Mayor, Entire City Council Ask for More State Aid
By Dan Murphy
Next month, Mayor Mike Spano will present his proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, and while previous City budgets have been difficult for many years to balance, with most union contracts negotiated, the Mayor and the City Council may have to make tough decisions in the months to come to balance the more than $1 Billion spending plan.
Current estimates on a budget shortfall have the City side of the budget with a $25 Million deficit, and the Board of Education with a $46 Million shortfall. The $71 Million budget hole, is totaled after the City increases property taxes by 2%, under the tax cap. These figures were included in a memo to state officials imploring Albany to provide more State Aid to Yonkers.
One important revenue source for Yonkers that is not proposed to increase in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget is AIM funding, or Aid and Incentives for Municipalities. After increasing for many years and reaching a peak of $135 Million for Yonkers in 2009, AIM funding has now decreased to $108.2 Million.
As Yonkers faces its upcoming budget cycle, Mayor Mike Spano and both the democratic and republican caucuses called on State Government, the Governor and both the State Assembly and Senate to increase AIM funding to help this year’s Yonkers budget.
“If the State had simply increased AIM funding by two percent every year since 2007 and kept it there, Yonkers would be getting $19 million more this year than we are,” said Mayor Spano. “Not coincidentally, that is just a few million short of this year’s City budget deficit.”
“The amount that Yonkers taxpayers send to Albany in the form of income and sales taxes has grown enormously over the years, but the amount we get back under AIM has remained the same,” said Spano. “A two percent increase every year would have avoided the layoffs and service reductions that are now possible in the upcoming City Budget.”
With the Senate and Assembly planning to enact their “one house” budget bills this week, Spano said he is urging them to increase AIM payments, at least to the State’s large cities which face financial stress. “It’s great that the State says its own spending increase is limited to two percent a year,” noted Spano, “But part of the reason they’ve done that is by not increasing payments to local governments. That’s a spending shift, not a spending limit.”
Spano noted that while the state budget has increased from $120.6 billion to $168 billion – a 40 percent increase, AIM funding has remained flat. “If AIM funding had increased as fast as the overall state budget we’d be getting $142 million this year,” noted Spano, “That’s nearly $35 million more than we are.” It’s fair to say that the City’s budget gap would be nonexistent if only the State had increased AIM consistent with inflation over the years. This state budget is a good time to begin correcting that situation.”
Democrats on the City Council, led by Council President Mike Khader also called for an increase in AIM funding this year. “The reality is that municipalities such as Yonkers are facing ever increasing financial demands to provide services. At the same time, the share of revenue that Yonkers taxpayers send to Albany every year has grown significantly recently, while the aid received back from the state has dropped significantly,” said Council President Khader in a statement.
Yonkers’ annual tax contribution to New York State has increased by close to 25 percent in the last five years, through personal income and sales taxes. “Although I recognize the myriad demands upon the Legislature as budget season approaches, I cannot stress enough how important funding for local governments is and will continue to be this budget season,” Khader noted. “Municipal governments serve on the frontlines of so many New Yorkers’ day to day wellbeing, from educating our students, to providing police and fire services, to collecting garbage. I urge the Legislature to recognize this, and restore and increase AIM funding in the forthcoming budget season.”
“The best investment government can make is the investment we make in our children,” added Councilwoman Corazon Pineda-Isaac. “An increase in AIM funding can significantly impact many children here in Yonkers and in turn have a continued positive impact in our city. It is our responsibility to make the smartest investments, but we need additional funding in order to do so. We need the State to give us our fair share.”
“The restoration of the AIM funding is very crucial to municipalities like Yonkers, and it has been far too long since this funding has met municipal needs, and we urge our state legislators to restore it to adequate levels as soon as possible,” said Democratic Majority Leader Michael Sabatino.
City Council Republicans were more vocal in their claim of Albany “shortchanging our resident,” over AIM funding. “I have served on the Yonkers City Council for six years now and during that time our AIM funding has remained flat at $108M. The state budget has grown, but our aid has remained flat. Where is our delegation and why have we not received more funding for our city?” asked Minority Leader, Mike Breen. “We cannot raise taxes more than 2% for a total of $6.6 million in new revenue, so what are we to do to close our expected budget gap?”
“Over the past five years, Yonkers has contributed $250 million more in tax revenue; however, the aid we have received back has remained flat. Additionally, over the past 10 years, the cost of living has increased by 19%; yet, the state finds it acceptable to keep our AIM funding at the same rate of $108 million for the past 8 years,” stated Councilman John Rubbo, who was sworn in this year 2018. “How can the State of New York possibly believe that it is ok to take more from Yonkers, but not increase our aid? Why does the State of New York force us to beg them year after year for a fair share of OUR money to be returned to OUR city? I do not want to see dozens of firefighters, police officers and teachers laid off because of the state’s careless attitude toward Yonkers,” added Rubbo.
“As a CPA, I must honestly say that the state’s math does not add up,” stated newly elected Councilman Anthony Merante. “New York State is still withholding more than $100 million in ‘Gap Elimination’ funding that they withheld from the City of Yonkers during the state’s difficult economic times. Well we want our money back,” stated Merante. “Our union labor force has raises coming this year. The cost of running our city is increasing this year, yet our delegation and the State of New York think that it is ok to keep our funding flat. This is unacceptable.”
Specifically, Council Republicans are calling on New York State to increase AIM funding this year by $34 Million to $142 Million.
Assembly member Shelley Mayer told Yonkers Rising that the one house Assembly budget bill does include an increase in AIM funding for Yonkers of $7.5 Million, or a 10% increase. Mayer noted that for several years, the Assembly has included AIM increases for Yonkers in their budgets, only to see it removed by both the State Senate and the Governor, in the final version of the State budget.
Mayor also added that the Assembly budget plan would increase educational foundation aid from the state by $863 for the entire state. How much Yonkers would see from that number is unknown. Cuomo’s budget calls for a 3% increase in State Education Aid, which would add up to about $12 Million more for the Yonkers Public Schools.
The final figures for the budget for the Yonkers Public Schools is still dependent on how much State Education Aid will be received, and what the Mayor includes in his budget proposal next month. YPS Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada did outline the school district’s budget challenges at a recent Board of Education meeting. Yonkers Rising will review the YPS budget, and the options that school board trustees will have to make, it the weeks to come
