New governor has seen the light
JOEL GIAMBRA Erie County Executive
The 2007 New York State budget, crafted by newly elected Gov. Eliot Spitzer, seems to indicate that the era of downloading expense to the counties is over.

I felt like a kid in a candy store with a fist full of fifties when I first saw the budget and the proposed property tax cut. This governor understands just how harmful the past practice of forced financial mandates has been to counties like Erie.

Whether it has been the practice of sending state prisoners to county facilities and reimbursing less than the actual expense of incarceration, or the crippling health care costs, New York has not been a good partner in managing expense.

Counties around the state are now experiencing the same budget issues Erie County went through in 2005. Our neighbors to the east in Monroe County are struggling with the issue of raising both property and sales tax to balance their budget but without the toxic politics we experienced in Erie.

It is also gratifying to see that our new governor is an advocate of regionalism and the reduction in overlapping services.

The new budget has a series of increased revenues for cities such as Buffalo, but only if attempts are made and documented that a reduction in the size of local governments is addressed.

It makes little sense for each city, town and village in Erie County to have its own sewer system, water treatment facility, police force, etc.

Mergers and consolidation are the fastest way of reducing expenses and making Erie County and New York State competitive again.

The governor was given a mandate by the voters of New York State. Hopefully the Assembly and Legislature will follow his lead and listen to the voters and taxpayers of our great state.

The era of pork-barrel spending and the use of the local tax base as the ATM machine should be over. Let your state representatives know that the direction taken by the governor is the right one and a new era in state government has begun.