LEROYPENNYSAVER&NEWS - JANUARY 24, 2016
bySenatorRanzenhofer
January 2016
Governor Andrew Cuomo un-
veiled his Executive Budget last
week during a two-hour State of
theState address.
He advocated for his fiscal
plan, includingmanynew spend-
ing initiatives, in broad strokes.
A $3 billion project renovating
Penn Station and a $1 billion
Manhattan Convention Center
expansion were some of the
big-ticket items advanced during
the presentation.
Overall, the Governor recom-
mended an increase in spending
by$2.46billion. For thepast five
years, theStateBudget has limit-
ed spendinggrowth tobelow two
percent, saving taxpayers $23
billion. This fiscally responsible
practice should continue for this
year’s budget.
As the Governor outlined the
Executive Budget proposal, he
was somewhat vague on how to
pay for the entire financial plan.
My Senate colleagues and I will
start the process of breaking
down the numbers soon. It is so
important to review all of the fi-
nancial details, as well as figure
out exactly howmany State tax
dollars shouldbe allocated.
He also shared ideas on a vari-
ety of legislative issues, includ-
ing infrastructure investments,
help for small businesses and
education funding.
The Governor talked about
infrastructure improvements for
UpstateNewYork. Iwill be tak-
ing a closer look to ensure Up-
state receives an equal amount
of funding as downstate’s Met-
ropolitan TransportationAuthor-
ity did last year. As I have said
in the past, our crumbling roads
andbridges have beenput on the
backburner for too long.
Another proposal would pro-
vide as much as $300million in
tax relief for small businesses.
While I am encouraged by the
emphasis on tax relief, it does
not go far enough to really help
the private sector.
His proposal should serve
as a starting point. It should be
supplemented by eliminating
burdensome, outdated regula-
tions. Since2011,wehavemade
strides to help smaller employ-
ers, but there is still a lot ofwork
to be done– in an effort tomake
it easier to run a business and
create jobs inNewYorkState.
For education funding, he
outlined a phase-out of the Gap
Elimination Adjustment (GEA)
budget cuts over a period of two
years. I havebeen stronglyadvo-
cating to get rid of the GEA for
years now. We must eliminate
theGEA this year.
The time is overdue to end the
GEA’s devastating impact on
funding forour schools.Abolish-
ing the GEAwill finally restore
millions of dollars in State Aid
to our schools and build a better
future for our children.
Finally, our budget priorities
should be passing an on-time
budget, for the sixth consecu-
tiveyear,whichkeeps our strong
economy growing, rejects any
new taxes andcontrols spending.
I look forward to listening to
feedback from Western New
Yorkers. I will be sure to keep
you posted on important budget
developments.
ProcessOfReviewingDetails
OfExecutiveBudget
Proposal Begins
LeRoyCentral School District
Universal Pre-Kindergarten
InformationalMeeting
Wed., February3rd
6:00pm
Wolcott Street School Auditorium
Some Important InformationAbout UPK
•An“eligiblechild” isachild residing in theLeRoyDistrict
andwhowill be4 years oldonor beforeDecember 1,
2016. If the student will be 5 years oldbeforeDecem-
ber 1, 2016, theyare
not
eligible for theprogram.
•Sessionswillbeheld forhalf
days:9:00-11:30am (morn-
ing session) and 12:15-2:45
pm (afternoon session).
•For more information vis-
it
lick
on Wolcott Street School
and then go to Universal
Pre-Kindergarten in the
left hand column or call
Mrs. Messura, Wolcott
Street School Principal at
768-7115.
1/27
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