Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF, REF – Sag Harbor) today expressed his dissatisfaction with the Governor’s 30-day amendments to the Executive Budget, relating to the Aid and Incentive to Municipalities Program (AIM). In January, the Governor presented the 2019-20 Executive Budget, which included a significant reduction in AIM funding from last year’s level of $715 million to $656 million. The proposal would eliminate this essential funding to 90% of the State’s Towns and Villages. The Executive proposal would decrease AIM funding by $59 million from fiscal year 2018-19. It would negatively impact 1,330 municipalities throughout New York. The Executive Budget proposes the elimination of AIM funding for all 13 towns, and 88 of the 94 villages on Long Island.

The Governor, in his 30-day amendments on February 14^th, proposed that any loss of AIM funding incurred by Towns and Villages as a result of the state cut, be offset by sales tax revenue collected by Counties. This would shift the burden of replacing lost AIM funding from the State to the Counties. “This is not a true restoration. Rather, it is a cost shift. The amendment misses the mark,” said Assemblyman Thiele.

“As Chair of the Assembly Local Governments Committee, I will continue to work with my Assembly colleagues to fight for the full restoration of AIM funding.”