State Budget Agreement Reached

A budget agreement was reached this week in Albany, days before the actual April 1st deadline, which is seldom actually achieved. Although Governor Andrew Cuomo got much of what he desired and discussed in the budget, $272 million in cuts were restored by the Legislature. Overall the budget was still trimmed by two percent, which most agree isn’t enough to meet the cash shortfall New York state faces this year and in the future.

As the budget argument proceeded last year, and again this year, and as it will for the next several, cuts are going to be the norm. It’s worth pointing out that these cuts are cumulative. That means this year’s cuts can’t be put back in next year, and new cuts will need to be found on top of this year’s cuts.

Citizens are still searching for tax relief and many school districts will feel the brunt of the cuts this year, and over the next several years. And though local governments (including fire departments) are going to feel the pinch as well, there is some, and likely more mandate relief on the way.

This budget does include less money for the Revolving Loan Fund, though there is still existing money in the program. The Office of Fire Prevention and Control will still receive the same level of funding. It is worthy of note that most of the funding for OFPC comes from the Insurance Department. That department was consolidated with the Banking Department into a new Department of Financial Services. We will need to ensure that they continue to support OFPC into the future.

Final details are slow to arrive as of the writing of this news brief, but the real story will be the amount of pain local taxpayers feel from this budget. If local taxpayers choose to absorb the loss by allowing their local taxes to increase, then other local expenses (including fire protection) will surely suffer.

Click here for a news release from Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Click here for more details on the budget agreement.