Gov. Cuomo has touted his 2013-14 Executive Budget as sensitive to the needs of Upstate New York; but as I have been reviewing his budget, I’ve found a glaring hole in his plan – meaningful unfunded mandate relief. Unfunded mandates are one of the biggest concerns in our communities – among schools, local governments, homeowners and small-business owners. I would argue that unfunded mandates have weakened education, the quality and availability of local government services, and have hindered our economic and community development and growth.

For decades, Albany has passed down hundreds of programs and policies that have expensive price tags. Over time, these prices have increased and become more numerous, adding up to a large bill that we no longer can afford. Albany politicians have funded their pet projects and programs on the backs of our local communities, expecting us to pick up the bill.

If Albany dictates a local government or school must have a program – then make Albany pay for it. Don’t stick local taxpayers with the bill.

Our schools and local governments have made every effort not to pass down these costs, but these mandates have become so burdensome that municipalities have no choice but to offset them with increased property taxes. The New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) has said that only nine mandates consume 90 percent of the tax levy, but there are thousands of other mandates that cost localities time and money. Since much of our school and local budgets already are determined by these mandates, something has to give, and sadly it has either resulted in service cuts or increased property tax rates.

So when you have communities – local governments, schools, homeowners and small-business owners crying out for relief – shouldn’t legislators, and especially our governor, take heed and offer the meaningful unfunded mandate relief they are looking for? Instead, Gov. Cuomo offers a weak pension payment delay plan in his budget, which will only destabilize the public retirement system and put off the inevitable unsustainable costs to another day.

This is not real relief.

I won’t bog you down with the murky details, but the sum of the governor’s proposal is that municipalities may opt to lock into a set pension contribution rate, which may or may not offer any real savings. While this may offer temporary relief, we cannot be sure of the long-term savings that may be realized over the 25-year plan, due to fluctuations in our economy that will inevitably affect contribution rates. The plan does not address the astronomical costs associated with the pension plan, which taxpayers can no longer afford.

If we want to offer real savings to schools, local governments and, ultimately, the property taxpayers, we must enact meaningful unfunded mandate relief now. There is no more time for delay and false promises. I will continue to press this matter and encourage my colleagues to reject this false plan and insist the governor accept meaningful mandate relief in this budget.

As the representative of the newly-formed 117th Assembly District, I look forward to continuing to work with residents in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, and am eager to get to know those in the towns of Annsville, Ava, Camden, Florence, Forestport, Kirkland, Remsen, Verona, Vienna and Westmoreland in Oneida County. Please e-mail me any time at blankenbushk@assembly.state.ny.us or call my office at (315) 493-3909.