TONAWANDA (WBEN) - State Assemblyman Sean Ryan joined Tonawanda Town Supervisor Joe Emminger at a press conference to call on the state to end the disruption of AIM funding for communities across Erie County.
Assemblyman Sean Ryan highlights AIM Funding for local municipalities. He said multiple towns in the region did not get the distribution from the state comptroller’s office following an Erie County control board loophole. He wants the state to front the money in December. pic.twitter.com/A8roep69Qe
— Mike Baggerman (@MikeBaggerman)
October 29, 2019 "Aid to Municipalities, or as we like to call it, AIM Funding, is a vital source of state funding that goes to our local towns and villages and helps to make sure they keep their balanced budgets," said Ryan.
In total, Ryan says nearly $4 million is owed to local governments in Erie County.
The officials say that recent changes to the funding sources have causes issues with distribution in Erie and Nassau Counties. However, these funds are already included in village and town budgets and failure of proper distribution of could lead to financial troubles.
Emminger echoed Ryan's sentiments, saying Tonawanda certainly has a lot of expected money tied up in AIM Funding.
"This funding sources, this AIM Funding, is counted on by every municipality as part of their annual budgets," said Emminger. "In the Town of Tonawanda situation, you're looking at over $600,000 in funding that we have relied upon, that we will need by the end of this fiscal year."
