Putnam Lawmakers Agree to Revisit Controversial Item Pricing Waiver
Acknowledging that Putnam County’s implementation of an item pricing waiver fee schedule in November may have been “A bit ambitious,” members of a Putnam legislative rules committee agreed Tuesday night to take a second look at fees that were approved in November 2012.
Last year, Putnam County Department of Consumer Affairs Director Jean Marie Noel urged the legislature to create a fee structure law citing the need for strident enforcement of the state’s item pricing law while at the same time providing accountability to the consumer. She argued the county’s item-pricing law at the time was outdated.
The fee schedule was passed with no feedback during a November public hearing and little dialogue among the full Legislature.
During Tuesday’s committee meeting Noel defended her handling of the initial item pricing waiver proposal telling lawmakers.
“We came to the legislature for a redress of what I perceived to be an issue,” said Noel. “We thought we did our homework and had discussions on the topic and came up with the voluntary waiver program.” She added, “I did my due diligence at that point.”
Noel said she met with Westchester’s Acting Director of Consumer Protection, John Gaccione, when helping to craft the original guidelines for local businesses and examined other item pricing schedules, including Mount Vernon’s, last year.
The handling of the new law came under fire by community business leaders.
“I would’ve liked the legislature to reach out to the stakeholders when making this decision,” said Jennifer Maher, chairwoman of the Putnam County Chambers of Commerce. “I only learned of this in February. Stakeholders need to be involved in this decision.”
That sentiment was echoed by Michael Rosen with the Food Industry Alliance of New York State.
“We didn’t learn about this until after it had been enacted,” said Rosen. “In every other county, someone from the legislature or the county executive’s office reached out to us and we had an opportunity to explain how our industry worked and provide input. After I learned the law passed, I called the county executive and we had a meeting. We would like to discuss a more modest, more reasonable fee schedule and we’re troubled by the requirement that larger retailers have to have this special pricing accuracy equipment in place. It’s very expensive to purchase and install.”
Rosen said he’d like to see the law amended to make it “More in line with other counties.”
Said Rosen, “They kept talking about Westchester but really Putnam is more like an upstate county. You don’t have the population base or the volume of sales that you do in Westchester. 15 thousand is an awfully high fee for a county this size. That’s an annual fee. By contrast, Connecticut has a one-time only fee of $675. For the mom and pop stores, it’s a one-time fee of $375.”
The fees for Putnam retailers are:
- $750 under 3,000 sq. ft.
- $1500 for 3,001-10,000 sq. ft.
- $4,500 for 10,001-30,000 sq. ft.
- $15,000 for more than 60,000 sq. ft.
- Stores making less than $3 million are exempt.
Waiver Fees in Westchester:
- $5,000 for 30,001-90,000 sq. ft.
- $15,000 for more than 90,000 sq. ft.
Legislator Dini LoBue weighed in on the law, “For me this is about revenue, not consumer protection. I think this is bad for business and I would like to see this law repealed.”
The committee did not vote on a new lower pricing fee schedule Tuesday and instead opted to table discussion to a later date.
Legislators Ginny Nacerino and Sam Oliverio promised to include both the chambers of commerce as well as industry representatives at that time.
Nacerino said the issue will be revisited in the next few weeks.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.