By JOE LoTEMPLIO
PLATTSBURGH — The content of the speeches at this week's New York Conference of Mayors meeting was not very pleasing to the ears of Plattsburgh Mayor Donald Kasprzak.
Mayors from cities and villages across the state were warned that they can expect a cut in state aid anywhere from 2 to 5 percent in 2011 and that costs for the state employee retirement pension fund are expected to increase significantly.
"The cost to the pension fund will be substantial, and along with the reduction in state aid, these are very big concerns for us," Kasprzak said.
He attended the conference in Albany on Monday and Tuesday.
With a projected $8 billion to $9 billion deficit in the state budget, the next few budget years for localities does not look good, Kasprzak said.
"A 2-to-5-percent reduction in state aid will mean a loss of between $120,000 and $140,000, and that will have a direct impact on our budget, and we will have to address that.
"We've worked very hard since 2007 to improve our financial condition in the city, and we were hopeful that these efforts would place the city in a good position, but now we are extremely worried of the consequences the state is telling us we have to deal with."
Kasprzak said the conference featured numerous speakers from Albany and Washington, D.C., but their message was hollow.
"In listening to every single speaker, I was extremely disappointed that they all expressed concerns of what municipalities are facing, but none of them offered any real solutions to help us.
"It is time that Albany and Washington do more than provide just lip service in helping the people of the North Country."
E-mail Joe LoTemplio at: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
