“I was pleased the Governor’s budget proposal does not include more taxes or fees. More aid will be invested in education with the Governor’s plan. I am, however, concerned about how some of these programs—such as early voting, all-day pre-k and longer school days —will be sustainable for localities. I look forward to looking more closely at these proposals, as well as financial restructuring services he wants to make available for municipalities that will purportedly help with pension costs. I was pleased to hear his budget has set aside money for Sandy relief. We need to provide assistance to rebuild.

“We must continue to eliminate government waste and have services that we can afford, that work for the people. I continue to hear stories of people having difficulty opening up businesses, obtaining permits and staying in business because of New York’s regulations. While the Governor has talked about a New New York, that’s ‘open for business,’ I hope we can build on reducing property taxes this year and provide real mandate relief to municipalities to make our state more competitive for job growth.”