Column by Senator Bill Larkin

New York Has Turned The Corner

It’s official, New York has turned the corner!

For the second year in a row we have an on-time budget that recognizes the need to maximize taxpayer dollars by doing more with less.  Now, hardworking New Yorker’s will be able to keep more money in their pockets because the budget:

• Doesn’t raise taxes
• Doesn’t increase state spending
• Provides over $3 billion in savings for Orange, Ulster and Rockland counties to lower property taxes

But this year’s budget goes even beyond reigning in the state’s old tax and spend ways. The real success is that it does this while keeping government’s commitment to the people. Some highlights demonstrating this commitment include:

• Maintaining and repairing Hudson Valley’s roads and bridges with $158 million in funds for the region
• Restoring $30 million to the EPIC program to help fixed-income seniors afford their prescription drugs
• Initiating ‘NY Works’ to create thousands of jobs rebuilding the state’s highways and bridges
• Allocating $450 million to benefit hospitals across the state
• Rebuilding local economies with $500 million in award funding through the Regional Council
• Improving transportation by adding $770 million to the MTA’s operating money and increasing their capital fund by $7 billion for a total of $13 billion in the current 5 year plan

New Yorkers’ know what it means to have to tighten their belts and live within their means. For a second straight year, our government is now doing the same. With another on-time, fiscally responsible budget, Albany is proving it can get the results we deserve, while providing the efficiency and accountability we need.