NOVEMBER 2023 GUIDE TO BALLOT PROPOSALS
Proposal 1: An Amendment to Remove Small City School Districts from Special Constitutional Debt Limitation
Description of Proposal: The State Constitution limits how much debt a small city (a city with less than 125,000 people) school district is allowed to incur. State law says their debt must not be greater than five percent of the value of taxable real property, subject to certain exceptions. No other type of school district is subject to this constitutional debt restriction. Instead, all other types of school districts are regulated by state law that currently provides that a school district’s debt must not be greater than ten percent of the value of taxable real property within the school district. If this Constitutional Amendment passes, small city school districts would be eligible to have the same debt limit as that imposed through legislative action on all other types of school districts.
Question as it Will Appear on Ballot: The proposed amendment to Article 8, section 4 of the Constitution removes the special constitutional debt limitation now placed on small city school districts, so they will be treated the same as all other school districts. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?
LWV NYS Position on proposal 1: no position
Proposal 2: An Amendment to Extend the Sewage Project Debt Exclusion from the Debt Limit
Description of Proposal: The State Constitution limits the debt that counties, cities, towns, and villages can incur. This debt limit excludes from the calculation the amount of debt incurred for sewage treatment and disposal construction projects. The current sewer debt exclusion expires on January 1, 2024. This amendment extends the sewer debt exclusion for ten more years until January 1, 2034.
Question as it Will Appear on Ballot: The proposed amendment to Article 8, section 5 of the Constitution extends for ten years the authority of counties, cities, towns, and villages to remove from their constitutional debt limits debt for the construction of sewage facilities. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?
LWVS 