Last week, the Erie County Legislature unanimously approved a resolution in support of urging Governor Cuomo to restore Aid to Municipalities (AIM) funding to local towns and villages.

As part of his proposed budget, the governor plans to eliminate AIM funding for 54 of the 57 towns and villages in the Buffalo Niagara region. AIM funding is typically used to fund important services communities rely on, such as programs for youth and seniors and infrastructure repairs.

Legislator Joe Lorigo said, “These cuts will hurt almost every community in Western New York. At a time when taxes are already high, our towns and villages could be forced to raise them even higher. We are urging Governor Cuomo direct AIM funding back to our local municipalities where it belongs.”

Legislator Ed Rath said, “This loss in municipal aid from Albany is unacceptable. Overall, the district I represent stands to lose roughly $850,000, which is a critical source of funding for providing services and covering the cost of unfunded mandates. Our resolution is sending a message to Governor Cuomo that this funding must be re-instated to support our communities.”

Legislator John Mills said, “If AIM funding is not re-instated, municipalities could be forced to cut the many programs and services residents rely on. This puts our local town and village supervisors in a very difficult position when it comes to determining their budgets. Our region needs Governor Cuomo to re-direct this funding back to our communities.”

Legislator Lynne Dixon said, “Overall, Erie County would lose out on 3.7 million dollars. This is a huge sum of money that many of our towns and villages can’t afford to lose, especially when they are already faced with high taxes. We are hopeful our resolution will join others in sending a message that this funding needs to be allocated back to our local municipalities.”

A copy of the resolution can be found here.