Legislature declines to reimburse Enfield Community Council for 2021 taxes after legal counsel warns of constitutional risk

Legislator Randy Brown introduced a resolution requesting that Tompkins County reimburse the Enfield Community Council for real-estate taxes and penalties imposed for 2021. Sponsors described procedural problems in the pandemic-era transfer of a church building to ECC and said penalties and interest so far total thousands of dollars, depleting the nonprofit's reserves.

County Attorney Maury Josephson advised the legislature that the requested reimbursement, given the time elapsed and the tax-law process, would likely violate the New York State Constitution's prohibition on gifts of public funds. Josephson cautioned that an equitable court proceeding could require return of improperly distributed funds and could leave the ECC worse off. "You could end up with a finding, that the legislature as a whole has violated the New York State Constitution," he said, warning of legal exposure and noting that clerical-error or refund provisions in the Real Property Tax Law are narrowly defined and normally require prompt action.

Following extended floor debate about fairness to a long-serving community nonprofit, alternative ideas to help ECC included private fundraising, targeted grants or exploring ARPA/community-recovery funds if they meet criteria. A motion to reimburse was called and failed on the floor. Legislators who opposed the resolution cited legal constraints and potential precedents that would obligate similar relief for other taxpayers.