On Feb. 19, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the allocation of $150 million in financial support to municipalities outside New York City. Of that, $1.1 million will be directed to the City of Long Beach.
The funding is part of the state’s Temporary Municipal Assistance program, which allows the distribution of additional financial aid to cities, towns and villages according to regional needs and the availability of state money. As a whole, Long Island is set to receive $6.3 million, and Long Beach’s share will be larger than any other municipality on the Island. The City of Glen Cove will receive nearly $990,000; the Town of Hempstead, just over $800,000; and the Village of Atlantic Beach, slightly more than $2,000.
“These allocations are driven by objective, needs-based formulas so communities facing the greatest fiscal pressure receive real support,” Gordon Tepper, Hochul’s Long Island press secretary, explained in an email. “For Long Beach, this $1.1 million will help protect essential services in the shining City by the Sea, and it reflects Governor Hochul’s commitment to standing with local governments and the taxpayers they serve.”
The governor’s Executive Budget for fiscal year 2027 was initially set to include $50 million in temporary aid across the state. Boosting the support to $150 million is likely to be a beneficial, however transient, influx for the affected locations. Additional state funding can vary from year to year — in 2025, Long Beach received just over $366,000 in temporary assistance.
Because of the annual fluctuation, the city’s budgetary planning can become inconsistent and potentially inaccurate, and City Council members sought to tighten their control over that planning process at their March 3 meeting. The council approved a resolution requesting that the state adopt a more predictable and permanent approach to municipal aid.
“We’re going to send that to the governor’s office, our state legislator, our state assemblyman and basically say, ‘Hey, look, the city put forth the resolution,’” City Manager Dan Creighton said. “‘We want to put you on notice that we’d like this to be made permanent.’ This is good aid. It’s a nice thing to see.”
Creighton explained that even though the city’s budget plan for fiscal year 2027 hasn’t yet been detailed and no specific uses for the additional aid have been determined, the city anticipates using the extra money for one-time expenses, such as the purchase of snow-melting salt, rather than for long-term programs, which could potentially create problems if the temporary assistance isn’t renewed at the same level. “It’s money that we put in the budget now, this $1.1 million,” he said. “If we don’t get it next year, we’d need to raise another $1.1 million in taxes just to get to where we were this year.”
In her announcement of the statewide aid, Hochul wrote, “We want all of New York’s municipalities to succeed. This funding is crucial to putting all of our cities, towns and villages on stronger financial footing and allowing them to keep their residents safe and continue providing the vital services they rely on.”