New proposal could keep Westchester property taxes flat for two years

Westchester County Executive George Latimer wants New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to put a 1 percent local sales tax hike in the state budget, but said he’ll keep the county’s property tax flat for two years in return, LoHud reported. “Westchester cannot raise property taxes at any significant level — we have reached a saturation point, given school and local taxes as well,” Latimer wrote on Facebook, according to local news reports. “We need non-property tax revenue to deliver our services.” Westchester has the highest property taxes in the country, LoHud reported. Raising the sales tax in the county would help “stabilize Westchester’s shaky finances after several years of deficits and budgets that have been balanced using borrowing and one-shot revenues such as land sales,” according to the outlet. [LoHud]