After all-night negotiations and voting, New York has a budget for the fiscal year that began today.
Because budget negotiations went down to the wire and state representatives were still voting as of Friday morning, many details on the spending plan haven’t been released yet.
Shortly after the Senate adjourned, Republican Betty Little said there are two key elements in the budget for the North Country. “The elimination of the Gap Elimination Adjustment is just very helpful to the North Country. The other big thing is the highway parity and we have an equivalent amount with the MTA and transit plans of New York City. And I believe the figure is right around $28 billion. There’s a lot of repairs and lot of new roads that need to happen so this money should really help us. And the other good news, on the environmental side, is $300 million in the EPF fund. That’s a figure we haven’t seen in a long time in the EPF.”
Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Garry Douglas monitored budget negotiations through the night and finds the region did well with investments targeting the North Country and points to a new project that received funding. “We watched with keen interest through the night and we’re pleased that the Governor’s proposed $125 million for a major SUNY Polytechnic project in Plattsburgh which will house Norsk Titanium was fully secured in the budget, which means it’s full speed ahead. The company is very pleased. It’s going to be an amazing advance for the North Country. It’s going to put us right at the heart of 21st century aerospace component manufacturing, being the first place in the world that’s going to do what they’re going to do here entirely with 3D printing technology.”
Plattsburgh Mayor James Calnon has been reading the budget bills as they are finalized and released. He is hoping there is extra money for water and sewer development and other infrastructure. But he is disappointed with one area of the plan. “I certainly don’t begrudge our friends in all of the school districts the fact that they’re getting about a six and a half percent increase in state aid. That’s a big deal. But their state aid has gone up a number of times in the last five years. State aid to municipalities hasn’t changed. And the fact that there’s apparently, and I can’t find it yet, any increase in aid to municipalities really is to me just not fair.”
Lake Placid Mayor Craig Randall is on alert for any money for the village’s sporting facilities. “We’re hopeful that there is some funding in the budget that would allow for the region to focus some resources on our training center and in particular resources to encourage the U.S. Luge Federation, which a year ago indicated that they might be looking to move. So that is an interest that we’re hopeful the Governor has provided some resource for and I think beyond that the other item here in the North Country that certainly is being watched with interest and some concern is the increase in the minimum wage.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s original plan to hike the minimum wage to $15 statewide was revised in part due to lobbying by the NY Farm Bureau. Spokesman Steve Ammerman says the revised plan, which will see upstate capped at $12.50, still has the potential to devastate agriculture. “This is going to drive up prices and labor costs dramatically for our farms. It’s going to make them less competitive. Fresh locally grown food is going to be more expense and less available we believe in this state and ultimately we think the governor and the legislature were playing politics with family farmers.”
The Farm Bureau praised budget enhancements to the Environmental Protection Fund and infrastructure funding.
