By Stephanie Petrellese

Both the Superintendent of the Garden City School District and Administrator of the Village of Garden City have voiced their displeasure with the $1.5-billion payroll tax approved by Albany lawmakers this week.

The payroll tax is part of a $2.9-billion bailout package for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The tax, 34 cents per every $100 in salaries, will be imposed on businesses, not-for-profits and other employers in the 12 counties served by the MTA. The tax reportedly will cost Long Island counties approximately $9 million and school districts $24 million. The tax does not begin for school districts until September, while other employers are required to pay back retroactively to March 1.

"Based upon the formula, the Inc. Village would have to pay approx $76,000 for this unfunded mandate," Village Administrator Robert L. Schoelle Jr. said. "It will be very difficult for the Inc. Village to find this money in what is already a very tight budget."

Village Auditor James Olivo added, "We will have to use contingent for this and hope for a good year on other non-anticipated items."

When it comes to school districts, Gov. David A. Paterson has assured superintendents that their districts will be reimbursed. He told reporters: "We took the money that they are paying in the payroll tax and put it in a locked box. So we can't use the money until we start refunding them, so that is effectively a guarantee that they'll get their money."

However, Garden City Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen said that he and many other Long Island school superintendents are upset that school districts were not exempted and are apprehensive about how the reimbursement will be accomplished. "There are a lot of hidden details that we don't know," he said. "I just learned that the bill at present does not include BOCES among the districts to be reimbursed. If BOCES is not reimbursed, it will pass along the additional expenditures to the school districts. There is no reason BOCES should not be treated as any other school district."

Dr. Feirsen estimates that the tax will cost the district close to $160,000. Since the 2009-10 school budget has already been adopted by the Board of Education, any expenditure will have to come out of revenues that already have been allocated. Dr. Feirsen added that it is conceivable that the district will have to borrow the money. A public hearing on the school budget is scheduled for Monday at 8:15 at the high school.

Peter A. Baynes, executive director of the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials, issued the following statement regarding the MTA financing plan:

"The MTA financing plan will have a direct and immediate impact on municipal property taxes throughout the 12-county MTA region. While the plan will protect school districts from the cost of a new payroll tax, local governments and their taxpayers are left to fund this unanticipated expense.

"Municipal property taxes are not an incidental issue, as they represent approximately one-third of the more than $30 billion in total property taxes levied in the MTA region. Imposing a payroll tax on municipalities is inconsistent with the pledge made just last week by the Governor to prevent unfunded mandates on local governments.

"NYCOM urges the Governor, the Senate and the Assembly to include a hold-harmless provision for all property taxes, both school and municipal. To do otherwise would simply place more pressure on New York's already overburdened property taxpayers."