Statement from Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr.: Executive Budget Proposal Cuts Millions in Funding For Localities Statewide
On Tuesday, January 15, the Executive proposal for the State budget for the 2020 fiscal year was issued. This proposal included massive cuts to the Aid and Incentive to Municipalities Program (AIM), which has provided state aid to towns, villages and cities outside of New York City since it was established in the 2005-2006 SFY Budget.[1]
The Executive proposal would reduce total AIM funding from $715 million to $656 million, with towns and villages scheduled to receive payments that are less than two percent of their total local fiscal year 2017 expenditures, as reported to the State Comptroller, being removed from the AIM program.[2] The 61 cities across the State (not including New York City) claim the majority of AIM funds, totaling roughly $647 million, and under the Executive proposal, their funding will remain untouched.[3] While less than two percent of total expenditures may not seem like a significant amount, this proposal results in over ninety percent of New York towns and villages losing their AIM funding, including all of the towns in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The tables below, excerpted from the Executive Budget documents, illustrate the previous AIM allotments to all Long Island towns and villages, as well as the current amounts proposed in the Executive proposal.
This reduction translates into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars that localities have come to depend on, many of which have already finalized their annual budgets with the inclusion of these expected funds, and will take the form of real property tax increases for homeowners, cuts to services, and layoffs of town and village employees in order to make up for the sudden loss of revenue.
This ill-proposed funding cut would penalize the towns and villages that have already been forced to stretch the insufficient state funding that has not seen an increase in several years. As lawmakers, we should be examining by how much to rightfully increase funding to localities, which has long been overdue. A reduction of AIM funding is unacceptable.
As the new Chair of the Assembly Local Government Committee, I will work alongside Senator Gaughran, the Senate Local Government Committee Chair, and my colleagues in the Legislature to fight to restore, and even increase, this critical AIM funding in the 2020 SFY Budget. Â
FY 2020 Executive Budget Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) – Towns
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| Municipality | County | FY 2019 Enacted Budget AIM ($) | FY 2020 Executive Budget AIM ($) |
| Babylon | Suffolk | 1,115,651 | 0 |
| Brookhaven | Suffolk | 1,808,932 | 0 |
| East Hampton | Suffolk | 71,707 | 0 |
| Huntington | Suffolk | 1,067,256 | 0 |
| Islip | Suffolk | 1,797,900 | 0 |
| Riverhead | Suffolk | 107,028 | 0 |
| Shelter Island | Suffolk | 10,929 | 0 |
| Smithtown | Suffolk | 671,178 | 0 |
| Southampton | Suffolk | 184,491 | 0 |
| Southold | Suffolk | 88,328 | 0 |
| Hempstead | Nassau | 3,848,885 | 0 |
| North Hempstead | Nassau | 1,023,565 | 0 |
| Oyster Bay | Nassau | 1,682,422 | 0 |
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FY 2020 Executive Budget Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) –Villages
| Municipality | County | FY 2019 Enacted Budget AIM ($) | FY 2020 Executive Budget AIM ($) |
| Amityville | Suffolk | 64,823 | 0 |
| Asharoken | Suffolk | 3,584 | 0 |
| Babylon | Suffolk | 90,785 | 0 |
| Belle Terre | Suffolk | 4,129 | 0 |
| Bellport | Suffolk | 16,336 | 0 |
| Brightwaters | Suffolk | 20,989 | 0 |
| Dering Harbor | Suffolk | 1,096 | 0 |
