Just a week after her State of the State address, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) has unveiled her budget for the 2025 fiscal year.
New York has a unique budget-crafting process compared to other states. While other states employ the legislature to create a budget for the governor’s approval or rejection, New York not only allows policy to be interwoven with budgetary measures, but also allows the governor outsized influence in developing the package.
The $223 billion budget is nearly a 5% increase from last year’s.
“This will be a $233 billion budget, accomplished without raising income taxes,” said Hochul. “And today, New Yorkers will learn about how we’re presenting a solid, balanced budget without cuts or added burdens.”
According to the governor’s office, the state brought in $2.2 billion more than expected in tax returns, which the state has designated as a “surplus.” $1.7 billion will go to pre-payments for the 2025 fiscal year, and $500 million will go to state reserves to help with the migrant crisis.
However, a massive critique of the budget is the massive cut to local school districts, which would necessitate property tax increases for residents.
Almost two dozen districts across Suffolk are slated to lose their funding. In the Smithtown, Brookhaven, Islip areas, such districts include: Three Village, Port Jefferson, Mount Sinai, Center Moriches, East Moriches, South Country, Islip, East Islip, Sayville, Bayport-Blue Point, Connetquot, West Islip, Smithtown, Kings Park, and Eastport-South Manor.
The Messenger reached out to local elected officials for their reactions to the budget’s provisions.
Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), and Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) received a joint statement on the cutting of school district funding, while also spending $2.4 billion on the “self-inflicted migrant crisis.”
“It is shameful for Governor Hochul to propose a state budget with draconian cuts to over forty Long Island school districts while providing billions to pay for the ongoing migrant crisis. Implementing these debilitating spending cuts without addressing the underlying issue of sanctuary policies is a slap in the face to the taxpayers of New York,” the Congressman stated. “Long Island students should not have to pay the price for our state’s failures. If the Governor wants to put our students last, then Albany must act immediately to right this injustice.”
Assemblyman Joe DeStefano (R-Medford) of the Third District told The Messenger his approvals and disapprovals of the budget.
“It’s a positive development to see the governor finally addressing concerns that Republicans have been highlighting for years such as crime, affordability, and outmigration,” said DeStefano. “With a spending plan that she continues to increase every year—one we are already unable to afford—the outmigration trend will negatively affect our economy and our state in drastic ways. The governor’s plan to not increase personal income or business taxes is an attempt to stem population exodus, so we’ll have to pay close attention to see if this does the job.”
However, DeStefano pans the governor’s largest-in-state-history budget, with, what he says, “no plan to pay off our accruing multi-billion-dollar debt.” DeStefano also mentioned the migrant crisis and her “continued push for her housing proposal continue to threaten our communities.”
“Governor Hochul dipped into our state’s reserves once again to increase funding for the migrant crisis that she and her colleagues enabled,” he said. “The budget now includes billions of dollars for migrant housing, fulfilling her housing-plan fantasies she would otherwise be robbed of.”
DeStefano said he “would like to see more support for our local governments, public safety, and crime. Hochul can acknowledge that New Yorkers don’t feel safe, yet we still have cashless bail policies and fail to give our law enforcement enough support. Our first responders deserve more support, taxpayers deserve more control over their communities, and the rise in crime needs to finally end.”
Over issues DeStefano said he would be willing to delay passage of the budget for, he mentioned the migrant crisis.
“We are talking about providing free healthcare, housing, legal services, documentation, and more to the same people who broke our nation’s immigration laws. Taxpayers never signed up to raise a migrant, especially now when the cost of living has skyrocketed, and we have citizens sleeping on the streets. Where’s the common sense in that?”
Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James) of the Second District said that the budget is a “massively bloated plant that fails Long Island and our families.”
“At an unbelievable $233 billion, this budget is a whopping 4% larger than last year and somehow it still manages to penalize our children by decreasing school aid for schools deemed by Governor Hochul as being able to handle the hit,” said Mattera. “The cuts in education aid will result in either cuts in programs for our children or massive increases for our homeowners. This will negatively impact our students, our teachers and our families and it is not acceptable.”
“That loss of education aid for those selected by Governor Hochul is being reprioritized to pay for ongoing migrant fiasco – a cost of $2.4 billion,” Mattera continues. “Long Island will not stand by while being treated like New York’s ATM. New York State needs to invest in our children, invest in our infrastructure and get its financial house in order. Instead it seems that Governor Hochul is picking winners and losers.”
Senator Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) of the Fourth District also responded to The Messenger’s request for comment. While she
“Governor Hochul’s executive budget is a lengthy document that demands careful analysis. My colleagues and I are committed to conducting a detailed review, considering the needs and concerns of the residents I represent in the Fourth Senatorial District,” said Martinez. “Once this comprehensive analysis is complete, I will be in a better position to provide a clear and informed perspective on the budget. I believe in the importance of responsible governance, and my focus is on ensuring that the budget aligns with the priorities and well-being of the people I serve.”
Assemblyman Keith Brown (R-Northport) says that he agrees with some aspects of the bill, but overall, there are “glaring problems.”
“Directing funding toward mental health care and the fight against the fentanyl and opioid crisis are two big things I support,” said Brown. “Tackling the opioid and fentanyl crisis head-on and drastically improving mental health services for individuals (especially our children and teens) have been and will continue to be top priorities of mine.”
However, Brown said he is opposed to the plan to “double the spending on aid for illegal migrants in New York City when so many New York families are struggling to make ends meet.”
“People are looking for financial security and support in the wake of COVID-19 and in the midst of the recession our state faces, yet illegal migrants continue to be prioritized over New York citizens. This needs to stop,” said Brown.
Brown also says that the reduction in school funding should not be part of the plan.
“Maintaining a standard that allows at least as much funding as was spent the previous year is critical, and this lack of support will be obvious,” said Brown. “In addition, as opposed to directing billions of dollars toward the migrant crisis, I wish more funding would have been considered for deserving programs that would benefit our struggling New York families.”
The budget will now be deliberated by the state legislature with an April 1 deadline. Last year’s budget was not approved until May as progressive Albany Democrats feuded with Governor Hochul over her attempts to amend bail law changes to restore judicial discretion.
