Griffo statement on most recent budget extender

“As the legislature passes yet another budget extender, New Yorkers continue to be left in the dark as the legislative majorities and governor negotiate a spending plan behind closed doors and away from public eyes.
 

Legislative leaders are not being transparent about the budget process and have used phrases that only keep New Yorkers guessing where things stand. For instance, the Assembly Speaker has used obscure metaphors such as ‘the train is going in the right direction, but maybe we are riding on the local track and not the express track’ when talking about negotiations and that ‘we might be in the same neighborhood, I don’t know if we’re on the same block yet’ regarding a potential housing deal. It appears that the Speaker is auditioning for the role of the Riddler in the next Batman movie rather than providing a direct and candid status of the late budget.

 
Then there is the governor who, while we wait for a budget, spent time this week in Western New York and the nation’s capital instead of being in the state’s capital to get a budget deal done.
 
New Yorkers do not want to hear about trains or some other ridiculous metaphor. They want concrete answers as to where negotiations stand, and they want a budget that is done on time. A late budget has real consequences for our schools, municipalities and hardworking state employees. Without an adopted spending plan, funding for critical state programs and services is in jeopardy.
 
This year’s budget process, lacking timely and good faith negotiations, highlights a return to dysfunction in Albany and further proves that one-party rule of state government is an abysmal failure. Over the last several years, we have seen excessive spending and misguided priorities and flawed policies that favor squatters over property owners, criminals over victims and illegal migrants over law-abiding citizens while New Yorkers and their families flee the state at an alarming rate.
 

New Yorkers deserve better. I will continue to fight to make New York safer, more affordable and a better place for all.”