Assemblyman Tom Alfano expressed grave concern over the governor's proposed budget for schools, hospitals and tax increases calling it "the perfect storm of state disaster." The governor proposed his budget a month early to start the budget process and address the state's budget hole as a result of the economic downturn and Wall Street meltdown. "This budget can be summed up this way. Instead of having a coke and a smile, have a coke and a tax," Alfano said.

"This budget does not work for Long Island on a lot of different levels. First, it slashes funding for our schools and hospitals disproportionately from the city. Second, it doesn't stop the spending. Third, it robs critical funding from economic development and boosts welfare," Alfano noted.

The shocker in the budget submission was the elimination of STAR rebate checks. "If the cuts and elimination of economic development wasn't enough, he takes away the STAR rebate checks! And, on top of all that, he then introduces over 88 new taxes and fees. So, if you drink soda, get a haircut, download a song to your iPod, watch cable TV, go to a movie, take a taxi or drive a car you'll have a nice new tax waiting for you just for starters."

Alfano noted that tough decisions do indeed need to be made in the budget. But, he was astonished at the governor's philosophy of "whatever moves tax it" portion of the budget. "There is clearly no question that cuts have to be made. But we need to look at everything. You have to cut spending first. You can't tell me that we can't cut the bureaucracy further and that we can't cut programs that are not performing to standard. Taxes must be a last resort. In this economy, tax increases stagnate growth and lose jobs. For starters, let's end all of the outrageous mandates, pool contracts and purchasing, and finally attack Medicaid fraud in the health care system.

"What bothers me most about this budget is that we don't focus on creating jobs and promoting economic development. That is a critical component in helping us close this budget deficit. This is a problem we need to attack now and fix. One area I salute the governor for is putting in VLTs at Belmont. That shows he will listen and respond to the community. I'm happy about that. That was a positive decision for our area," Alfano said, adding, "I hope he listens again and stops the tax and slash budget he has created."

Alfano's concerns about the budget were clearly in the forefront when it came to economic development. "Think about it. Here we are promoting economic development at Belmont. We've got the community involved. We have a plan that residents have worked on for three years. We have a broad range of consensus on what people want. We have developers and stores wanting to relocate and create jobs. What happens? The governor slashes over $370 million from the Empire Zone program and redirects the funding. Does it go to schools? Does it go to hospitals? Does it go to the STAR rebate program? The answer is no. We now find out it went to welfare? We can't fix the problem with solutions like that. Empire Zones give key incentives to businesses to build, employ people and expand operations. You can't grow the economy if you slam the door on business."

Alfano pointed to school aid cuts that, according to the assemblyman, would clearly impact education in the classroom. "You can't tell districts like Floral Park to cut another $400,000. Those cuts mean bigger class sizes, cuts in technology, special education, you name it. When you look at Sewanhaka, the governor says cut over $3.1 million. The Sewanhaka High School district has many challenges it faces each and every day. A cut like that is devastating. It can't go through. In Franklin Square, they were just told to give back almost half a million dollars due to a state error. They did it. Now the governor wants another $500,000. That's almost a million dollars in less than six months! A cut to a district that size is beyond comprehension. In Elmont, they say cut $1.7 million! When you cut almost $2 million to a district like Elmont it's beyond devastation. In West Hempstead they cut $763,000. In Valley Stream 13, they cut almost $500,000. These cuts will have long-term consequences. Where do they make up for it? Taxes! It's the wrong decision - plain and simple."

The governor cuts school aid to every school in Nassau County. In Floral Park, the cut was $344,570. In Franklin Square, the cut was $562,076. In Valley Stream 13, the cut was $500,421. In the Sewanhaka Central High School, the cut was $3,810,869. In Elmont, the cut was $1,540,781. In West Hempstead, the cut was $709,524.

Hospitals are also on the chopping block in the governor's plan as well. Billions are slashed from New York's health care institutions. Alfano noted that the focus should be on "fighting Medicaid fraud and abuse. That is a huge savings to taxpayers and stops the bleeding from hospitals immediately. That is a proactive solution that addresses the problem. Sadly, it is not taken into consideration."

Now that the governor made his budget presentation, the Assembly and Senate will now pour over the document and make recommendations and craft amendments. "What I want to see is a real streamlining of government. First, we should merge departments like insurance and banking and make it a financial services department. Next, we should take a real hard look at pensions and benefits. The bottom line is that we have to be progressive in our thinking. We also should demand more accountability from programs. If the program doesn't work, and doesn't meet its mission, than we have to eliminate it. Most importantly, we need to create jobs and expand the tax base. If we don't, taxes will increase and young people will move away if we don't stop the outrageous spending and don't cut taxes. I, for one, pledge my full cooperation with the governor on this budget. I thank him for presenting it early and allowing us to have input in the process. My priorities will be what they have always been. Protect our schools and hospitals and promote economic development and create jobs. Tough decisions will be made. Cuts will come. But we have to be wise about it and not just cut and forget about the ramifications of it down the line," Alfano concluded.