Dear Friend,
Over the past two years, Governor Cuomo has helped bring about the fundamental change needed to get New York's government working again. The Governor's 2013-14 Executive Budget, which he presented this week in Albany, is an honestly-balanced budget that holds state spending growth under 2% with no new taxes or fees for the third year in a row.
In this year's budget, the Governor continues to work to grow the economy and create jobs; to provide mandate relief and pension reform to further alleviate costs for local governments; to make further investments in a performance-driven, high quality education system to better prepare our students; and to start rebuilding New York State following Superstorm Sandy.
Click hereto view the Governor's presentation of his 2013-2014 Executive Budget and Management Plan.
Highlights include:
- Nearly $974 million in savings from government redesign and cost control efforts;
- An increase in education aid by $889 million, or 4.4 percent, driving an average increase of more than $300/student per year;
- Economic development proposals to accelerate the commercialization of new technology, launch a third round of the Regional Economic Development Councils, and market the state's tourism assets to bolster economic growth, especially Upstate;
- Reforms to the Workers' Compensation system to save employers, local governments, and school districts more than $900 million;
- Building on the significant mandate relief enacted in 2012-13 by providing a Stable Rate Pension Contribution Option to allow local governments and school districts to immediately realize Tier VI savings;
- Raising the minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $8.75/hour; and
- Storm recovery aid for community-based programs in counties affected by not only Superstorm Sandy, but Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee as well.
Click here to view the full 2013-2014 Executive Budget book. The Governor also launched an online budget transparency portal – OpenBudget.ny.gov – providing unprecedented access to the Executive Budget. Explore the easy-to-use tools, charts, and budget archives.
The new New York is one that works for the people.
Sincerely,
The Andrew Cuomo Committee