Dear Editor, By now, all New Yorkers are aware of the governor’s 2008-09 Executive Budget, however, they may not be aware that it shifts the cost of a number of programs from the state to the counties. It is this shift in cost that will impact the already over-burdened home- and business owner here in Nassau County. The programs that will be shifting costs to county taxpayers include non-emergency public assistance, two-parent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and youth detention facilities. The entire cost statewide is approximately $83 million, of which Nassau County’s share comes to $3,289,695. The governor’s budget proposes shifting 2 percent of the non-emergency public assistance cost from the state to the counties. For the families on TANF, the counties will assume a 27 percent share of the cost for those families, and for families on Safety Net assistance, where the state and counties share equally the cost of the benefits, the counties will assume 52 percent of the costs, or $705,257 for Nassau County. The two-parent TANF proposal was enacted in the 2006-07 state budget in order to meet new federal work participation requirements of the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. This compliance generated about $15 million in federal TANF savings that was being split equally between the state and counties. In this year’s budget, the governor is proposing that the state keep the entire share of the savings, which would cost Nassau County $164,438. In an attempt to encourage counties to use more cost-effective measures in dealing with non-violent youth while their cases are pending in Family Court, the governor’s proposal will require that local governments pay 100 percent of the detention costs – $2,420,000 for Nassau County. Some might look at $3,289,695 divided among all of Nassau county homeowners and businesses and say, ‘that does not add up to much.’ However, when the governor’s budget proposes shifting costs from the state to the counties at the same time he is increasing fees and taxes, freezing the middle class STAR rebate checks and cutting education aid to Nassau’s school districts, it adds up. Continually nickel-and-dimeing Long Island taxpayers is unacceptable because, for most of us, there is nothing left in the piggy bank. Sincerely,
David G. McDonough
Assembly Member
19th District