2008 Legislative Action
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Counties Respond to Proposed 2008-09 State Budget
Impact of the 2008-09 Executive State Budget on County Government - This report provides a detailed analysis of the county impact from Governor Spitzer's proposed Executive Budget.
Talking Points
Press Releases
- Press Release in Opposition to the Budget's Cost Shifts
- In Response to Governor Spitzer’s Commission on Property Tax Relief
Opinion Editorial
Letters to the Editor
- Cost Shift Letter to the Editor
- Public Assistance Cost Shift Letter to the Editor
- Youth Detention Placement Cost Shift Letter to the Editor
Financial Impact Charts
- Executive Budget Impact Summary Chart
- 2008_09 Executive Budget Myth Chart Revised 2_21_08
- 2008_09 Executive Budget Impact Public Assistance Chart
- 2008_09 Executive Budget Impact Juvenile Detention Chart
- 2008_09 Executive Budget Impact County Nursing Home Losses
- 2008_09 Executive Budget community College aid cut
- 2008_09 Executive Budget Impact CHIPs Reduction
- 2008_09 Executive Budget Impact Est. Rev from local option recording fee increase
Annual County Medicaid Increases
Despite the county Medicaid Cap, which capped the growth of local Medicaid costs, counties across the state are paying $185 million more each year. See the linked chart for a county by county breakdown of the increased Medicaid costs counties are facing in 2008 and 2009.
NYSAC Testimony
- County Testimony to the Joint Fiscal Committee of the NYS Legislature at a Human Services Budget Hearing (PDF) Presented and submitted on February 5, 2008.
- Testimony before the NYS Propert Tax Commission (PDF) Submitted on February 12, 2008
NYSAC Resolution on the Budget
Press Clippings
Journal News - Spitzer Budget Boosts County Taxes 2% -- 2-13-08
Westchester residents could see their county tax bill increase more than 2 percent if Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed budget is adopted, County Executive Andrew Spano warned yesterday.
Newsday Editorial on the Preschool Special Ed Cap -- 2-12-08
At first blush, it looks like good news that Gov. Eliot Spitzer wants to slow the growth in the counties' costs of pre-kindergarten special education. But he has to be careful that his idea doesn't unfairly squeeze school districts.
Schenectady Gazette - Loss of Aid Would Hit Hard -- 2-12-08
Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s Executive Budget reduces aid and shifts state costs totaling millions to counties.
Legislative Gazette - Budget Could Raise Taxes --2-4-08
County leaders attending last week’s NYSAC conference expressed concern that efforts to reduce local property taxes would be for naught if proposals in Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s budget that would shift costs from the state to the local level are adopted.
Democrat and Chronicle -- County Leaders Slam Budget -- 1-30-08
County executives from across New York on Tuesday ripped Gov. Eliot Spitzer's 2008-09 budget proposal, saying it adds new mandated costs and doesn't alleviate pressure on local taxpayers as he claims.
Troy Record -- Budget plan just shifts the burden
If you say you are holding the line on taxes, it should mean you are holding the line on taxes. It doesn’t mean shifting the burden from one taxing entity to another, which is what Gov. Eliot Spitzer is doing in his proposed $124 billion budget.
At first glance, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney didn't like the 2008-09 state budget that Gov. Eliot Spitzer unveiled Tuesday. It didn't look any better Wednesday after county finance officials started sifting through the document, she said. Her impression, Mahoney said, was "that the state is not cutting its costs, it's just transferring its burden onto the counties."
News 10 Now--Debate over state spending heats up
Governor Spitzer admits there's a need to rethink which level of government controls some of the spending that leads to ever-higher property taxes.
Poughkeepsie Journal--Hiring freeze stays; state budget is cited
After hearing about state budget challenges, Dutchess County officials will continue a hiring freeze, budget Director Valerie Sommerville said Wednesday.
NYS 2008-09 Executive Budget
- The NYS Division of Budget website includes links to several of the 2008-09 Executive Budget documents.
Text from the Article 7 Bills