Earlier this year, Gov. Cuomo slashed state aid to municipalities from his 2019-2020 Executive Budget. The curtailment of the local assistance program, known as Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM), threatened to decimate municipalities across New York. After an outcry from local governments around the state, the governor agreed to a compromise measure which would theoretically restore monies formerly conveyed under AIM to localities. Unfortunately, due to a quirk in state law, towns and villages located in Nassau and Erie counties may not receive the restored state aid that other municipalities across the state will be getting. In fact, the state comptroller has alerted the supervisors and mayors of the affected municipalities of the prospective loss of state monies. The total loss in funding to towns and villages in Nassau County amounts to over $11 million. In response, Hempstead Town Receiver of Taxes Don Clavin has asked Assemblyman Ed Ra to sponsor legislation that would compel and empower the state comptroller to convey the affected state assistance to towns and villages in Nassau County. Clavin and Ra were joined at today’s press conference by Senior Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby and Hempstead Village Mayor Don Ryan.

“It is outrageous that towns and villages in Nassau County are being financially slammed by Gov. Cuomo due to his lack of concern for suburban homeowners,” said Clavin. “The newly-minted Majority in the state Senate did nothing to protect Nassau homeowners from massive tax increases that could result from their lackluster representation in Albany. They failed to make sure that state aid to our local towns and villages was preserved. Thankfully, Assemblyman Ed Ra is fighting for Nassau neighbors, sponsoring legislation that would restore $11 million in state aid to Nassau County towns and villages.”

“We need to return to Albany and fix this immediately,” said Ra. “This is what happens when Majority members allow for a secretive, rushed state budget process. These are exactly the kind of catastrophic mistakes that happen when you throw together a $175 billion spending plan in the middle of the night with absolutely no oversight. I’m urging legislative leaders to call members back for a special session as soon as possible.”

While the details surrounding the AIM funding issue are complicated, the officials offered a thumbnail summary of the issue. Earlier this year, the governor cut AIM funds from the 2019/2020 state budget. Later, the restoration of the AIM funds was accommodated by allocating additional sales tax revenue from internet sales to affected localities, including towns and villages across New York state.

Under the new law governing the disbursement of AIM-related funds to localities, the state comptroller was charged with withholding county sales tax and distributing the amount of lost AIM funding, now termed AIM-related funding, to the towns and villages. However, the comptroller has indicated that the new state law regarding AIM-related funding did not take into account that Nassau and Erie counties had fiscal oversight/control boards in place. In particular, a conflicting state law requires that those boards receive all collected sales tax in the county, which leaves no mechanism for the money to be distributed to the towns and villages.

“The governor and the Majority-controlled Senate rushed through corrective legislation once their plan to slash state aid to local villages and towns was uncovered and met with public outrage,” said Ra. “Instead of fixing the problem for Nassau homeowners, however, the governor and Majority state senators compounded the damage to Nassau County towns and villages. While other areas around the state will see lost state aid restored, there is no mechanism for the comptroller to distribute the restored aid to towns and villages in Nassau County due to a quirk in state law. I am determined to pass legislation that will correct the damage caused by the governor and restore state aid to our localities.”

Indeed, a letter sent by the state comptroller to town supervisors and village mayors in Nassau County stated, “For those towns and villages located in Erie County or Nassau County, the new law, as currently written, has no mechanism for OSC to make AIM-related payments in State Fiscal Year 2019-2020.” The letter further stated, “… you should consider the impact on your current and upcoming budget.” Clavin faulted Supervisor Laura Gillen for not advising Hempstead town council members of the “budget busting” news as officials were crafting the township’s 2020 budget.

“It is governmental malpractice not to disclose the information that was conveyed to the administration by the state comptroller, which could have a serious and negative impact on Hempstead town’s budget,” said Clavin. “Taxpayers deserve better.”

Clavin and Ra observed that the lost AIM-related funding threatens to blow a $3.8 million hole in Hempstead Town’s 2020 budget as the budget is currently proposed. Over $8 million will be lost by the town and all of the incorporated villages in Hempstead Town if corrective action is not taken. The situation is further complicated by the fact that local governments are currently in the process of adopting budgets while the state Legislature is not scheduled to convene until January of 2020.

“I want to thank Assemblyman Ed Ra for fighting for Nassau County taxpayers,” concluded Clavin. “I am hopeful that his efforts will provide the same state aid to localities that has been provided to other towns and counties across New York state.”