Filled with anger CLIFTON PARK Sack of singles delivered to district as tax protest Counting all 17,875 bills takes an hour and a half BY PAM ALLEN Gazette Reporter
All it takes is an allusion to rising property taxes, and that’s enough to rile Mike Stiles to the point of near eruption. The Conservative’s sentiment on the subject is clear, from the license plate on his rusted blue Chevrolet Impala that reads “2MUCHTAX,” to the volatile shade of red his weathered face takes on at the mere mention of the local school district. On Wednesday, the last day to pay his tax bill to the Shenendehowa Central School District without incurring the required 2 percent penalty, Stiles walked into the bank and withdrew the $17,875.76 in cash necessary to cover the taxes. The lifelong resident of Halfmoon then loaded the 70 pounds of dollar bills into his car and headed back to his office, a tiny room cluttered with boxes, folders and odd machine parts adjoining a vehicle-repair garage . A coy smirk crossed his lips while he and his wife, Diane, snapped rubber bands off the 2-inch stacks and stuffed the 17,875 singles into a grain sack. His boyish grin said it all: This was payback time. “I’ve always wanted to do this. It’s been on my mind for years,” Stiles said as he slung the bulky sack over his shoulder. Stiles, 68, owns nine parcels of commercial and residential land in Halfmoon. Many of the 125 acres are undeveloped, he said, and a portion of his property at 1909 Route 9 is used for his residence, minor farming activities and an excavation business. The property also includes a few rental units on Tabor Road and Ushers Road. A watchdog at almost every Town Board meeting and an outspoken critic of “fatty” budgets, Stiles maintains the formula used to determine school taxes unfairly penalizes property owners while letting renters off the hook. He and his wife never had children but are saddled with sky-high school taxes for which they receive no benefits, he said. “We have no kids. Why should I be paying so much?” Stiles said. He said he’s phoned and faxed the offices of all his state and national legislators, and the only one who visited him to discuss his beef was Assemblyman Bob Reilly, DColonie. Reilly visited his property more than once, and suggested to Stiles that he would see some relief from the state’s $1.3 billion property tax rebate program. Stiles said he scoffed at the notion: “What the heck is $250 compared to $18,000?” His solution: an income-based tax structure. “There’s no other way. Taxes are driving us out of business. I’m tired of paying this kind of money and getting nothing for it,” he said. Shenendehowa Superintendent L. Oliver Robinson was returning to the building from the district’s parking lot at 5 Chelsea Place when the Stileses drove up, sack in tow. Unaware of their intentions up to that point, Robinson accompanied the pair up the elevator to the first floor, where they waited in a conference room while the superintendent located a rolling cart for the money. “It’s not a problem. Currency is currency,” Robinson assured Diane Stiles as she stood outside the conference room, her arms loaded with paperwork. They then made their way to the tax collector’s office, where the more-than 350 packages of 50 $1 bills were fed into a counting machine. “I’ve never seen $17,000 in dollar bills,” Robinson said as he watched the tax collector rip the band off each stack and feed the singles into the machine. The counting process took about an hour and a half. While the currency amount was being verified, the superintendent walked to the nearby lobby to answer a reporter’s questions. “Some of the points he made are legitimate, especially in terms of [taxing based on] one’s ability to pay. I think he’s dealing with the same fatigue as many other taxpayers,” Robinson said. Lawmakers are trying to find better across-the-board methods for funding schools, but education can’t be sacrificed in the meantime, he said. “I think it’s unfair to take it out on the schools. It’s a community issue. We have quality schools and that’s what we pay for,” Robinson said. Withdrawing the thousands of $1 bills from the couple’s bank, Ballston Spa National, required the Stileses to notify their lending institution several weeks in advance. Stiles insists it was worth the wait. He said he’s already considering a method of payment for next year’s school taxes: “Maybe I’ll pay in coins.” MARC SCHULTZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Mike and Diane Stiles of Clifton Park fill a sack with $1 bills to pay their school tax bill on Wednesday. MARC SCHULTZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Mike Stiles of Clifton Park carries a sack filled with $17,875 in $1 bills to his car Wednesday on his way to pay his school tax bill.
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