WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley speaks with State Senator George Borrello about his reaction to the 2024 State Budget.

George Borrello

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley speaks with Assemblyman Andy Goodell about the recently passed 2024 State Budget and his legislative agenda for the remainder of the session.

Andy Goodell

JPS Finance and Budget Director Brittnay Spry presents proposed 2023-24 school budget at public hearing (May 9, 2023)

The Jamestown Public Schools District has made its final presentation on the proposed $101 million 2023-24 budget ahead of the budget vote on May 16.

The budget has no tax levy increase and a 16.5% increase in State Foundation Aid. Because the increase is over 10%, the district was required to submit a Foundation Aid Plan to the state for how that money would be spent. That plan can be viewed at jpsny.org.

Finance and Budget Director Brittnay Spry said Governor Kathy Hochul‘s proposed set aside in Foundation Aid for use for High Impact Tutoring was rejected by the State Legislature. Had that been passed the district would have been mandated to use $900,000 in foundation aid toward tutoring.

The budget does include the hiring of 18 new teachers, most of whom will staff new Student Support Centers. A new Assistant Principal for Fletcher Elementary School is proposed as well given that Fletcher has the second highest student enrollment in the district, only behind the High School.

Besides the budget, a proposition will also be on the ballot to fund a new Capital Improvement Reserve Fund with up to $5 million.

The vote on the budget, capital improvement reserve fund proposition, and school board candidates will take place Tuesday, May 16 between 12:00 and 9:00 p.m. People may go to Jefferson or Washington Middle Schools; or Lincoln Elementary School to vote.

For more information on the budget and school board candidates, visit jpsny.org

Starting January 1, 2024, minimum wage will increase to $16 in New York City and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester, and to $15 in all other parts of the State. In 2025 and 2026, the minimum wage will increase by an additional $0.50 in each year, after which the State’s minimum wage would increase at a rate determined by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Northeast Region.

The New York Farm Bureau said in a statement they remain, “…deeply concerned over the additional increase of the state’s minimum wage. If a farm cannot compete in the marketplace or make ends meet, nothing else will ultimately matter. This could negatively impact our farm employees, future job creation, and local food production. We ask our leaders to look for additional ways to offset mounting labor costs as the new minimum wage will keep increasing in the coming years along with inflation.”

The Farm Bureau did celebrate the inclusion of the Refundable Investment Tax Credit in the budget, which was a priority for the agency. They said the credit will be a “boon for farms looking to expand, diversify, or upgrade their businesses over the next five years. It is one of the biggest investments the state has made into New York agriculture in years.”

Highlights in the state budget related to agriculture include $2 million for community garden programming and a $10 million grant program to support the establishment of farm markets, supermarkets, food cooperatives, and other similar retail food stores, along with supporting infrastructure in underserved communities and regions of the State.

The budget provides $50 million over five years to local school districts to support cooking facilities. The School Food Infrastructure Grant Program will provide the resources schools need to aggregate, store, process, and prepare farm products, and make it possible to cook fresh, nutritious homemade meals on-site for school children.

The Farm Bureau also said they were grateful for the additional $1 million in the Environmental Protection Fund to assist Soil and Water Conservation Districts carry out important assistance to farmers, landowners, and municipalities.

New York State Capitol

After a month and a day late, New York State finally has a 2024 budget.

The State Legislature finished passing budget bills late Tuesday night for the $229 billion spending plan.

Governor Kathy Hochul was successful in getting changes to bail reform that expands bail consideration for judges.

However, her Housing Compact plan was put on the back burner for further post-budget discussion.

The approved budget also includes more than $34 billion increase in school aid. Jamestown Public Schools will receive $9.5 million more in foundation aid, for total state aid funding of $83,706,514.

New York State of Polictics reports the budget will raise the minimum wage in Upstate New York to $16 in 2026 and index the base pay to the rate of inflation.

The budget does not raise the personal income tax.

A planned ban on natural gas hookups in new construction also passed.

State Senator George Borrello issued a statement calling the budget a “bad budget” that ignores affordability and public safety. On the bail reform change, Borrello said, “The promised changes are nothing but a shell game that will do nothing to reverse the tide of rising crime. Ninety percent of crimes are still not eligible for bail. Judges still do not have the discretion they need to hold dangerous individuals, despite rewording of the ‘least restrictive’ standard.”

Governor Kathy Hochul announces tentative deal on state budget (April 27, 2023)

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a tentative deal on the 2024 State Budget.

According to reports by WXXI, Hochul called the news conference after Senate and Assembly members left the Capitol for the weekend, saying that there were too many unresolved issues to approve a spending plan this week.

