of New York has continued to supply funds within the context of the City’s fiscal conditions; and

Whereas, The recent service cuts are resulting in the closure of 164 token booths, a reduction of 10 percent of subway service on most lines, fare hikes for monthly and weekly MetroCards and for express bus service, higher tolls, and the elimination of 33 bus lines and reduced service on other bus lines; and 

Whereas, In order to sustain the City’s mass transit system and expand it to meet future demand, it is vital that the MTA go forward with their five-year, $27.8 billion spending plan; and

Whereas, The MTA, Governor Pataki and the State Legislature have yet to identify new revenue streams that will support our mass transit system and they continue to balance the MTA’s deficit on the backs of working New Yorkers; and

Whereas, If the MTA continues to reduce services and increase fares, many New Yorkers will be forced to look for alternative transportation options; and

Whereas, Approximately 80 percent of New York City’s population uses mass transit to commute to work; and

Whereas, The Council advocates that the MTA identify new revenue sources and implement internal cost savings in order to avoid increasing fares and cutting services on New York City subways and buses; and

Whereas, The Mayor and the Governor need to work together to identify a long-term dedicated funding stream for the MTA that will ensure a fully-funded mass transit system for years to come; and

Whereas, The ideal revenue source to achieve this goal is to reinstate a commuter tax, especially considering that since the repeal of the commuter tax, New York City has lost approximately $500 million annually in revenues; and

Whereas, Reintroducing this tax, with a guarantee of funding for the MTA, alleviates the pressure on the MTA to raise fares and cut services; now therefore be it

Resolved, that the Council calls upon the New York State Legislature to enact a commuter tax and direct funds to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to alleviate its budget deficit.