Members of the State Assembly’s Long Island Assembly Minority Delegation held an open budget forum on Friday, highlighting their requests and concerns with the Assembly Majority’s one-house budget proposal. Topics of interest included the need for infrastructure improvement, elimination of the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA), unfunded mandate relief, ethics reform, and job creation.

Nassau County Delegation Leader Assemblyman Joseph S. Saladino, forum co-chair, focused on the unfunded mandates that are plaguing Long Island’s taxpayers. He said, “The proposed one-house budget includes no significant tax relief from burdensome state-mandated programs. The budget needs to include relief for our taxpayers, businesses, schools, and local governments.”

This statement was echoed by Assemblyman Tom McKevitt (R,C,I-East Meadow), who said, “Long Islanders pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation; the proposed budget does not do enough to provide relief on the many unfunded mandates handed down from Albany.”

Forum co-chair Assemblyman Andrew Raia (R,I,C-East Northport) is advocating for ethics reform measures, increased education funding, and money to repair local roads and potholes on Long Island in the 2015-16 state budget. “Investing in our children is an investment in our future as a nation. Withholding funding from our classrooms hurts everyone in the long run. I will not sit idly by as the 2010 Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) education cuts continue to hurt our schools year after year. The time is now to restore this funding,” he said. “It’s also clear that the time is now for ethics reform.”

The entire delegation, in a joint statement, also expressed their disappointment with Gov. Cuomo’s refusal to release his school aid runs. They said that holding school aid hostage for the passage of reform proposals that teachers and school districts are vehemently against is a selfish, politically-charged maneuver that threatens our students, teachers, and school districts.

The lack of a plan to eliminate education cuts, otherwise known as the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA), was a topic of major concern. Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square), the Ranking Minority Member on the Assembly Education Committee, said, “We need to eliminate the GEA in its entirety because partial relief is not enough. School districts already are overburdened by an enormous amount of unfunded mandates.”

Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (R,C,I-South Huntington), a local college professor and former school board member, also focused on the GEA. “Education should be our top priority in the Legislature. Continuing to stifle school districts with the GEA cuts and placing additional responsibility on our hardworking taxpayers and teachers for lapses in resources from the state is not the way to ensure a brighter future for our students or our education system,” he said.

The issue of school aid and local infrastructure were focal points for Assemblyman Brian Curran (Lynbrook – 21st A.D.), who said, “Nassau County schools deserve their fair share of education aid, and that’s something I have been vocal on since the governor presented his budget. Taxpayers and businesses cannot continue to shoulder additional tax burdens when we already pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation. Local roads, bridges and public works also need to be addressed. The safety of our constituents should not be threatened by the lack of funding for local infrastructure.”

Assemblyman Dave McDonough (R,C,I-Merrick) reiterated these points. He said, “School districts are still struggling with funding due to the massive cuts they are taking from the GEA, and we need to eliminate it as soon as possible if we are to fully fund our schools and get the many struggling school districts on their feet again. We cannot continue to force local school districts to pass the bill on to their taxpayers.”

Assemblyman Al Graf (R,C-Holbrook) said, “The final budget must fully fund our Long Island schools after the 2010 Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) education cuts and providing meaningful tax relief for taxpayers and businesses through state mandate relief. Additionally, there must be true ethics reform. I will continue to negotiate for our children’s education, the safety and health of our families and communities, and a budget that truly reflects the tax relief needs of Long Island and all New Yorkers.”

Assemblyman Michael Montesano (R,I,C-Glen Head) said, “In light of recent events in Albany, there is a severe lack of trust in government. We need the final budget to include real ethics reform, not the current package that was offered in the Assembly Majority’s one-house budget. The lack of transparency and accountability of elected officials is now a major public concern. We need to instate ethics reforms that will make lasting changes and once again live up to the principles of our institution.”

Assemblyman Dean Murray (R,C,I-East Patchogue) said, “I’m hopeful we will increase TAP funding and remove contentious policy measures like the DREAM Act from the final budget. There is consensus on this in both houses of the legislature. The budget should be about appropriations, not policy. Policy proposals should be taken up singularly and separately, ensuring an open debate from each individual member. I look forward to working with all my legislative colleagues and the governor to craft a budget that fairly represents the needs of all New Yorkers.”

Assemblyman Anthony H. Palumbo (R,C-New Suffolk) said, “The lack of meaningful ethics reform, tax relief and education funding in this year’s one-house budget proposal was alarming. Corruption in Albany will continue to run rampant, New York’s middle-class families will continue to be inundated with excessive taxes, and our children’s education will continue to be overshadowed by political agendas. This year’s budget discussion must be about helping our children, protecting overtaxed New York families, and restoring the public’s trust in government.”

The Long Island Assembly Minority Delegation plans to use the input from this public forum in their negotiations with Assembly and Senate leadership as they work toward a final budget before the April 1 deadline.