Politics & Government

Cuomo Noncommittal on Future Mandate Legislation

Governor Andrew Cuomo voted in his hometown of New Castle today and spoke with reporters about items on the ballot.

Regardless of who wins in today's municipal and county elections, officials will have to deal with the same New York state mandates, which are blamed by officials for fueling rising property taxes.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lives in New Castle and cast his ballot Tuesday morning at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco, was asked by Patch at a press conference whether people should expect a proposal of future legislation for reducing mandates, with examples given being pension contributions and the cost of Medicaid.

“The voters can expect us to do everything that we can do to make the government work better, more efficiently, to respect their tax dollars,” he said.

While the governor described how increases in spending and taxes are not as much as they used to be, he did not say whether there would be more legislative attempts to curtail mandates. He referred to the subjective nature of the topic, likening it to which sides of a table someone is on.

While acknowledging mandates, the governor added, “but they're like healthcare services, like education, you know, so it depends on what mandate, obviously.”

Find out what's happening in Pleasantville-Briarcliff Manorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Pension contributions have been blamed by local officials for fueling higher costs during budget planning and being a factor in escalating taxes, despite the existence of a cap on annual tax revenue growth that Cuomo has championed and signed into law more than two years ago. Counties, including Westchester, are mandated to handle Medicaid spending, an obligation that has been pilloried by county officials.

The governor discussed voting and acknowledged that he voted for the Democratic candidate, challenger Noam Bramson, for Westchester County Executive.

Bramson, the mayor of New Rochelle, is looking to unseat incumbent and Mount Pleasant Republican Rob Astorino. Cuomo has publicly endorsed Bramson.

The governor also volunteered to say that he voted for a proposition to allow for casino gaming. 

Find out what's happening in Pleasantville-Briarcliff Manorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We don't do it well, we don't regulate it well, we don't get the revenues we should,” Cuomo said about the status quo. He noted that what are allowed currently are "Racinos," which are definied in various reports as being a combination of casino and racing facility. 

The governor, who lives in New Castle, feels that allowing casinos would help with economic growth in New York State and notes that nearby states already allow them.


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