The League of Women Voters has called the Financial Accountability and Short Term Revenue Enhancement Act of 1999 disappointing.
In a letter to Finance Committee Chairwoman Lorraine Berry, league President Erva Denham said the bill is "less than comprehensive in respect to the financial dilemma facing the government."
The league wants the Senate to review recommendations it made a year ago. A copy of a guest editorial written on behalf of the league and published by the Daily News in February 1998 was included with the letter to Berry.
Berry said she had seen the letter and it would be "taken under consideration."
The attrition program is one area the league says is too broad and therefore does not address the needs of departments such as Police, Health and Education.
The league also has problems with the commuter tax, according to Denham. "The language is not clear; is this a new tax, is it a totally amended road tax -— it's not clear what the intent is here."
On the positive side, "The league favors the balanced budget section as well an independent inspector general's office," Denham said.
"We don't have a consensus on the head tax," Denham said. "We're waiting to see what the Legislature is going to do."
The proposed fees "are questionable, too," she said. "We have to wonder why some of the fees mentioned are going to increase as much as 700 percent.
"There are parts of the bill that we like a lot, but it doesn't go far enough, which is why we submitted our previous recommendations with the letter. While the bill tries to find ways to increase revenues, it does not address any cost-cutting measures other than the attrition program in the executive branch. It does not cut any operating expenses."
