CHENANGO COUNTY – After learning that New York State officials are planning to cut local funding to reduce state debt, municipalities and local legislators are rallying together to figure out if they can stop it from happening and what will happen if they can’t.

New York State Assemblyman Clifford Crouch, Guilford Town Supervisor George Seneck, and City of Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike spoke on the funding cut issue and how it could potentially impact towns and villages throughout the state.

“I think the AIM program initially started back in the Nixon era and it used to be called revenue sharing,” said Seneck. “The AIM stands for Aid and Incentives to Municipalities, and my understanding is that this is pass through money: federal money that’s given to the state that is passed through to the municipalities.”

He said the Town of Guilford is scheduled to receive $17,308 through AIM, and some towns get more because of their larger populations. He added that one of the big issues he has with this funding cut is that local governments will be losing funding that they’ve had for decades.

According to documents from the New York State Comptroller’s Office, the top three municipalities that could be affected by the funding cut would be the Town of Greene with $41,461 lost, the Town of Norwich with $28,606 lost, and the Town of Oxford with $27,856 lost.

“I was on the board in the 90s, and we’ve always gotten this money so every year we consider it a revenue source,” said Seneck.

He said the Guilford Town Board is scheduled to pass a resolution to contact state legislators in an attempt to ensure the funding is restored, but if they’re unsuccessful local governments will likely have to override their tax caps to meet their budgets.

“We’re nowhere near November of 2019 yet, but it could mean that we’d have to override the tax cap,” said Seneck. “We haven’t done that here at the town, and I take great pride in the fact that we’ve actually never had to override the tax cap and we’ve come in under what we’re allowed to ask for in taxes.”

He said funding issues like these appear to stem from a disconnect between the governor’s office in Albany and what’s going on in the rural areas of New York State.

“Can we weather the storm, yes I think we can,” he added. “Long term, I’m not sure what’s going to happen if AIM funding is cut.”

Assemblyman Crouch said he was also unsure of what would happen to local municipalities if they’re unable to restore AIM funding, and he’s not happy with the state’s government’s attempt to pay off their own debts.