In the face of decreased Aid and Incentives to Municipalities (AIM), rising costs, and a devastating global pandemic, we are without options. Now is the time to increase AIM funding and revive the partnership between the State and the cities.
Yonkers has come a long way under my administration. I believe Yonkers is a city on the move and is leading the way for others to follow. With the help of our Governor and the State Legislature, we’ve made tremendous strides in changing the face of Yonkers. We’ve already seen outstanding returns on the State's investments. I look forward to continuing to work with our partners in New York State.
To read the full budget testimony visit the link below: https://rb.gy/kvbr2q
We've looked to the federal government to recognize local municipalities' needs, just as it did when it supplied $168 million this year to
Westchester County Government
. While it's nice the County received a pandemic recovery relief package, Yonkers has yet to receive one. We can't afford to lose any more funding to other governments.
The City of Yonkers
has been left empty-handed to deal with this crisis. Our federal representatives must step up and do their part to #FundYonkersFairly.____________________________________
The State continually freezes our aid. This only begs the question: should we freeze our payments to the State? #FundYonkersFairly
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In Yonkers, the revenue loss is projected to be $42.7 million. Since 2012, Yonkers taxpayers have sent the State an additional $243 million via personal income tax and sales tax above what the State has provided in AIM (Aid and Incentives for Municipalities)and education funding over the same period.
During that time, AIM has remained flat and now may even decrease. If you were to calculate the State’s 2% growth in your budget during that same time, we should have received cumulatively $31 million more. #FundYonkersFairly
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Our
Yonkers Public Schools
are 4,500 seats over capacity and nine of our schools are over 100 years old. Yonkers has 41 capital projects on the books at an expected cost of $127.5 million and 15 projects in the design phase with a projected cost of $69 million. Yonkers cannot afford to rebuild these schools on our own. We ask the state make a Capital Block Grant of $100 million be made to Yonkers to offset the local taxpayers share of this project. #FundYonkersFairly
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The aftermath of the pandemic and lack of equitable funding by New York State leaves the
Yonkers Public Schools
facing a $50.8 million budget shortfall. Taxpayers have exhausted their ability to foot the bill. According to the local district funding adjustment reduction proposed by the Governor, New York’s aid to Yonkers Schools will decrease by $29 million this year -- that’s $20 million more of a reduction than any of the other Big 4 School districts.
Why are Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo getting a bigger bite at the apple? Our students deserve better. #FundYonkersFairly
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