Suffolk Legislator Tom Donnelly and Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory recently joined New York State Senator James Gaughran, Assemblyman Fred Thiele, and other local elected officials in calling for Governor Cuomo to restore more than $19 million in aid cut from the state budget at a press conference at Town Hall in Huntington on Friday, Jan. 25.
“I am extremely concerned about how this budget cut would impact the municipalities of Babylon and Huntington,” said Legislator Donnelly. “It should be unacceptable for our local towns to be forced to cut much-needed services that our residents rely on.”
The proposed Executive budget cuts $19 million+ from Long Island town and village government budgets, a change Gaughran and Thiele decried. The officials requested full restoration and an appropriate increase to equate what the Long Island region sends to Albany each year. Town supervisors and village mayors spoke of potential cuts to programs and services -- including to senior services, public safety services, mental health initiatives, youth programs, and public infrastructure.
“This decrease in funding may sound small, but minor cuts can pack a major punch when it comes to a municipality’s budget, especially on Long Island,” said Presiding Officer Gregory. “This small piece of the state budget means a great deal to the towns and villages that have come to rely on that funding in order to offer the same services and keep taxes down at the same time, and accounting for such changes takes time and planning. Our state officials must carefully consider what they are asking of our municipalities.”