By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

County clerks across New York state are at it again.

Fresh off their successful effort to block a license-plate replacement mandate that would have cost car owners $25 apiece, county clerks are prepared to fight a series of rate increase that are part of Gov. David Paterson's proposed 2010-11 budget.

As tough as some of the changes may be, Paterson said in a letter to New York residents citing the need to close a $7.4 billion budget shortfall, they are necessary.

"Since the day I became governor, I have warned that New York is facing an inevitable fiscal reckoning," Paterson said. "This budget lives within the stringent spending cap that I have proposed, which will help us achieve a structurally balanced budget and return future surpluses directly to property taxpayers."

Tell that to Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul.

Part of the "stringent" budget proposal were hefty increases on filing fees for court papers.

The fee to file a motion in a Supreme Court or county court, currently $45, would under Paterson's proposal jump 167 percent to $120. Hochul says, none of that money would stay in the county of filing.

The state collected $3.3 million last year in fees for index numbers, which are needed to file a case in state or county court, and Hochul said Erie County retained $454,000 of those funds. The state is pushing to raise that fee by $50 - to $260 - generating more than $900,000 in estimated additional revenue. Under Paterson's plan, the county will be shut out of that extra revenue.

Three county clerks contacted for this story said they believe the index-number fee hike, in particular, will hurt a group that can least afford it.

"As county clerk, my job is to look out for the people who do business in our office, so when I hear of a 167 percent increase being imposed by Albany, I've got to stand up and say this is wrong," said Hochul, characterizing the fee increases as just another attempt to squeeze cash from taxpayers.

"We are not talking about large companies," Hochul said. "We are talking about mom-and-pop businesses and families who are struggling. This is a burden that they cannot afford to bear, and it is just wrong."

As to the issue of the state being, in Paterson's words, at a"financial breaking point," she said that doesn't justify the filing-fee increases.

"Maybe fees and taxes are no longer the only viable options," Hochul said. "There has to be a complete different mind-set in Albany when it comes to how much more of the burden can they put on individuals who are already suffering in this economy."

Niagara County Clerk Wayne Jagow agrees.

"I know the state is hurting for money, but we are placing the burden on the wrong individuals," he said. "It should be placed on the state government to make sure they are doing things to cut back and drawing down on what they have."

While the fees will impact both individual taxpayers and businesses, it is the latter group Jagow is especially concerned about, should these increases go through.

"You can't keep going to the business community to bear the burden," he said. "At a time when we should be trying to make the path smoother for businesses to develop, we are creating more and more hurdles. It is such a sizable jump for the fee increase, it's ludicrous."

At least one county clerk is taking a wait-and-see approach to the budget situation.

"This has come up before every year the budget is presented, and they usually put this type of thing in, so we're not getting too anxious about it until we see if there is any sentiment from the Legislature to go along with it," said Cattaraugus County Clerk James Griffith.

Should the fee increases be approved, Griffith said he thinks filers may take their business elsewhere.

"My concern is that the attorneys and the collection agencies, rather than buying the index numbers (to file a case in state or county courts) will choose instead to use the city courts, where there is a smaller filing fee," he said.

"I suspect that if it does go through, we will see a law of diminishing returns. They are going to raise the fees so high people will choose not to use the Supreme and county courts, and they will lose all the money anyway."