X

North Country assemblyman touts efforts to persuade Cuomo to restore municipal funding

Posted 2/18/19

Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush, R-Black River, says he is pleased with how he and his colleagues in the Senate and Assembly, on behalf of towns and villages, persuaded Gov. Andrew Cuomo to change his …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

North Country assemblyman touts efforts to persuade Cuomo to restore municipal funding

Posted

Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush, R-Black River, says he is pleased with how he and his colleagues in the Senate and Assembly, on behalf of towns and villages, persuaded Gov. Andrew Cuomo to change his mind about cutting aid to municipalities.

“I’m proud of municipal officials and my colleagues in the Legislature for convincing the governor that millions in needless cuts to local governments would cause serious harm to New Yorkers across the state,” Blankenbush, who represents the towns of DeKalb, Gouverneur, Hermon, Russell, Edwards, Fowler and Pitcairn in St. Lawrence County, said in a statement.

Municipalities across the state raised alarms when they discovered that many of them would be losing thousands of dollars in funds through the Aid and Incentives to Municipalities program, as had been proposed in the governor’s budget proposal.

“As towns and villages across Upstate New York are more strapped for revenue than ever, it would be unconscionable to cut state aid they’ve relied on for years to complete infrastructure projects, protect our water systems and deliver countless other services hardworking taxpayers rely on.

“I’m discouraged that the governor is trying to tie the restoration of these funds to a new tax that will hurt online shoppers. During budget negotiations, I’ll make the case to the governor that we don’t need new revenue to budget for something we’ve done since I’ve been here. For once, the governor should do the right thing instead of playing endless political games that hold good policy hostage,” said Blankenbush.