Poughkeepsie Journal Opposes Cost Shifting

The unsigned editorial in today's Poughkeepsie Journal, Cost shifts do nothing to help taxpayers, declares cost shifting among governments to be “outrageous”, and calls on governments to “look for efficiencies and savings and to share services better.” Though the focus of the Poughkeepsie Journal editorial is primarily on shifting costs among New York State, counties and towns, fire districts are also mentioned. These sentiments are in alignment with my own view of Joel Miller's cost-shifting proposals for fire districts.

I've commented numerous times in this blog about how Poughkeepsie Journal news stories about property taxes have presented the viewpoints of government officials, and have neglected the taxpayer perspective. I'm pleased that the Poughkeepsie Journal editor is taking the taxpayer's viewpoint on cost shifting. Cost shifting just wastes motion at best, and adds complexity — and further cost — to the system at worst.