It is official: the tax cap enacted by New York state last year has been a success.
Look no further than the local school districts. Obviously, it was a challenge for local districts to hit a tax cap that fluctuated between 2 and 3.5 percent.
One of the districts taking the hardest hit to make the cap was Silver Creek, which cut nine teaching positions. Other districts, including the Fredonia and Dunkirk schools, also had to make cuts.
"If you look around the region at other districts, very few of them are going to say (the tax cap is) 2 percent," said Fredonia schools Superintendent Paul DiFonzo. "Some are going to be above that, some are going to be below that,"
But while hitting the tax cap was not easy, it did prevent districts from doing the alternative that has used in the past: raising taxes by 5 or 10 percent to make budget.
Towns, villages, the city of Dunkirk and the county have also adhered to the cap, which came under fire from local officials who wanted more mandate relief when it was enacted last year.
But the cap, while not reducing taxes, has kept costs a bit more stable for local taxpayers.
