Counties say they’re feeling the squeeze. Pension obligations, inflation, growing health care costs and federal cost shifts will cost New York state counties hundreds of millions of dollars over the next year unless they see some relief from Albany.
According to Stephen Acquario, the executive director of the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC), the Republicans’ signature tax legislation, known as the “one big, beautiful bill,” will directly affect the State of New York and because the state mandates that counties administer SNAP.
“People are food insecure. We saw how acute that hit people last fall. The lines wrapped around the regional food banks and charities,” Acquario told Capital Tonight. “It’s a $60 million cost shift (on to counties) directly from that piece of legislation,” Acquario said.
NYSAC is also worried about the request from unions to amend a pension tier which could cost the state upwards of $1.5 billion annually.
“Right now, based on the latest actuarial estimates from the state comptroller (this is before the end of the March 31 fiscal year so it will change), we estimate that counties would have to pay an additional $180 million to meet our pension obligations by the end of the year,” Acquario said. “In addition to that, based on our analysis of what we have heard to be part of the proposals to amend Tier 6, counties (outside of NYC) would have to pay an additional $150 million, or $330 million total (in new spending for pensions by the end of this year— for obligations next year).”
In all, NYSAC estimates that the hits from SNAP, Medicaid, inflation and pension changes could cost counties $700 million in this year alone.
Acquario points to large pots of money that have been dedicated to municipalities across the state, including $1.5 billion to New York City. When asked if he feels the rest of the state is getting short shrift, he said yes.
“I feel like we’ve been left out of the conversation,” he said.
In an email to Capital Tonight, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) President Melinda Person sent the following statement:
“When people raise concerns about the cost of fixing Tier 6, they’re looking at one line in the budget while ignoring the bigger picture. Counties and municipalities are already absorbing significant costs: extra payroll from employees who can’t afford to retire, increased overtime and consulting costs, and service gaps that come with insufficient staffing. When we can’t recruit and retain public workers, we all pay the price — longer waits when you call for emergency services, roads that don’t get plowed, classrooms without certified teachers. The question isn’t whether we can afford to fix Tier 6 — it’s whether we can afford not to.”