The Syracuse Common Council unanimously approved Federal Emergency Management Agency flood zone tax exemptions and postponed a vote on Section 8 housing discrimination in a meeting on Monday afternoon.

Councilor Jean Kessner has been urging the city council to amend a local law to forbid housing discrimination based on income for three months. She had expressed her hope that there would be a vote this week, but voting was postponed to the next council meeting.

Kessner ensured people in attendance that the law would be voted on in two weeks, but some citizens muttered under their breath, “What in the hell? Again?”

Councilor Helen Hudson then interjected, thanking Kessner for her hard work on this issue and expressing her support for the legislation.

There was also no vote on the approval of a new city youth council, another issue that has been on the agenda for several meetings.

Later in the meeting a resolution was put forth on behalf of all city councilors to urge the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate to allow the city of Syracuse to grant property tax exemptions to low income families affected by FEMA’s new flood insurance requirement. The resolution was unanimously approved.

As the council began discussions on the matter, representatives from Syracuse United Neighbors stood and held signs reading, “We raise our signs to protest FEMA flood insurance.”

SUN is a grassroots organization advocating for the rights of Syracuse residents. Members have been working to inform residents of the new policy while also fighting against the mandatory flood insurance imposed by FEMA. They have already met with Rep. John Katko (R-NY) to discuss the issue.

Gwen Chaffin, one of the organization’s representatives, said the tax credits are not enough, since residents will have to pay the flood insurance in November and the earliest the state can approve the tax exemptions would be in January.

Kessner said this is an important issue that needs to be resolved immediately.

“This flood insurance will decimate people’s budgets,” Kessner said.

Councilor Joe Carni said even though he is in full support of the tax credit, it needs to be expanded to middle-class families.

If approved by state legislators, the tax exemption will provide up to a 50 percent local tax exemption for property owners making less than $29,000 annually. It would also provide a 5 percent exemption for a person earning $37,400.

At the end of the meeting, Councilor Steven Thompson said they have been working with FEMA on the flood zone issue for more than 10 years, and Kessner asked for any citizens with ideas for a resolution to come forward.

“We are open on being responsive to people,” Kessner said. “A number of people have said ‘I’m going to have to sell my house and leave.’ We don’t want you to leave.”

Published on October 24, 2016 at 11:05 pm

Contact Aline: amarti22@syr.edu