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ALBANY – County Executives from across the state met Monday night with Governor Hochul at the New York State Association of Counties Legislative Conference.
The Governor praised the Executive’s for their work, especially in regards to their collaboration with their county Health Departments to combat the pandemic.
Hochul also assured the group that the State budget would be released as quickly as possible, so that local leaders can allocate their funds.
“And so within a few weeks, we’re working very hard to get it done by the end of the month and to give you the certainty. And why that’s so important to me, as a local official I remember trying to do our town budgeting and we would not know whether there was any aid at all coming from the state sometimes until June, July, August,” recalls Hochul.
Though the entire budget is yet to be finalized, the Governor listed some of the big ticket items coming through state funding. This includes the return of Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) money that was cut by $59 million in the 2019 – 2020 budget.
$538 million will be invested in the CHIPs Program, as well as $100 million for state touring roads and $150 million for Pave New York.
“So, I know that as a former local official we’re about the only people who get real excited about storm sewers and water lines, what’s happening with the stuff that nobody else sees,” admits Hochul. “But we obsess about this because we know that’s one of our responsibilities, is to ensure that it all functions so people don’t have to think about water lines, sewer lines, infrastructure, and the roads and bridges that have been neglected for so, so long. We’re going to go at them and help you have the resources and we’ll partner with you to get that done.”
In addition to the infrastructure funding, the state also plans to help municipalities with social programs, including cybersecurity.
“This is something because we’re interconnected: You sustain an attack on your system, either through the DMV or Real Property Services, there’s ways that you are connected to the State system,” explains the Governor. “So we also have a motive to make sure that you’re protected as well. So I opened up a cybersecurity facility in New York City. But I said, let’s give money to the local county governments so they can help build their infrastructure as well to protect against attacks, especially in this vulnerable time.”
Hochul is also promising $10 billion to rebuild the healthcare system, a weak spot made clear during the pandemic. The state plans to recruit and train workers, as well as assist with tuition, to assure that there is never as dire of a shortage.
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