ALBANY — The new state budget will jeopardize the ability of county governments to curb growth in local property taxes, the president of the New York State Association of Counties said Wednesday.
Michael Zurlo, who is also the Clinton County administrator, voiced disappointment with the $229 billion spending plan, saying it “engages in old Albany budget gimmicks that literally pass the buck onto local taxpayers.”
“Most significantly,” Zurlo added, “the budget undermines counties’ ability to control the growth of property taxes by pocketing federal Medicaid funding that has historically been shared with counties. These funds were championed by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and earmarked for local government taxpayers.”
Zurlo continued: “The state’s decision to intercept these funds is totally unnecessary and counterproductive. It will increase Medicaid costs for property taxpayers by hundreds of millions of dollars per year, plus a one-time loss of $1.6 billion of previously owed Medicaid savings that the State has decided to withhold indefinitely.”
The enacted fiscal blueprint is expected to jeopardize the ability of some counties to stay within the state’s property tax cap, though others, at least initially, will dip into their reserve funds rather than immediately moving to increase local property taxes, according to NYSAC.
According to Zurlo, the Medicaid cost shift tucked into the budget “undermines” decisions by previous governors, including the late Mario Cuomo, George Pataki, Eliot Spitzer, David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo “to rein in the impact on local property taxes associated with the state’s Medicaid program.”
The county governments, Zurlo noted, pump $8 billion to the state each year for the local share of Medicaid expenses, though they have no control over the program’s costs.
The initial proposal presented by Gov. Kathy Hochul would have been to impose the cost shift onto counties immediately. Lawmakers balked at that, and compromised in negotiations by having the shift phased in over three years.
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, D-Westchester County, told reporters this week she believes “most of the counties” can manage their obligations under the latest timetable for the shift.
On Wednesday, after the finishing touches were put on the spending plan, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-the Bronx, contended the budget will make New York “more affordable.“
“This budget will index the minimum wage to inflation, keep higher education within reach for New York’s students, make childcare more accessible, and invest in our transportation infrastructure and in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels,” Heastie said.
Hochul, meanwhile, went to Manhattan to promote amendments to the bail law that were approved as part of the budget deal. The provisions, sought by district attorneys, provide judges with more discretion to remand defendants arrested for serious and repeat offenses
Hochul took a partisan angle on what she billed as a key accomplishment.
“Individuals running next year for Congress on down can talk about how Democrats take public safety very seriously,” the Democratic governor said, adding: “This is not a Republican-owned issue. It’s something we’re the ones leading on. We’re the ones solving problems, not just standing on the sidelines taking potshots.”
Anthony Jordan, president of the District Attorneys Asocation of New York State and the Washington County district attorney, told CNHI the updated bail law “a step in the right direction.”
Jordan said Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams pushed for a change that addresses offender recidivism and violent crime. “We wanted to address the harm being done by people in their communities,” he said. “We wanted to equip judges with the ability to address the realities of recidivism and violence.”
Meanwhile, Hochul’s assertion that Democrats now lead on crime issues prompted state GOP Chairman Ed Cox to lash out at the governor, maintaining she has “her head in the sand” on public safety matters.
Cox called the bail changes “window dressing,” adding: “New York remains the only state in the nation where judges cannot make a bail decision based on the dangerousness of the defendant. Democrats failed to address the havoc the discovery rules have caused for prosecutors.”
The criminal justice debate is expected to extend into what lawmakers call the post-budget session, with some Democrats calling for enactment of a measure that would provide convicted felons with a “clean slate” by sealing their criminal records if they meet certain criteria.
The proposal is being promoted by advocates as a way to help those with criminal records gain employment, education and housing.