Res 1281-2020

By Council Members Cornegy, Kallos, Van Bramer, Chin, Yeger and Rosenthal Whereas, The Senior Citizen Homeowners' Exemption (SCHE) program and the Disabled Homeowners' Exemption (DHE) program both provide a property tax break for seniors and persons with disabilities who own one-, two-, or three-family homes; condominiums; or cooperative apartments with a combined annual income of $58,399 or less; and Whereas, The DHE benefit must be renewed annually and the SCHE benefit must be renewed biannually in order to avoid significant property tax increases; and Whereas, According to a New York State Senate report, in 2017 there were 57,000 New Yorkers enrolled in SCHE or DHE; and Whereas, Some states, including Colorado and Washington, have largely succeeded in transforming their Medicaid eligibility and renewal systems to operate in a highly automated, real-time manner; and Whereas, According to the Medicaid Real-Time Eligibility Determinations and Automated Renewals report by Urban Institute, automated renewal systems are very beneficial for consumers and have been an enormous help to applicants and enrollees, allowing them to obtain coverage more quickly and easily; and Whereas, Implementing an automated renewal system could include intergovernmental collaboration between the New York City Department of Finance, the New York State Social Security Administration and all relevant organizations in order to gain the requisite information needed to ensure a homeowner's continued eligibility for SCHE and DHE and prevent any instances of fraud; and Whereas, Automated renewals can ensure that individuals who currently benefit from SCHE and DHE will remain financially protected from rising property taxes and provide relief for those who may be unable to meet the programs' renewal deadlines for reasons related to their disability or senior status; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation to implement automated renewals for the Senior Citizen Homeowners' Exemption program and the Disabled Homeowners' Exemption program. LS #14194 03/17/2020 AR