THE ASSEMBLY ALBANY OFFICE oom st Lega Ofea Bulan STATE OF NEW YORK ‘bay Nore tau Sloss one AeA a oistmcr oFrice Dues Site Ose Busting srrweshigen Seat Suta10 anKc waLcove, "waterown, Newer 13501 assameiyman He" set Bisrenczes 4 sarewuTe oFFice ‘3 Femingon Avena, Sule ‘Canton hen ore $387 Sisase ane? eva February 13, 2019 waleryknyassembly oy Honorable Andrew Cuomo New York State Capitol Building Executive Chamber Albany, NY 12224 ‘Dear Governor Cuomo: We write to you in regard to @ glaring omission in your Executive Budget proposal which may have a crippling impact on the ability of local governments in Northern New York to provide essential services to those who call this beautiful area home. Across St, Lawrence and Jefferson counties, Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) funding plays an essential role in allowing villages and towns to provide necessary services that residents rely on every day. Under the current proposal, you have opted to eliminate $49 million in AIM funds for Towns and Villages across the state. This drastic funding cut would have a devastating effect on local governments, leaving them to make difficult choices when it comes to balancing respective budgets and reducing or eliminating services they provide for their communities. Rural municipalities will especially feel the pinch, because they've already worked hard to stretch what little tax revenue that’s brought in. While we understand you have a number of priorities in the state’s spending plan that also eserve attention and adequate investment, we cannot stress enough the importance of fully funding AIM. In the coming months, we look forward to working with you to restore AIM to at least FY 18-19 levels and ensure that local governments continue to deliver essential services to residents throughout Northern New York. Without the restoration of this funding, these cuts would damage the pursuit of happiness for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. ©) Prine on reycted paper.Finally, as you explore ways to make government more efficient, I'd like to personally invite you to come to Northem New York and Learns what shared services look like from the ground level. Towns and Villages have been sharing services for decades, without pressure from Albany. ‘Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. Should you need anything additional or desire fo discuss other ways to keep New York~and especially the Front Yard of America-a great place to live, work and raise a family, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Mark Walczyk (Assemblyman, Front Yard of America) ‘Joe Butler (Mayor, City of Watertown) ‘Wayne Ashley (Mayor, City of Ogdensburg) Barbara Lashua (Mayor, Village of Heuvelton) Molly Riley (Mayor, Village of Sackets Harbor) Matt Montroy (Mayor, Village of Philadelphia) Mike Dalton (Mayor, Village of Canton) Tim Levison (Mayor, Village of Norwood) Michael Hammond (Mayor, Village of Rensselear Falls) Norma Zimmer (Mayor, Village of Clayton) Steve Mecauly (Mayor, Village of Glen Park) Pat Connor (Mayor, Village of Brownville) James Eves (Mayor, Village of Dexter) Robert Desantis (Mayor, Village of Antwerp) Reinhold Tischler (Mayor, Village of Potsdam) Jerry Golden (Mayor, Village of Cape Vincent) Valerie Rust (Mayor, Village of Chaumont) Steven Jarvis (Mayor, Village of Alexandria Bay) John Walker (Mayor, Village of Theresa) Brent Sweet (Supervisor, Town of Alexandria) Alex Hammond (Supervisor, Town of Waddington) Steve O'Shaughnessy (Supervisor, Town of Massena) Mary Ann Ashley (Supervisor, Town of Canton) Scott Aubertine (Supervisor, Town of Lyme) Frank Putnam (Supervisor, Town of Morristown) Kevin Rarcik (Supervisor, Town of Orleans) Steve Marcinowski (Supervisor, Town of Theresa) John Shaw (Supervisor, Town of Antwerp) Timothy Scee(Supervisor, Town of Hounsfield) Cheryl Horton (Supervisor, Town of Philadelphia) Scott Allen (Supervisor, Town of Pamelia)Lance Peterson, Sr. (Deputy Supervisor, Town of Clayton) Alfred Nichols (Supervisor, Town of Oswegatchie) ‘Ann Carvill (Supervisor, Town of Potsdam) Larry Legault (Supervisor, Town of Lousiville) Edward Bender (Supervisor, Town of Cape Vincent) Harry Turnbull (Supervisor, Town of Rosie) James Armstrong (Supervisor, Town of Lisbon) George Blatchley (Supervisor, Town of Macomb) Irene Hargrave (Supervisor, Town of Depeyster)