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As state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul work to reach agreement on this year’s budget, a lot is on the line for Rochester and Monroe County.
The deadline for passage of New York’s 2026-27 budget was April 1. On Mar. 31, the state Legislature approved and Hochul signed an extension to continue state funding and keep state workers paid. The new deadline is tomorrow.
For the third straight year, the city and Monroe County have submitted a joint request for funding. The total sought for the upcoming fiscal year is nearly $500 million.
A number of projects outlined in the request are part of the Rochester Riverway Transformation Initiative, including the largest single ask: $154 million for the Aqueduct Reimagined project, a multiyear plan to remove the upper vehicular deck of the Broad Street Bridge and enhance the historic 1842 aqueduct below it.
In her spending plan, Hochul allocated $225 million for the Transformation Initiative and $75 million for continued renovations of the High Falls State Park.
“While there are many exciting initiatives funded in Governor Hochul’s budget proposal, one of the most transformative for our region is the $300 million allocated for the Rochester-Monroe Transformation Initiative, including $75 million to support the development of High Falls State Park and hundreds of millions of dollars to support other economic developments and community revitalization efforts,” said Greater Rochester Chamber CEO Bob Duffy earlier this year.
“From modernizing the historic Red Wings stadium to revitalizing the High Falls district of our city, the projects this investment supports will have far-reaching impacts on our shared community,” he added.
The joint city-county request also seeks a boost to the city’s Aid and Incentives for Municipalities funding, which is the largest amount of unrestricted state aid to local governments. Rochester has requested a $31.4 million increase this year.
Rochester has historically lagged its peer cities in per-capita AIM aid, despite annual efforts by local officials to narrow or close the gap. According to the joint funding request, Buffalo currently receives $601 per resident in aid, while Syracuse and Yonkers get over $500 per resident. Rochester, by comparison, receives $450.
“Increasing Rochester’s AIM aid to the same per capita level that Buffalo receives would result in an additional $31.4 million that could be used to address public health and safety, workforce and economic development, (as well as) maintain critical aging infrastructure,” the request states.
The 2024-25 enacted budget included $715 million in AIM funding for all cities, towns and villages outside of New York City, roughly the same amount that the state appropriated in 2011-12, according to the state comptroller’s office’s “Boom or Bust?” report, which examines local government finances in light of the expiration of federal COVID-relief funding.
“When the effects of inflation are considered, however, AIM funding has declined nearly 30 percent in real terms over that same period,” the report adds. “In fact, adjusting for inflation, AIM funding is now worth less to local governments than the amount they were receiving in unrestricted aid in 2004-05, the year before the AIM program started.”
The 2024-25 and and 2025-26 enacted budgets included Temporary Municipal Assistance aid of $50 million allocated to all AIM recipients statewide. Hochul’s budget proposes to continue this $50 million in funding for another year.
The end of COVID-relief funding removes a significant source of federal aid. Going forward, federal block grant funding also is in question. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development community development block grants, alongside Department of Transportation funding, could be the first to be targeted should the Trump administration continue to reduce funding.
How Rochester and Monroe County fare in the final 2026-27 state budget won’t be known until Hochul and the Legislature hammer out an agreement. Among the reported sticking points: a proposed increase in taxes on the wealthy and possible changes to New York’s climate law.
Tomorrow’s deadline is no guarantee that a budget accord is near. More often than not, New York has failed to pass a budget on time—and in some past years, the spending impasse has lasted into August.
Narm Nathan is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer.
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Charter schools are the number one enemy of the RCSD/RCSB and Adam Urbanski. You know why? They appear to do a better job with less. Can’t have that.
Albany insiders estimate that the budget will not be adopted before the week of Apr. 14 and may even go into May, with the sticking points being climate, protection for immigrants, and taxing the rich. As a member of the Invest in Our New York coalition for budget justice (investinourny.org), Elders & Allies to Free the People Roc agrees that New York’s leaders face a clear choice: stand with working families confronting an escalating affordability crisis, or protect the ultra-wealthy and most profitable corporations that have long avoided paying what they owe.
The Senate and Assembly one-house budget proposals take important and necessary steps to meet this moment. By advancing measures to raise revenue from the highest earners, increase taxes on the most profitable corporations, and close costly loopholes, these proposals would help protect essential services, stabilize local budgets, and begin to address the affordability crisis facing communities across the state.
However, these measures represent the absolute minimum required to prevent devastating cuts and maintain basic stability for millions of New Yorkers. This coalition supports additional measures to generate the revenue we need to fully replace lost federal funding and make transformative investments in housing, childcare, healthcare, and other public goods.
As negotiations continue, it is imperative that all progressive revenue measures included in the Senate and Assembly one-house budgets are fully adopted in the final state budget. Anything less would mean easily avoidable harm to working families and a missed opportunity to take meaningful action on affordability. In particular IONY calls on the final budget to include:
The statewide corporate tax increase proposed in the Senate one house budget – which would raise rates to 9% for corporations with income over $5 million. Raises $2.1 billion
The Personal Income Tax increases in the Assembly one house budget – which would raise rates for those making over $5 million annually and create three additional tax brackets for those making between $10-25 million, $25-100 million, and $100 million+. Raises $2.9 billion
Additional loophole closures in the Senate one house budgets, in particular adjusting the NYS PTET Credit and ending the gold bullion sales tax exemption. Raises $2.25 billion
Rochesterians are feeling the consequences of Trump’s federal disinvestment and war with Iran. Without decisive action, nearly one million people in NYS could lose healthcare coverage, more than 200,000 risk losing SNAP benefits, and local governments face deepening fiscal strain. Investments in areas including childcare stimulate New York’s economy and produce a significant return. At the same time, the wealthiest households continue to benefit from tax codes who do not pay their fair share. This moment requires more.
Senate and Assembly leaders must hold firm in support of these proposals and to ensure they remain intact through final negotiations. And Governor Hochul must listen to the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers who support a fairer tax system, not to her billionaire donors who benefit from the status quo.
We need a budget that reflects our needs, values, and dignity – and that guarantees the ultra-wealthy and most profitable corporations pay their fair share.
Liz Brown
So, Liz, when those wealthy people decide to leave NYS for other states, what do you do? The wealthy already pay a fair share, and they are getting tired of paying more than their fair share. Why not ask Mamdani, he seems to have all the answers.
Also at stake is the Fairness in Funding for Rochester Area Charter School students and their families. Yes, simply Fairness based on what Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany and Poughkeepsie receive to educate their Charter students. Fairness would mean that Rochester with the highest poverty level among this group should NOT receive the lowest amount to educate our almost 10,000 Charter students. Many in the Rochester Business Community understand that these students are the future workforce and community taxpayers.
Currently Rochester Area Charter students receive only $14,277 per year per student. Fairness would mean only the average which is just $2,500 more.
Yes, I know it sounds so low. And YES, it is.
Buffalo students get $16,140, Albany $19,196, Syracuse $$15,472 and Poughkeepsie $18,612.
So let’s hope that this item gets added for ROCHESTER’s future as well.
Note: if you follow funding for RCSD, their funding is around $30,000+ per student.
Yes, you are reading this correctly. But, another discussion.