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More than $400-million dollars will be cut from this year's budget; this after legislatures met in special session to deal with New York State's fiscal crisis.
The State Legislature has struck a deal in Albany. Some $420-million will be cut from this year's budget, with recurring reductions in following years. Senator Dave Valesky says local numbers aren't finalized yet, but says most agencies were reduced by six percent across the state.
"By not reducing those aid-to-locality appropriations that were made earlier there is no reason, that I can see, that any local government in the state should be looking at property taxes and having to raise property taxes to cover any of these costs, and I think that's very, very important," says Valesky.
While cuts were made, there was no action on property tax cap legislation. The Assembly passed its own proposal; a circuit break legislation. The Senate had passed the governor's bill earlier this summer. Valesky says he hopes to return to Albany soon to reach a compromise.
© 2008