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Counties to Lawmakers: Negotiate a Budget that is Focused on the Future
January 25, 2010
How state lawmakers negotiate this year’s Budget will reverberate for many years to come.
“Now is the time to reduce spending, reform the state’s local mandate structure and re-evaluate the public services we provide in New York State.”
That’s the message the New York Association of Counties (NYSAC) will provide to State Legislators at a budget hearing in Albany on Monday afternoon.
“For too long, our state budgets have shifted costs to property taxpayers and future generations. We have mortgaged our future with short term fixes and we are calling for that to stop,” said NYSAC President Tom Santulli, Chemung County Executive. “Now is the right time to cut State spending and reduce mandates to lower the property tax burden and foster job growth in our communities. If we don’t do it this year, when will we?”
Given the size of the expected $7.4 billion fiscal gap in SFY 2010-11 and increasing gaps over the next several budget cycles, State lawmakers are faced with difficult budget-balancing decisions.
“The time for incremental change and temporarily papering over budget gaps with one-shots, temporary federal funds and unending tax increases has got to be over,” said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario. “Governor Paterson’s Executive Budget reduces state spending growth and presents a series of fundament reforms we believe will improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of our governments.”
Counties, which deliver and fund a broad range of state services at the local level, provide temporary assistance, shelter, health care, family planning, child support, employment training and long term programs for New Yorkers in need. New York is the only state in the nation that places this level of program delivery responsibility and fiscal burden on its counties.
“We are not stakeholders in these budget deliberations. We are your government partners and we are directly impacted by the decisions you make in the next eight weeks,” said Orange County Executive Ed Diana, president of the NYS County Executives Association to the members of the Joint Legislative Committee.
New York counties rely heavily on two forms of revenue to fund local operations and to deliver state services locally: sales taxes and property taxes. The recession has caused deep and prolonged declines in sales tax revenue and pressure on counties to raise property taxes, cut services or layoff workers in order to keep our budgets balanced.
Mr. Diana stressed the importance of reducing the cost of government as a way to revitalize our economy, foster smart development and stop businesses and young New Yorkers from fleeing the state.
“We offer to work with you to structure a spending plan that addresses our current and future needs for growing New York’s economy from our communities on up,” said Diana.
The New York State Association of Counties is a bipartisan municipal association serving all 62 counties of New York State including the City of New York. Organized in 1925, NYSAC’s mission is to represent, educate and advocate for member counties and the thousands of elected and appointed county officials who serve the public.
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