Statement from Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr.: Executive Budget Proposal Cuts Millions in Funding For Localities Statewide

On Tuesday, January 15, the Executive proposal for the State budget for the 2020 fiscal year was issued. This proposal included massive cuts to the Aid and Incentive to Municipalities Program (AIM), which has provided state aid to towns, villages and cities outside of New York City since it was established in the 2005-2006 SFY Budget.[1]

The Executive proposal would reduce total AIM funding from $715 million to $656 million, with towns and villages scheduled to receive payments that are less than two percent of their total local fiscal year 2017 expenditures, as reported to the State Comptroller, being removed from the AIM program.[2] The 61 cities across the State (not including New York City) claim the majority of AIM funds, totaling roughly $647 million, and under the Executive proposal, their funding will remain untouched.[3] While less than two percent of total expenditures may not seem like a significant amount, this proposal results in over ninety percent of New York towns and villages losing their AIM funding, including all of the towns in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The tables below, excerpted from the Executive Budget documents, illustrate the previous AIM allotments to all Long Island towns and villages, as well as the current amounts proposed in the Executive proposal.

This reduction translates into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars that localities have come to depend on, many of which have already finalized their annual budgets with the inclusion of these expected funds, and will take the form of real property tax increases for homeowners, cuts to services, and layoffs of town and village employees in order to make up for the sudden loss of revenue.

This ill-proposed funding cut would penalize the towns and villages that have already been forced to stretch the insufficient state funding that has not seen an increase in several years. As lawmakers, we should be examining by how much to rightfully increase funding to localities, which has long been overdue. A reduction of AIM funding is unacceptable.

As the new Chair of the Assembly Local Government Committee, I will work alongside Senator Gaughran, the Senate Local Government Committee Chair, and my colleagues in the Legislature to fight to restore, and even increase, this critical AIM funding in the 2020 SFY Budget.  

FY 2020 Executive Budget Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) – Towns

 

Municipality

County

FY 2019 Enacted Budget AIM ($)

FY 2020 Executive Budget AIM ($)

Babylon

Suffolk

1,115,651

0

Brookhaven

Suffolk

1,808,932

0

East Hampton

Suffolk

71,707

0

Huntington

Suffolk

1,067,256

0

Islip

Suffolk

1,797,900

0

Riverhead

Suffolk

107,028

0

Shelter Island

Suffolk

10,929

0

Smithtown

Suffolk

671,178

0

Southampton

Suffolk

184,491

0

Southold

Suffolk

88,328

0

Hempstead

Nassau

3,848,885

0

North Hempstead

Nassau

1,023,565

0

Oyster Bay

Nassau

1,682,422

0

           

     

FY 2020 Executive Budget Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) –Villages

Municipality

County

FY 2019 Enacted Budget AIM ($)

FY 2020 Executive Budget AIM ($)

Amityville

Suffolk

64,823

0

Asharoken

Suffolk

3,584

0

Babylon

Suffolk

90,785

0

Belle Terre

Suffolk

4,129

0

Bellport

Suffolk

16,336

0

Brightwaters

Suffolk

20,989

0

Dering Harbor

Suffolk

1,096

0

East Hampton

Suffolk

14,828

0

Greenport

Suffolk

29,427

0

Head of the Harbor

Suffolk

4,134

0

Huntington Bay

Suffolk

8,314

0

Islandia

Suffolk

7,452

0

Lake Grove

Suffolk

63,199

0

Lindenhurst

Suffolk

542,383

542,383

Lloyd Harbor

Suffolk

14,373

0

Nissequogue

Suffolk

5,209

0

North Haven

Suffolk

2,940

0

Northport

Suffolk

50,635

0

Ocean Beach

Suffolk

4,449

0

Old Field

Suffolk

3,559

0

Patchogue

Suffolk

92,781

0

Poquott

Suffolk

2,513

0

Port Jefferson

Suffolk

33,302

0

Quogue

Suffolk

5,205

0

Sag Harbor

Suffolk

13,532

0

Saltaire

Suffolk

2,726

0

Shoreham

Suffolk

4,734

0

Southampton

Suffolk

23,284

0

The Branch

Suffolk

6,888

0

West Hampton Dunes

Suffolk

5,821

0

Westhampton Beach

Suffolk

11,593

0

Atlantic Beach

Nassau

9,779

0

Baxter Estates

Nassau

6,104

0

Bayville

Nassau

43,375

0

Bellerose

Nassau

14,228

0

Brookville

Nassau

12,297

0

Cedarhurst

Nassau

52,676

0

Centre Island

Nassau

3,489

0

Cove Neck

Nassau

2,532

0

East Hills

Nassau

34,158

0

East Rockaway

Nassau

194,855

0

East Williston

Nassau

16,683

0

Farmingdale

Nassau

68,902

0

Floral Park

Nassau

270,822

0

Flower Hill

Nassau

19,822

0

Freeport

Nassau

901,311

0

Garden City

Nassau

207,449

0

Great Neck

Nassau

71,187

0

Great Neck Estates

Nassau

26,426

0

Great Neck Plaza

Nassau

65,621

0

Hempstead

Nassau

646,743

0

Hewlett Bay Park

Nassau

2,688

0

Hewlett Harbor

Nassau

5,366

0

Hewlett Neck

Nassau

2,518

0

Island Park

Nassau

130,219

130,219

Kensington

Nassau

11,651

0

Kings Point

Nassau

30,028

0

Lake Success

Nassau

21,566

0

Lattingtown

Nassau

6,107

0

Laurel Hollow

Nassau

9,667

0

Lawrence

Nassau

33,484

0

Lynbrook

Nassau

238,254

0

Malverne

Nassau

107,018

0

Manorhaven

Nassau

96,120

96,120

Massapequa Park

Nassau

325,576

325,576

Matinecock

Nassau

4,622

0

Mill Neck

Nassau

5,376

0

Mineola

Nassau

264,145

0

Munsey Park

Nassau

10,547

0

Muttontown

Nassau

9,971

0

New Hyde Park

Nassau

148,904

0

North Hills

Nassau

4,990

0

Old Brookville

Nassau

8,315

0

Old Westbury

Nassau

17,641

0

Oyster Bay Cove

Nassau

7,358

0

Plandome

Nassau

10,855

0

Plandome Heights

Nassau

6,095

0

Plandome Manor

Nassau

3,829

0

Port Washington North

Nassau

10,694

0

Rockville Centre

Nassau

403,671

0

Roslyn

Nassau

12,228

0

Roslyn Estates

Nassau

6,916

0

Roslyn Harbor

Nassau

4,379

0

Russell Gardens

Nassau

8,288

0

Saddle Rock

Nassau

5,610

0

Sands Point

Nassau

16,537

0

Sea Cliff

Nassau

38,466

0

South Floral Park

Nassau

30,932

30,932

Stewart Manor

Nassau

43,260

0

Thomaston

Nassau

17,648

0

Upper Brookville

Nassau

5,905

0

Valley Stream

Nassau

558,334

0

Westbury

Nassau

111,812

0

Williston Park

Nassau

171,337

171,337

Woodsburgh

Nassau

3,812

0

The information listed in the above tables can be found here.

[1] https://nyassembly.gov/Press/20170316b/

[2] https://www.budget.ny.gov/pubs/archive/fy20/exec/book/briefingbook.pdf

[3] https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2019/01/17/andrew-cuomo-budget-aim-funding-town- village/2602429002/