Letter: Cuomo's Budget Plan Cuts Aid To Putnam Towns, Villages

The governor’s budget proposal cuts AIM (Aid and Incentives to Municipalities) by $60 million, affecting more than 90% of towns and villages across New York State.

The new state fiscal year is scheduled to begin April 1st. Towns and villages have already passed their local budgets based on AIM funding remaining flat since 2011. AIM helps local governments with property taxes, provides vital local services such as law enforcement and public safety and helps to maintain local infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Our towns and villages now face potential loss of funding just a few months into their fiscal year.

For example, funding loss within Putnam County:

• Putnam Valley - $41,066 cut
• Nelsonville - $3,343 cut
• Brewster - $11,560 cut
• Cold Spring - $16,537 cut
• Patterson - $31,779 cut
• Phillipstown - $33,820 cut
• Southeast - $45,592 cut
• Kent - $58,361 cut
• Carmel - $140,362 cut

Contact the senate majority leader, assembly speaker and your assemblyperson and senator. Tell them to reject the governor’s budget proposal which will hurt local towns throughout the state.

William Gouldman
Putnam County Legislator
District # 2