AMY PAULIN IN THE NEWS
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin Supports Measures to Eliminate Member Items in State Budget
My Hometown Bronxville
By Meredith Matthews
In a holiday season framed by a struggling economy, many families are scaling back their gift-giving. So too are some state lawmakers.
Local New York Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, along with two other Westchester legislators—Sandy Galef and George Latimer, all Democrats—has introduced legislation to bar member items from the state's 2010-2011 budget.
Member items are discretionary funding that legislators can bestow upon nonprofits, municipalities, and other organizations in their home districts. In the past, Paulin, whose district includes Bronxville, has secured grants for the village to renovate parks. The most recent example is $175,000 in funding to restore Sagamore Park, according to Village Administrator Harold Porr III.
Paulin says that the grants she has obtained in the past have all been used to serve her constituents, and did not replace funding sources for ongoing needs. "I've tried very hard to make sure the money I provide wouldn't be money that was depended on permanently," she explains. So doing without these funds, Paulin believes, should not be that much of a hardship for her constituents.
The lawmakers' proposal could save the state between $140 million to $200 million during the next fiscal year. Already, the amount of member items was cut by 12.5 percent for the current year in the recently passed Deficit Reduction Plan. And on the heels of Governor David Paterson's decision to withhold some state aid from municipalities and school districts in order to keep the state solvent, the attempt to eliminate member items reflects the legislators' sense of urgency.
"At a time when we're struggling to afford the most basic needs," said Paulin, "we must find savings however possible. We can't afford to pay for everything we've paid for in the past."
Galef, who says her constituents in northwestern Westchester and western Putnam counties have supported her decision not to participate in member items, thinks the measure makes sense in a "difficult economy" like todays. She has received positive feedback on the bill. "If we preserve member items but cut funding for overall programs, that doesn't sail in this economy."
Currently, the legislation is attracting cosponsors and Galef is reaching out for support in the Senate. But even if the bill does not pass, its aim may still be accomplished. According to Galef, last year Paterson left member items out of the state budget, but legislators put them back in. This time, she hopes her colleagues will not insist on them.
"I do hope [the legislation] raises awareness," even if it does not become law, comments Paulin. In either case, she has pledged not to take any member items during the next year while the state's finances are in such disarray. "It's an easy choice for me," remarks Paulin.
Back in Bronxville, officials facing some belt-tightening of their own have no qualms with her decision to forgo the funds. "Though we will miss the member items we have enjoyed in the past," says Porr, "I think we all understand that the present financial crisis facing state and local government calls for new ways to conduct business. As long as it's fair and across-the-board statewide, we won't complain."