Remarks Of Senate Majority Conference Leader John L. Sampson At Today's Public Budget Meeting

Thank you, Governor.  Mr. Speaker, Leader Kolb, Senator Skelos, good to see all of you again.

We need to cut more to balance the budget.

Usually, election year budgets are simple: no pain, no cuts, and spending goes up. That simply can’t happen this year, because New Yorkers can’t afford more election year politics.

We have proposed $5 billion in total cuts.

With $3.8 billion agreed-upon cuts, we still need to cut more, and I am ready to work with Assembly and the Executive to cut more in this budget.

The Senate Majority’s budget proposal cut over a billion dollars in state operations and a billion dollars in education. We cut hundreds of millions more in local governments, hospitals, and state workers.

These cuts are not popular and we didn’t want to have to make them.

Cutting things we care about may not be the best way to win an election, but this is the only way to balance our budget - smart cuts and tough choices in hard times.

We also need budget reforms.

I know there has been a lot of discussion about borrowing, how much, and what kind.  But whether or not we borrow, we need structural reforms.

We got into this mess because of bad choices and Albany math. For decades, pass-the-buck politics have led to an endless string of broken promises, increased spending, and higher taxes.

No more - the buck stops with us.

We need long-term financial planning, stricter accounting principles, and greater standards for accountability for State-financed programs and services.

That means performance based budgeting to justify every dime of spending; a Legislative Budget Office to take politics out of the budget; changing the fiscal year; and going to a GAAP system so expenditures match revenues.

And New Yorkers really need property tax relief.

School boards are meeting today to vote on budgets with money they might not have, and property taxes are sure to rise again.

Westchester now has the highest property taxes in the United States of America. 

Seven of the top ten counties in the country with the highest property taxes as a percentage of income are in Upstate and Western New York.

Every year, Albany says they’re going to do something and nothing gets done.  And then we wonder why voters are so angry.

Some will question how we can provide property tax relief now. I want to know how we cannot?

Middle income families are being crushed under the burden of higher property taxes, and we have to lighten the load.

We have put a number of proposals forward - including a circuit breaker, and we passed a property tax cap bill in the Senate. I hope we can continue negotiations reach common ground on a meaningful solution to this crisis. And I want to reiterate again our Conference position on how we must have property tax relief in this budget.

That’s why we need Conference Committees.

From the beginning of this budget season, I have called for a fair, responsible, and bipartisan budget.

Our proposed cuts have been deep and across the board.  It’s only fair to call for shared sacrifice. We have proposed our own budget reform package – because we believe we have to be responsible.

And we need a bipartisan public process around ideas, not political rhetoric, so taxpayers know we are looking at every option.

The budget is 48 days late, but we have had only one Conference Committee meeting.  But it’s time to stop talking about process and start working on a plan.

Today, I will be announcing the Senate Democrats’ assignments for subcommittee members to Conference Committees.  I would also like to request we hold another meeting of the General Conference Committee this Friday.

Taxpayers do not want to see any more partisanship; they want to see progress. For those who have said what we have not done, now is your chance to tell us what you will do. 

Three of the four conferences have put their plans forward – it’s time for everyone to move past rhetoric and attack and come up with real ideas to pass a fair, responsible and bipartisan budget.

Finally Governor, I want to talk about two areas of substance, the parks and Race to the Top.

In our last leaders meeting, you identified the parks as an area of significant consumer concern, and you expressed - as you did last year with the license plate issue - your willingness to restore park funding.

We know the economy is bad, and most New Yorkers will be taking a “staycation” instead of a vacation this year. Anything you can do to make parks funding a priority would be greatly appreciated.

If we get a budget, great, but if not, we’d like to request you put the parks funding in the next budget extender.

On Race to the Top – we need consensus by this Friday to pass a bill next Monday. That will give the State Education Department enough time to complete the application and complete the MOU process.

We will continue to negotiate in the area of education restorations – but we cannot lose sight of the need for a comprehensive plan to get the federal funds we need to improve educational outcomes in New York.

Thank you.