State & Local Daily Digest: A New ‘Coumo Tax’ in N.Y.; Florida’s Stagnant State Worker Salaries
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a rally to raise the minimum wage on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. Cuomo is continuing his push to raise the minimum wage to $15. Mike Groll / AP Photo
Also in our news roundup: Philly looks at pension buyouts; San Diego’s murder-suicide spike; and Ohio’s new marijuana initiatives.
PITTSFORD, NEW YORK
MINIMUM WAGE | In certain Upstate New York localities, some restaurants are now charging a new special “NYS Coumo Tax.” It’s a reference—albeit a misspelled one—to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state’s mandated $2.50 per hour increase for tipped workers, which is now in effect. "I guess what I do is blame Cuomo for signing the bill, so that is why I used his name," said the irked owner of the Back Nine restaurant in this town outside Rochester. [Democrat & Chronicle]
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
WORKFORCE | State workers in the Sunshine State haven’t had an across-the-board raise for nearly a decade and it looks like 2016 won’t be any different. Stagnant wages make it difficult to attract and retain top public sector talent, a point that wasn’t lost on Florida State Sen. Bill Montford, a Democrat. “If you want to talk about state government being run like a business then let’s run it like a business and a big part of that is paying our state employees what they are worth,” Montford said. [WTSP / 10 News]
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
PENSIONS | Like many big city governments, Philadelphia has been struggling to manage its long-term pension obligations to municipal employees. City Controller Alan Butkovitz is proposing buyouts, where those employees who take up-front cash payments would give up their pension. If Philadelphia proceeds with pension buyouts, it would be a first for any city or state. [The Inquirer]
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS | With the Flint water crisis remaining front and center, some public officials are wondering whether Michigan’s emergency financial manager law, which allows the state to supersede local control in fiscally distressed jurisdictions, is constitutional. “One question is whether it would pass the constitutional test, whether there is clear constitutional authority to suspend democracy indefinitely,” according to U.S. Rep Dan Kildee, a Democrat who represents the Flint area. “And that’s a question we’re going to be looking at.” [The Detroit News]
COLUMBUS, OHIO
MARIJUANA | Last fall, Ohio voters rejected a ballot proposal that would have green-lighted recreational marijuana in the Buckeye State. While the recreational route was stopped, there are two ballot initiatives that have been proposed for this November regarding medical marijuana, which generally enjoys broader support compared to recreational weed. [The Columbus Dispatch]
RICHLAND COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA
DISASTER RECOVERY | The historic rains associated with Hurricane Joaquin last fall that inundated South Carolina caused many privately owned dams to fail. And atop those dams were important public roads, 23 across the state and 11 in this county in the Columbia area. The state, at this point, hasn’t committed any public funds to rebuilding the privately owned dams, meaning that many roads remain closed following the devastating floods. [The State]
SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
PUBLIC SAFETY | Examining crime statistics in San Diego, there was a 12 percent increase in homicides from 2014 to 2015—there were 74 homicides in 2014 and 83 in 2015. But drilling down into the homicide stats, 12 of the victims were killed in murder-suicides, an increase of 500 percent from 2014 to 2015. [The San Diego Union-Tribune]
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
PUBLIC TRANSIT | Plans for the Second Avenue Subway on Manhattan’s East Side were first introduced in 1919. Nearly a century later, and after plenty of delays and fiscal crises, the first phase of the new subway line will open between 63rd Street and 96th Street on the Upper East Side is nearing completion. While transit advocates would like to see more immediate action to jumpstart the rest of the line, they’re going to have to settle for a promise from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to “fast track” the second phase from 96th Street to 125th Street in Harlem, which could start construction perhaps as early as 2019. [Second Avenue Sagas]
DOLORES RIVER, COLORADO
ENVIRONMENT | One-hundred-five miles of the Dolores River in Southwest Colorado has been listed as impaired by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Commission because of high water temperatures and low water levels from meager snowpack. All of that has raised concerns over fish and macroinvertebrates. [Cortez Journal]
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON
CORRECTIONS | Instead of overburdening municipal courts with petty offenses, Spokane has been trying something different: community court. In that special judicial body, minor quality-of-life issues—things like panhandling, trespassing and reckless burning—are addressed in a more low-key setting with offenders, including many who are homeless, going to community service. [Spokesman Review]
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive’s Route Fifty.
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