Governor’s proposed budget presented in Owego

County officials are expressing concern over aspects of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed state budget for 2021 following a presentation on the budget by New York State Liquor Authority Chairman Vincent Bradley, held Thursday at the Tioga County office Building in Owego. 

The budget, which calls for increased investment in education and infrastructure, along with increased environmental regulations and tighter gun control, represents what the governor calls unprecedented economic and social growth in the state. 

“I have concerns with what I was just informed about when it comes to the proposed budget,” said Martha Sauerbrey, chair of the Tioga County Legislature. 

Of her most pressing concerns were a state deficit in the Medicaid budget and the proposed legalization of adult consumption of marijuana.

“The state deficit with Medicaid means that the state is going to withhold (federal money) that used to go to local municipalities for Medicaid costs, but will now instead go to paying off the deficit,” Sauerbrey said. 

The loss of that money combined with what Sauerbrey says is a bevy of unfunded mandates, such as recently passed bail and discovery reforms, are making it very difficult to maintain the budget. 

“And what we might have to do is cut funding for outside agencies, things like libraries,” Sauerbrey said. 

She also expressed concern regarding the budget’s proposed legalization of adult use of marijuana, saying that the current proposal has an acute dearth of details. 

“The devil is in the details and I don’t know anything about this. Are municipalities going to be able to opt out? Will any of the tax money taken from the sale of marijuana go to local governments or will it all go to the state? I need to know more,” Sauerbrey said. 

For his part, Bradley said that he would bring Sauerbrey’s concerns to the attention of the governor’s office. 

This presentation was one of many taking place around New York State as Governor Cuomo releases details of the proposed budget. You can learn more about the 2021 Proposed Budget at www.budget.ny.gov.