State budget fails affordability test

If you were to ask the people running the show up in Albany about this year’s budget and legislative session, they would tell you that New York’s problems have been solved.

Unfortunately, the state’s $270 billion budget, an increase of $90 billion since the Democrats took over the chamber, as well as every lever of power in state government, fails to adequately address many of the issues residents across The Lower Hudson Valley and across New York State, are facing.

New York continues to rank among the highest in overall tax burden at 13.56%. We are in the top 10 (and this is not an honor) in each of the following: individual tax burden (1st), property tax (4th), number of state regulations (2nd) at 298,804, residential electricity rate (6th), commercial electricity rate (7th), median home price ($586,400), health insurance premiums (5th), auto insurance rates (1st), and childcare for toddlers (9th).

Not only did this year’s state budget fail miserably to address the concerns of New Yorkers, but it was also the latest it has been since 2010, which is the last time Democrats controlled both houses in the state Legislature as well as the governor’s mansion. Our state constitution mandates that the budget be passed on April 1 of each year. It took Sen. Pete Harckham and his colleagues nearly two months and 15 budget extenders to accomplish something they were supposed to have completed, by statute.

Many of the senators who control Albany openly stated that it was better to have a good budget later than a bad budget on time. This is simply ridiculous and points to one of the many root problems plaguing Albany. The rest of the world is required to meet its obligations on time and to the best of its ability. If you don’t, you fail. I know this because, as a small business owner, I am required to produce good work on time, not just when I can get around to it.

There are real world implications affecting a late state budget, especially one as late as this year’s. Local highway departments that depend on the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) funding were left in the dark about their overall level of support and whether projects they identified would be able to move forward this year or be put off until such time that money was properly provided.

Most importantly, our school districts struggled to put together their own budgets for their voters to approve. In fact, several school districts in our area voted down their budget as a direct result of the state’s failure to provide their superintendents and school boards with the exact level of support they would be receiving from the state. Though many of these districts passed their budgets at recent revotes, that never should have happened; it could have, and should have, been avoided.

Students, parents, teachers and school district officials don’t deserve to see their future funding cast into limbo because Albany can’t get its act together and meet its own obligations.

In addition to this budget being extremely late and forcing local governments and school districts to wait on the governor and her colleagues in the legislature, it fails to adequately address the affordability crisis plaguing the state. The energy rebate checks voters will be receiving this fall are capped at an insulting $200 per household. Not only is that not enough to make up for the ridiculous increases in utility costs that people throughout the state and Senate District 40 have identified as an issue since last year, but it also isn’t even enough for most families to pay for their groceries. Residents need real relief, not an election year payoff pretending to be a solution for rate payers.

On utility costs, what Albany fails to tell the residents of the 40th Senate District is that the biggest reason for their paying more for electricity and gas is the state’s closure of Indian Point, which was supported by most Democrats, and was done both hastily and irresponsibly. Since its closure, the rates paid by residents of the lower Hudson Valley and New York City have increased dramatically. To make matters worse, and in a twist of irony, it has made our air dirtier, forcing gas-fueled peaker plants to fire more often than they did when Indian Point was operational.

Moreover, we now import a bulk of our energy from Canada. And the loss of the 1,000 good-paying jobs that were at Indian Point, which the senator celebrates by way of his continued advocacy for the plant’s closure, as well as the revenue the region has lost due to it, has compounded the issues being faced by residents throughout the region. Prior to the plant’s closure, the Hendrick Hudson School District received an annual Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) of around $25 million from Indian Point, which accounted for about 25% of the district’s operating budget. So, the $2 million that the super majority in Albany celebrates to “offset” what the Democrat Super Majority in state government have created, falls well short of what the district, its students and the residents of the district require.

As it pertains to transportation, Albany voted to decrease funding for Commuter Rails by $109.5 million. So, at a time when the MTA is unable to balance its own budget and prevent fare evasion, the folks up in Albany decided that the best thing to do was put more pressure on the residents of the 40th Senate District by removing funding from something they use, which could potentially lead to fare increases to residents throughout the region.

But I am UNHAPPY to report that there are winners. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took the state for $28 billion, including a direct, no-strings-attached $695 million bailout from the state. Other cities receiving “no-obligations” handouts include: Buffalo ($55 million), Yonkers ($40 million), Albany ($40 million), Rochester ($20 million), Syracuse ($20 million), Mt. Vernon ($10 million), and Auburn ($2 million). Typically, the state requires a monitor when handing out this type of money to poorly run localities. But, since the mayors and city councils of these cities are all friendly to the legislature and Governor Hochul, that requirement has been waived.

Make no mistake about it. This budget, like previous budgets, has failed the people of the state and the 40th Senate District. New Yorkers continue to be forced to decide between paying their sky-rocketing utility bill or for their groceries. Failure to address the needs of already struggling residents while rewarding their government buddies only seeks to compound the issues real New Yorkers are experiencing each and every day, and it will unfortunately force them, as it has already, to the brink. The new state budget WILL NOT save our residents money and has truly made life more unaffordable and for this reason, and so many others, it’s time for new, practical, sensible leadership in Albany.

Sergio Esposito is a candidate for New York's 40th State Senate District in November.