Budgets are about choices, and the choice Albany keeps making is to grow government first, and ask families to figure it out later.

On Long Island, people are doing everything right: working, raising kids, caring for aging parents and running small businesses. Yet they’re still getting hit with higher costs at every turn, property taxes, energy bills, groceries and insurance. When the budget keeps expanding but the cost of living keeps getting tougher, it’s fair to ask: what are we paying for, and where is the relief?

However, there were some pieces of the governor's budget presentation that I was pleased to see, such as the enhancement of illegal vape enforcement laws, strengthening mentoring programs and the implementation of waterfront revitalization plans. These are common-sense proposals that I have been fighting for for years.

I approach this process looking for what works. If there are proposals that genuinely lower costs, improve services and protect taxpayers, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and help get them done. But New Yorkers also deserve basic safeguards, clear priorities, real oversight and a willingness to say “no” to spending that doesn’t deliver results.

This budget needs to start with the people who fund it: the taxpayers. That means tightening the focus, cutting waste and making affordability the standard by which every line is judged, because that’s what Long Island families need right now.