It seems property tax relief is the chief argument some city hall officials are making for lifting Auburn's gasoline sales tax cap.
City comptroller Lisa Green last week offered an analysis that said the money the city could generate from additional gasoline sales taxes could help drive property taxes down by $31 for an $85,000 home. Her same analysis estimated that the sales tax cap saves Auburn households about $30.
The math seems easy, right? Savings of $31 vs. $30.
But the numbers fail to take into account some key demographics about the city of Auburn that should convince city councilors to reject this proposal and keep the cap in place.
The first is the home ownership rate. Only about 50 percent of Auburn's homes are owner-occupied. That means about half of the city's population misses out on the property tax relief that city officials say could be created. And it's rather unlikely many landlords would pass that $31 per year on to tenants in the form of lower rents.
That's one of the biggest advantages of the gas tax cap. It provides the savings to a much wider portion of the city's population.
The other key demographic to keep in mind here is the high number of city residents who commute long distances to work, many of them to Syracuse and its adjacent suburbs. Those people are filling their tanks often, and every little bit of savings adds up over time.
State Department of Labor data from June show that Cayuga County has 40,400 employed residents, but the actual number of jobs within county borders was 27,500. That's a sizable number of people who leave the county each day to get to and from work, and you can bet their average gasoline use per car is well above the 500 gallons per year that Green's estimates are based upon.
So the choice for city councilors is sales tax relief that benefits more people, or a slightly smaller property tax that impacts half of their constituents.
The math seems easy, right? Savings of $31 vs. $30.
But the numbers fail to take into account some key demographics about the city of Auburn that should convince city councilors to reject this proposal and keep the cap in place.
The first is the home ownership rate. Only about 50 percent of Auburn's homes are owner-occupied. That means about half of the city's population misses out on the property tax relief that city officials say could be created. And it's rather unlikely many landlords would pass that $31 per year on to tenants in the form of lower rents.
That's one of the biggest advantages of the gas tax cap. It provides the savings to a much wider portion of the city's population.
The other key demographic to keep in mind here is the high number of city residents who commute long distances to work, many of them to Syracuse and its adjacent suburbs. Those people are filling their tanks often, and every little bit of savings adds up over time.
State Department of Labor data from June show that Cayuga County has 40,400 employed residents, but the actual number of jobs within county borders was 27,500. That's a sizable number of people who leave the county each day to get to and from work, and you can bet their average gasoline use per car is well above the 500 gallons per year that Green's estimates are based upon.
So the choice for city councilors is sales tax relief that benefits more people, or a slightly smaller property tax that impacts half of their constituents.
