The Erie County Legislature unanimously passed a resolution urging Governor Cuomo to fully fund Erie County Towns and Villages as promised through ‘Aid and Incentives to Municipalities’ funding in the 2019 budget.

According to the State Comptroller’s office, because of how the state re-wrote the law during this year's budget, it doesn't have the legal authority to disburse already allocated money to towns and villages in counties with control boards, including Erie and Nassau Counties. Between the 24 towns in Erie County $3.4 million would be missing if the money is not there.

Legislator Lorigo said, “This is another mistake out of Albany that will hurt our local municipalities. Altogether, the towns and villages in Erie County stand to lose 3.4 million dollars without AIM funding. We are urging the Governor and State Comptroller’s office to figure out a plan that gets these towns and villages the money they were promised.”

Legislator Mills said, “AIM funding is an important piece of many of our local municipalities' budgets. Without it, towns and villages in my legislative district and all of Erie County will suffer. The appropriate parties must work together to get this resolved as soon as possible.”

Legislator Rath said, “Towns and villages are already struggling to keep up with unfunded mandates, and this just adds to the frustration. AIM funding is a critical component of helping the towns and villages we represent provide valuable services. This is something our leadership in Albany needs to fix immediately.”

Legislator Dixon said, “Without the appropriate amount of funding, many towns and villages throughout Erie County will suffer. Programs and services residents rely on will risk being cut. I hope this situation will be addressed before the December 15 budget deadline so our municipalities will receive the funds they are entitled to.”

A copy of the resolution can be viewed here.