I’m currently in Albany testifying before state lawmakers about the importance of giving New York City its fair share in the budget process. Here’s the testimony I just delivered.
Good afternoon Chairman Farrell, Chairman DeFrancisco, and members of the Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees. My name is Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., and I am chairman of the New York City Council’s Finance Committee. It is an honor to be here with Speaker Christine Quinn, Council Member Helen Diane Foster, Chair of the State and Federal Legislation Committee, and Council Member Robert Jackson, Chair of the Education Committee, to testify about the 2011-2012 Executive Budget, and its impact on New York City.
I want to start off by saying that I agree with and applaud Governor Cuomo for recognizing that in tough times, tough decisions need to be made. There is no easy fix in this economic climate; not in the state, and not in the city. That being said, I believe this budget takes too much from New York City in the form of financial support, and in its current state will severely impact our ability to deliver a balanced budget. I have four specific points of concern.
The first is the elimination of New York City’s revenue sharing aid, which amounts to $300 million. The argument has been made that this money should be cut because we generate revenue through local taxes. We also generate a massive amount of tax revenue for the state. By offering aid to every municipality except New York City, it sends a bad message, that the tax revenue collected from residents of the five boroughs isn’t valued or appreciated. While $300 million may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of the budget, it’s vital funding we can use to keep people employed.
Second, the proposed cuts to education – $891 million for foundation aid and $62 million for special education – are absolutely devastating, and will hurt our ability to educate our children. We can’t give them the tools they need to compete in a global economy if we are taking resources away from the classroom. Giving them the support they need is one of the best investments we can make in the future of our economy. In addition, our city agencies have been cut to the bone and we’ve reached a critical point where our only option to save money will be to lay off members of school staff. Our classrooms are already overcrowded, and laying off teachers and paraprofessionals will only worsen this problem. In addition, we’ve already lost a large number of school aides, and we can’t afford to lose any more. These positions are vital to our educational system.
Third, as Speaker Quinn pointed out in her testimony, this budget eliminates our ability to use part of our Title XX funding to support the Department of Aging, and would result in cuts to that agency of up to $25 million. That would force us to close nearly a third of our senior centers. New York City’s seniors rely on these centers on a daily basis for socializing, and for receiving important services like health care support and nutritional care. Last year we consolidated our system of senior centers by closing those that were poorly attended or poorly run. This time around, we will have no choice but to close our better centers, denying our seniors a wide range of important services.
Finally, I am concerned about how cuts to Medicaid will impact Health and Hospitals Corporation facilities, Safety Net Hospitals and clinics, which are serving high-need areas in the outer boroughs where residents are in dire need of access to health care. Many of these hospitals and facilities will be forced to cut routine patient care services, and hospitals where a large number of patients are covered by Medicaid could be at risk of closure. In addition, some of these proposed cuts are going to impact our ability to deliver services to the mentally ill, a population that needs our support. Moving forward, I believe the Medicaid Redesign Team should be aware of these issues, and should work toward addressing them. Otherwise, I fear this could be the beginning of a health care crisis in New York City.
While the city and state have separate budget processes, we rise and fall together. A healthy city encourages a healthy state, and vice versa. I understand this is the beginning of the process, and I also understand that no one is going get everything they want. That’s the reality of these economic times. But I hope you will take a long, hard look at this proposal to ensure that New York City receives its fair share.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today, and I look forward to working together toward a budget that is fair and balanced for all New Yorkers. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
