Assemblyman Castelli Addresses State Issues in New Castle
Assemblyman Robert Castelli (R-Goldens Bridge) told the New Castle Town Board on Sept. 14 that much had been accomplished in this year’s session of the state Legislature, but more needed to be achieved.
Castelli was elected in a special election in early 2010 and to his first, full two-year term in November of the same year. “While the first session was one of the worst ever, the second session was one of the best ever,” he said.
Among the achievements of state government earlier this year was the enactment of the 2011-12 budget and enactment of a two percent property tax cap, Castelli said. But more work must be done by legislators and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Castelli said.
“This has been a historic year,” Castelli said. The state Legislature “eliminated a $10 billion budget gap” in the $131.7 billion 2011-12 budget by reducing expenditures by 2.3 percent and without increasing taxes or new borrowing, he said.
One of the ways the state cut spending was to reduce the number of agencies, authorities and commissions by 20 percent, Castelli said.
Castelli praised the new state employee contracts Cuomo reached with the Public Employees Federation and Civil Service Employees Association, which would reduce spending by billions of dollars over few years without layoffs. Both contracts need to be ratified by union members.
Castelli also touted the two percent property tax cap. Government spending has been rising at a rapid rate in previous years and that must stop, he said.
But Castelli said the tax cap was “not a panacea.” There must be a moratorium on new state mandates and elimination of current ones, he said. “The time to act on this is now,” he said. Earlier this year the governor and legislature agreed to mandate relief that will save local governments $127 million, but that is not enough, he said.
One funded mandate the state needs to examine is the MS4 stormwater regulations, which will cost Westchester municipalities $500 million, Castelli said. The state needs to explore the science to determine if the current regulations should be altered, he said. “It’s a work in progress,” he said.
The state needs to appoint a task force to examine the inadequate response of utilities during Hurricane Irene and why they were not prepared for the storm, Castelli said.
Town Supervisor Barbara Gerrard said Castelli had a strong working relationship with the town board. “You have worked extremely well with this community,” Gerrard said.
