By ELIZABETH COOPER
Posted Mar 27, 2012 @ 08:08 PM
Last update Mar 28, 2012 @ 03:48 AM
UTICA —
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state's top legislative leaders say
they've agreed on their second straight on-time budget. Here's how the
plan could affect the area:
Griffiss cuts: $5 million statewide to protect the state's military assets as the federal government looks to cut defense spending. Cuomo initially proposed spending just $500,000 on defending the installations, but state legislators, including Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi, D-Utica, and state Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, pushed for the higher amount. Defense cuts are looming, including a possible Base Realignment and Closure round in 2015.
SUNYIT: $500,000 for SUNYIT for additional staff to aid in the development of science, technology, engineering and math fields, including nanotechnology. In 2009, state officials announced that SUNYIT would become home to a $45 million state-of-the-art nanotechnology complex that would attract private sector companies and researchers.
Gambling: Earlier this month, the Legislature approved a constitutional amendment to allow seven casinos in the state. The Legislature must pass the amendment a second time in its next session, and it must go to a public referendum to become law. The legislation does not specify where the casinos would be located, but officials from Vernon Downs have long expressed an interest in having one at the financially struggling track. The Oneida Indian Nation, which operates Turning Stone Resort Casino, has predicted a possible oversaturation in the gaming market.
DOT: The regional office of the state Department of Transportation in the State Office Building in Utica will not be closed. The move would have cost the area 200 jobs.
Legislative districts: As the governor and the Legislature negotiated the budget, the approval of the state's Assembly and Senate districts entered into the mix. In the final maps, Oneida County remains wholly within one state Senate district, but is carved into five Assembly districts.
Education: Cuomo and the legislative leaders agreed to take half of Cuomo's proposed $250 million in competitive grant funds and give it directly to school districts using the “neediest schools first” formula used for the rest of the $805 million aid increase to schools. Both houses of the Legislature had proposed diverting $200 million to low income and rural school districts. School districts in the process of finalizing their budgets will be interested in learning how much of that $125 million their schools will get. All of the aid is contingent on districts and unions agreeing on the state's teacher evaluation system by Jan. 2013.
Original article can be found here:
Griffiss cuts: $5 million statewide to protect the state's military assets as the federal government looks to cut defense spending. Cuomo initially proposed spending just $500,000 on defending the installations, but state legislators, including Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi, D-Utica, and state Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, pushed for the higher amount. Defense cuts are looming, including a possible Base Realignment and Closure round in 2015.
SUNYIT: $500,000 for SUNYIT for additional staff to aid in the development of science, technology, engineering and math fields, including nanotechnology. In 2009, state officials announced that SUNYIT would become home to a $45 million state-of-the-art nanotechnology complex that would attract private sector companies and researchers.
Gambling: Earlier this month, the Legislature approved a constitutional amendment to allow seven casinos in the state. The Legislature must pass the amendment a second time in its next session, and it must go to a public referendum to become law. The legislation does not specify where the casinos would be located, but officials from Vernon Downs have long expressed an interest in having one at the financially struggling track. The Oneida Indian Nation, which operates Turning Stone Resort Casino, has predicted a possible oversaturation in the gaming market.
DOT: The regional office of the state Department of Transportation in the State Office Building in Utica will not be closed. The move would have cost the area 200 jobs.
Legislative districts: As the governor and the Legislature negotiated the budget, the approval of the state's Assembly and Senate districts entered into the mix. In the final maps, Oneida County remains wholly within one state Senate district, but is carved into five Assembly districts.
Education: Cuomo and the legislative leaders agreed to take half of Cuomo's proposed $250 million in competitive grant funds and give it directly to school districts using the “neediest schools first” formula used for the rest of the $805 million aid increase to schools. Both houses of the Legislature had proposed diverting $200 million to low income and rural school districts. School districts in the process of finalizing their budgets will be interested in learning how much of that $125 million their schools will get. All of the aid is contingent on districts and unions agreeing on the state's teacher evaluation system by Jan. 2013.
Original article can be found here:
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