HAMBURG (WBEN) - On Friday morning, the Town of Hamburg held a meeting to discuss a serious potential problem with funding if the New York State budget were to pass as is.
Governor Cuomo has proposed cutting the video lottery terminal revenue, which would cost the town $866,000 - almost 2% of the entire $50 million budget.
Town Supervisor Jim Shaw says that if nothing is done to curtail or increase spending, they would be looking at a 9.63% property tax increase. With this kind of hike, if an individual owned a home worth $190,000 assessed for $100,000, they would see the town tax rate increase by nearly $50.
"In the meantime, we're going to have to consider what we do to offset this potential loss, if in fact it occurs," said Shaw. "We may have to cut back on some programs; we may have to cut back on overtime, and we may have to cut back on employees - layoffs are not something we look forward to, but it's a distinct possibility."
However, the town is exploring options on how to convince Albany lawmakers that this funding is critical. The town board passed a resolution that's been sent to the state legislature; earlier this week, the Village of Hamburg passed a similar resolution, and Blasdell is considering a resolution in the middle of next week. The Erie County Legislature has become involved, passing a resolution earlier in the week.
"We're going to need to take a look at whether we can get a restoration of the funding or part of the funding, and then...we'll sit down collaboratively and try to come up with the least painful alternative," said Shaw.
