“The governor’s budget address gave no clarity on our state’s financial outlook. There was no financial plan, no direction to move our state forward. We have two terrible scenarios ahead, which we anticipated. New York needs to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, and that means tough choices will need to be made. Now is not the time to be focusing on blame, however. As we move forward with a spending plan, we need to spend the state’s resources slowly, moving us closer to recovery from the pandemic. Our priorities need to ensure we can meet the challenges we face as best as possible in this terrible financial situation. As we continue negotiating a final budget, we cannot allow costs to be passed down to our local governments or, ultimately, to taxpayers.”