The governor said in a release that she had reached an agreement with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins on the budget plan

Hochul announced adjustments will be made to the state’s current bail laws. The governor said judges will have more authority to set bail and detain dangerous defendants. The agreement that has been reached removes the least restrictive means standard and gives judges discretion to hold violent criminals accountable.

The budget also includes $40 million for public defenders to retain staff and enhance their services. Assigned attorneys will receive a pay increase for the first time in two decades.

The state plans to invest in violence prevention, including $36 million to Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE), increasing stabilization units for the New York State Police, and $40 million to district attorneys.

The state would raise the minimum wage. Starting next year, the minimum wage would rise to $15 in Upstate New York, with additional 50 cent increases in 2025 and 2026 to bring it to $17 by 2027. Future increases would be tied to the rate of inflation.

The budget also appears to include a ban on natural gas in new buildings and funding for free meals for school children.

The next step in the budget process is for the bills to be printed, so that state lawmakers can vote on them. The budget was due April 1.

That’s according to Governor Kathy Hochul in comments to news media on Tuesday.

The budget was originally due April 1.

State lawmakers and Hochul are continuing to discuss issues that would enable the state to address the sale of illegal cannabis sales in the state as well as expand charter schools in New York City.

The budget is expected to include a ban on new natural gas hookups by 2026 in new construction in the state.

Hochul said on Tuesday the measure was necessary to address climate change.

Meanwhile, New York State Republican legislators are celebrating a Federal court ruling Tuesday in California that said Berkeley, California’s ordinance banning natural gas hookups in new buildings is preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act.

Officials have previously agreed to changes to New York’s cashless bail law that would provide judges with more discretion in setting bail for criminal case.

Hochul’s housing plan was rejected by lawmakers, but she said she wants to continue pushing elements of it after the budget is given final approval in the remaining weeks of the session.

Lawmakers and Hochul also have tentative deals for increasing the state’s minimum wage to $17 an hour in the coming years and funding universal free school meals.

New York State Capitol

The New York State Legislature passed a third budget extender Monday.

The three-day extension is to ensure state operations continue undisrupted as negotiations over the spending plan continue.

The budget was originally due April 1.

Governor Kathy Hochul and lawmakers are still trying to reach an agreement on changes to the state’s bail law, a housing plan and other policy issues the governor had included in her budget proposal.

A key sticking point has been Hochul’s proposed changes that would give judges more discretion on setting bail for violent felonies. Liberal lawmakers have resisted further changes to the state’s bail law.

Lawmakers must pass another extender Thursday if a state budget isn’t finalized by then.

Tom DiNapoli

New York State collected $2.9 billion more in tax income in 2022 than forecasted, but still made less than in 2021.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released a report Monday that had tax collections for the last fiscal year totaling $111.7 billion. This is higher than what the Division of Budget forecasted but $9.5 billion lower than the 2021-22 budget year.

DiNapoli said the decline was primarily due to a decline in Personal Income Tax (PIT) receipts resulting from a variety of factors including: a decline in year-end bonuses in the financial services industry, claiming of credits related to the Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET), the acceleration of the final phase-in of the middle-class tax rate cuts, and financial market volatility over the course of 2022.

Sales tax collections totaled $20.6 billion, exceeding the prior year total by $964 million or 4.9%. Business tax collections totaled $28.6 billion which was $891.8 million higher than the previous year, reflecting a 24.6% increase.

He said that state policy makers should ensure that the state budget committs additional resources to the state’s reserve funds to improve long-term financial stability.

DiNapoli said, “While tax collections have exceeded projections, they were considerably lower than last year. Although easing, inflation continues to present challenges to economic growth. State policy makers should ensure that the enacted budget for State Fiscal Year 2023-24 commits additional resources to the state’s reserve funds to improve long-term financial stability.”

The report is being released as a state budget for the current fiscal year remains unresolved.

Nick Langworthy

Congressman Nick Langworthy has introduced legislation to prevent New York State from clawing back federal funds meant for counties.

The “Protect Local Taxpayers Act” is in response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s Budget Proposal that would claw back $625 million in Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funds that have been designated to counties since 2011. Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) and Congressman Brandon Williams (NY-22) are co-sponsors of this bill.

The act will prevent state governments from further shifting state Medicaid expenses onto local county governments.

New York’s per capita spending on Medicaid is the highest in the U.S. and more than double the national average. The county share of Medicaid is currently $7.6 billion per year and, if Hochul’s plan moves forward, Langworthy said counties in the 23rd congressional district will face a budget shortfall in the tens of millions. The impact to Chautauqua County would be $4 million.

Langworthy said in a statement, “These federal funds are dedicated specifically to help cover local government’s costs, not to be used for Kathy Hochul’s slush fund.” He added, “We need to stand up in Congress and tell the Governor she can’t raid these federal funds.”