DEL MONTE DELIVERS HIGH TAXES

In a July 1 commentary published in a local newspaper, titled "Working to fix government with action, not rhetoric," incumbent 138th District Assemblywoman Francine Del Monte wrote of being a "tireless advocate for Niagara County families by voting to increase transparency, reform state government, reduce state spending and offer real tax relief to working families."

That reads awfully impressive.

Del Monte went on to write, "True to my word, I continue to oppose the inclusion of any new taxes, fees or borrowing at a time when you, and an over-extended state, can least afford it."

These are great sound bites, especially in an election year, but Del Monte's record shows a very different story. In fact, as of May 4, 2010, Del Monte voted to hike taxes and fees 77 times, for a total of $11.7 billion in tax and fee hikes, including:

• $70 million tax assessment on hospitals, driving up the costs of health care (Assembly Bill A6842 of 2005).
• $164.6 million in tax assessments on nursing homes (Assembly Bill A9558-B of 2004).
• Increased ATV registration fees worth $9.2 million (Assembly Bill A6843 of 2005).
• Higher DMV fees (Assembly Bill A6845 of 2005).
• Increased fees for registration of summer day camps (Assembly Bill A6772 of 2009).
• Extended higher motel/hotel taxes in Niagara County (Assembly Bill A11369-B of 2002).
• Increased the motel/hotel tax from 4 percent to 5 percent in Niagara County (Assembly Bill A10654 of 2006).
• Extended $22.9 million in higher sales tax in Niagara County (Assembly Bill A7947 of 2007).
• Extended $10.2 million in higher sales tax in Niagara County (Assembly Bill A7795 of 2009).
• Voted yes on the downstate MTA bailout legislation that implements $1.8 billion in job-killing taxes on 12 counties in our state and forces upstate and Western New York taxpayers to foot part of the bill (Assembly Bill A8180 of 2009).
• Voted for $72,000 in funding for ACORN (Assembly Bill A9805-D of 2008).
• Imposed $180 million in tax increases on health insurance (Assembly Bill A163-A of 2009).
• Imposed $240 million in Covered Lives tax increases on health care (Assembly Bill A162-A of 2009).
• Voted to sweep over $500 million in New York Power Authority (NYPA) profits to the state, then one month later NYPA asked the state to raise upstate electric rates (Assembly Bill A162-A of 2009).

Since 2000, 1.97 million residents have left New York, the largest exodus experienced by any state. Over the same 10-year period, state spending has increased by $58.7 billion, or 80 percent.

Why is this relevant? Because Francine Del Monte has been in office for those same 10 years. She has overseen the most significant decline in population and the greatest 10-year increase in spending in the history of this state. That, folks, is saying something.

Every single piece of information above is verifiable. Do not be fooled by election-year rhetoric, because actions do indeed speak louder than words -- and Del Monte's actions speak volumes.

Niagara Falls Reporter

www.niagarafallsreporter.com

July 13, 2010