A statement from Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R,C,Ref-Mahopac)on Gov. Cuomo’s 30-Day Budget Amendments
“Gov. Cuomo’s 30-day amendments to his proposed budget demonstrate he is not serious about reducing property taxes. Rather than restoring state aid to localities, the governor now proposes that the state mandate county governments to pay for the cut by sharing a projected increase in revenue from local sales taxes, and perhaps recreational marijuana. This does not restore the state’s cut to Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM). It just shifts more of the burden to local taxpayers.
“The governor proposed a massive $175 billion budget to the Legislature- one of the largest state budgets in the nation. There are plenty of opportunities to right-size government and control government spending, but cutting AIM and adding to our already crushing property tax burden is not one of them.
“To make matters worse, Gov. Cuomo and the Democrat-controlled Legislature have already added to the long list of unfunded mandates our county and local governments must pay for. Most notably is the recent passage of early voting and the rising cost of implementing the new minimum wage, all while cutting state funding for programs to support our local municipalities, fix our roads and care for our veterans. The governor’s budget not only cuts AIM, but also zeroes out Extreme Winter Recovery funds to assist local governments with transportation infrastructure, as well as the Joseph P. Dwyer Vet to Vet Program funding for county governments.”
“If Gov. Cuomo truly cared about the effects of the federal limitation on state and local taxes (SALT), he wouldn’t try to solve the issue with state cuts and more unfunded mandates that force our property taxes to rise. It’s unacceptable to simply pass the buck to the local level. I remain eager and ready to work with the governor and colleagues from both sides of the aisle to reduce the property and local tax burden. The very first step is for the state to take ownership of the rising cost of local government and restore these cuts in the state budget.”