| East Hampton | Suffolk | 14,828 | 0 |
| Greenport | Suffolk | 29,427 | 0 |
| Head of the Harbor | Suffolk | 4,134 | 0 |
| Huntington Bay | Suffolk | 8,314 | 0 |
| Islandia | Suffolk | 7,452 | 0 |
| Lake Grove | Suffolk | 63,199 | 0 |
| Lindenhurst | Suffolk | 542,383 | 542,383 |
| Lloyd Harbor | Suffolk | 14,373 | 0 |
| Nissequogue | Suffolk | 5,209 | 0 |
| North Haven | Suffolk | 2,940 | 0 |
| Northport | Suffolk | 50,635 | 0 |
| Ocean Beach | Suffolk | 4,449 | 0 |
| Old Field | Suffolk | 3,559 | 0 |
| Patchogue | Suffolk | 92,781 | 0 |
| Poquott | Suffolk | 2,513 | 0 |
| Port Jefferson | Suffolk | 33,302 | 0 |
| Quogue | Suffolk | 5,205 | 0 |
| Sag Harbor | Suffolk | 13,532 | 0 |
| Saltaire | Suffolk | 2,726 | 0 |
| Shoreham | Suffolk | 4,734 | 0 |
| Southampton | Suffolk | 23,284 | 0 |
| The Branch | Suffolk | 6,888 | 0 |
| West Hampton Dunes | Suffolk | 5,821 | 0 |
| Westhampton Beach | Suffolk | 11,593 | 0 |
| Atlantic Beach | Nassau | 9,779 | 0 |
| Baxter Estates | Nassau | 6,104 | 0 |
| Bayville | Nassau | 43,375 | 0 |
| Bellerose | Nassau | 14,228 | 0 |
| Brookville | Nassau | 12,297 | 0 |
| Cedarhurst | Nassau | 52,676 | 0 |
| Centre Island | Nassau | 3,489 | 0 |
| Cove Neck | Nassau | 2,532 | 0 |
| East Hills | Nassau | 34,158 | 0 |
| East Rockaway | Nassau | 194,855 | 0 |
| East Williston | Nassau | 16,683 | 0 |
| Farmingdale | Nassau | 68,902 | 0 |
| Floral Park | Nassau | 270,822 | 0 |
| Flower Hill | Nassau | 19,822 | 0 |
| Freeport | Nassau | 901,311 | 0 |
| Garden City | Nassau | 207,449 | 0 |
| Great Neck | Nassau | 71,187 | 0 |
| Great Neck Estates | Nassau | 26,426 | 0 |
| Great Neck Plaza | Nassau | 65,621 | 0 |
| Hempstead | Nassau | 646,743 | 0 |
| Hewlett Bay Park | Nassau | 2,688 | 0 |
| Hewlett Harbor | Nassau | 5,366 | 0 |
| Hewlett Neck | Nassau | 2,518 | 0 |
| Island Park | Nassau | 130,219 | 130,219 |
| Kensington | Nassau | 11,651 | 0 |
| Kings Point | Nassau | 30,028 | 0 |
| Lake Success | Nassau | 21,566 | 0 |
| Lattingtown | Nassau | 6,107 | 0 |
| Laurel Hollow | Nassau | 9,667 | 0 |
| Lawrence | Nassau | 33,484 | 0 |
| Lynbrook | Nassau | 238,254 | 0 |
| Malverne | Nassau | 107,018 | 0 |
| Manorhaven | Nassau | 96,120 | 96,120 |
| Massapequa Park | Nassau | 325,576 | 325,576 |
| Matinecock | Nassau | 4,622 | 0 |
| Mill Neck | Nassau | 5,376 | 0 |
| Mineola | Nassau | 264,145 | 0 |
| Munsey Park | Nassau | 10,547 | 0 |
| Muttontown | Nassau | 9,971 | 0 |
| New Hyde Park | Nassau | 148,904 | 0 |
| North Hills | Nassau | 4,990 | 0 |
| Old Brookville | Nassau | 8,315 | 0 |
| Old Westbury | Nassau | 17,641 | 0 |
| Oyster Bay Cove | Nassau | 7,358 | 0 |
| Plandome | Nassau | 10,855 | 0 |
| Plandome Heights | Nassau | 6,095 | 0 |
| Plandome Manor | Nassau | 3,829 | 0 |
| Port Washington North | Nassau | 10,694 | 0 |
| Rockville Centre | Nassau | 403,671 | 0 |
| Roslyn | Nassau | 12,228 | 0 |
| Roslyn Estates | Nassau | 6,916 | 0 |
| Roslyn Harbor | Nassau | 4,379 | 0 |
| Russell Gardens | Nassau | 8,288 | 0 |
| Saddle Rock | Nassau | 5,610 | 0 |
| Sands Point | Nassau | 16,537 | 0 |
| Sea Cliff | Nassau | 38,466 | 0 |
| South Floral Park | Nassau | 30,932 | 30,932 |
| Stewart Manor | Nassau | 43,260 | 0 |
| Thomaston | Nassau | 17,648 | 0 |
| Upper Brookville | Nassau | 5,905 | 0 |
| Valley Stream | Nassau | 558,334 | 0 |
| Westbury | Nassau | 111,812 | 0 |
| Williston Park | Nassau | 171,337 | 171,337 |
| Woodsburgh | Nassau | 3,812 | 0 |
The information listed in the above tables can be found here.
[1] https://nyassembly.gov/Press/20170316b/
[2] https://www.budget.ny.gov/pubs/archive/fy20/exec/book/briefingbook.pdf
[3] https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2019/01/17/andrew-cuomo-budget-aim-funding-town- village/2602429002/