Barclay: Cuomo’s So-Called Restoration of Aid for Municipalities is a Falsity
February 21, 2019
The Executive Budget proposed to cut $59 million in Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM). In his 30-day amendments, the governor directs counties provide AIM funding to towns and villages with their sales tax collections. Assemblyman Will Barclay (R,C,I,Ref-Pulaski) released the following statement on this maneuver:
           “The governor’s proposal included in his the 30-day budget amendments is not a restoration of AIM funding. Rather, it is a mandate on counties. The state has provided aid to localities for decades, and the governor’s budget proposal to completely cut AIM funding for many municipalities was met with sharp criticism. Instead of simply rejecting the proposed cut in his 30-day amendments, the governor has come up with a complex scheme to have counties fund the state cut with sales tax revenue. Wouldn’t it be more fair to have the state, rather than counties, use its sales tax revenue to make up for the loss of AIM funding. During these budget negotiations, I’ll work to defeat this cost shift onto counties and push for the full restoration of AIM.”