Restore AIM to NY's Counties
$14B
Counties and NYC contribute annually for the largest state-mandated programs.
$0
Unrestricted state aid proposed for counties.
12
Counties that exceeded the property tax cap in 2026 — highest since 2014.
$100 Million
NYSAC's request for county fiscal relief — a fraction of aid to municipalities.
Background
Counties Have Been Left Behind
Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) is the State's primary unrestricted general-purpose aid program for local governments — currently funded at $715.2 million annually for cities (excluding NYC), towns, and villages. Counties have not been eligible recipients since 1990.
In the current budget cycle, the Governor's 30-day amendments proposed an additional $100 million in Temporary Municipal Assistance for cities, towns, and villages. The Senate one-house budget added $302 million per year in AIM funding for New York City. The Assembly one-house budget proposed $1.5 billion in additional Temporary Municipal Assistance over three years. Counties received no comparable investment in any of these proposals.
This disparity is compounding at exactly the wrong moment. Counties are absorbing rising costs from assigned counsel mandates, preschool special education, competency restoration confinements (up more than 6,000% in some counties between 2019 and 2024), and the approaching federal SNAP administrative cost shift — an estimated $168 million in new annual county costs beginning October 1, 2026.
Since 2005, the cumulative cost of state-mandated programs borne by counties has exceeded $200 billion. NYSAC is calling on the Governor and Legislature to provide $100 million in county fiscal relief in the enacted SFY 2026–27 budget.
What Counties Are Asking For
$100 million in County Fiscal Relief
This relief could be structured through the County Infrastructure Grant Program, relief from assigned counsel costs under Article 18-B, relief from preschool special education costs, support for competency restoration expenses, or through direct unrestricted aid — commensurate with new investments proposed for other municipalities.
What Other Municipalities Received
Each budget proposal this cycle has included significant new aid for other local governments. Counties have been absent from every proposal.
| Proposal | New Aid for Cities/Towns/Villages | Unrestricted Aid for Counties |
| Executive Budget + 30 Day Amendments | AIM maintained at $715.2M; TMA increased to $150 M for cities towns villages; additional unrestricted aid to NYC | $0 |
| Senate One-House Budget | AIM maintained at $715.2M; separate $302M AIM appropriation for NYC; TMA maintained at $150M; $250K AIM Redesign Task Force charged with making recommendations on AIM expansion to NYC — no comparable directive to examine aid to counties | $0 |
| Assembly One-House Budget | AIM maintained at $715.2M; TMA maintained at $150M;$1.5B additional TMA ($1B for NYC, $500M for cities,towns, and villages) | $0 |
| NYSAC Request | Maintain all existing municipal aid | $100M in county relief |
AIM Advocacy Toolkit
Talking Points
Use these points in conversations with your legislators, delegation meetings, and localadvocacy efforts.
Counties Are the State's Implementation Partners
New York's 57 counties administer dozens of state and federally mandated programs — Medicaid,child welfare, public health, indigent legal defense, election administration, and more — that serveevery resident of the state. For just a handful of these programs, counties and NYC contribute morethan $14 billion annually in local taxes, with little control over the policies that drive those costs.
Exclusion From AIM is a Growing Inequity
Counties have not been eligible AIM recipients since 1990 — but every budget proposal this cyclehas included significant new aid for cities, towns, and villages. The Governor and Legislature areinvesting hundreds of millions in other local partners while counties with uniquely large mandatedresponsibilities receive nothing equivalent. This is not parity; it is a growing disparity.
Fiscal Stress is Already Showing Up
12 counties exceeded the property tax cap in their 2026 budgets — the most in a decade — withan average levy increase of 11 percent. The number of local governments in fiscal stress asidentified by OSC's Fiscal Stress Monitoring System is rising. Counties are already at their limit.Federal cost shifts from H.R.1 beginning in October 2026 will make this dramatically worse.
Counties Need Help to Manage Federal Cost Shifts
H.R.1 reduces the federal share of SNAP administrative costs from 50% to 25%, shifting an estimated $168 million in new annual costs to New York counties beginning October 1, 2026. Combined SNAP administrative and benefit cost-sharing impacts could reach over $1.3 billion annually statewide. Counties need state support now — this year's budget is the critical window.
$100 Million is a Fraction of What Others Received
NYSAC's request for $100 million in county fiscal relief is modest relative to the investment proposed for other local governments in this cycle. It could be structured in whatever form bestaddresses counties' most pressing cost drivers — assigned counsel, preschool special education, competency restoration, Safety Net, or direct unrestricted aid.
The Time to Act is Now
Budget conference negotiations are underway now. Any relief must be in the enacted SFY 2026–27 budget to help counties before federally mandated changes take effect in October 2026. This is not an issue that can wait for a future legislative session — the cost shifts are arriving on a fixed federal timeline regardless of state action.
Find Your Legislators
Look up your Assemblymember and State Senator by address to identify who to contact.
Contact Us
New York State Association of Counties
515 Broadway, Suite 402
Albany, NY 12207
Phone: (518) 465-1473
Fax: (518) 465-0506