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<title>NCPR Topical RSS: mandates</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org</link>
<description>Latest North Country Public Radio regional news by topic. Topic=mandates.</description>
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<copyright>&#x2117; &amp; &#xA9; 2013, North Country Public Radio</copyright>
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<description>NCPR provides locally-produced news stories from around the Adirondack and North Country regions of New York State, as well as Western Vermont, and Ontario and Quebec in Canada.</description>
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<title>Cuomo unveils spending plan</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/21306/20130123/cuomo-unveils-spending-plan</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Jan 23, 2013) Governor Cuomo presented a $142.6 billion state budget plan in Albany yesterday.  It holds spending growth under 2% and closes an estimated $1.35 billion budget shortfall.  Cuomo said his plan produces better results with less money.  &quot;And this is a different mentality from the old mentality,&quot; said Cuomo.  &quot;More money in the budget just meant you&apos;re hurting the economic development and fiscal responsibility because you weren&apos;t producing better results for people.&quot;The proposal includes money for a full-day pre-kindergarten program for low income schools and a measure to raise in the minimum wage.One element features an unconventional way to help localities with the high costs of state pensions.Last year, the legislature created the new Tier 6 pension for entry level state workers.  It offers lower benefits than in the past and is expected to save $80 billion over 30 years.  But local governments won&apos;t begin to see those savings for several years though.Cuomo&apos;s proposal would allow cash-strapped governments to borrow against those future savings.  He said it was a significant way to alleviate the stress on cities, counties, towns, and villages.  &quot;It basically provides a financing plan to get the municipalities through this pension bubble, which is what we&apos;re really experiencing,&quot;said Cuomo.That idea left Republican Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush of Jefferson County scratching his head.  &quot;When you first hear about that,&quot; Blankenbush told NCPR, &quot;it doesn&apos;t seem like such a hot idea to borrow against a savings that may or may not be there in the future.&quot;  Blankenbush said he would reserve judgement until he researched more about it.  Still, he says would have liked to see Cuomo find more ways to unburden local governments from unfunded mandates. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/21306/20130123/cuomo-unveils-spending-plan">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
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<title>Counties &quot;govern by triage,&quot; seek mandate relief</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/20638/20121010/counties-quot-govern-by-triage-quot-seek-mandate-relief</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Oct 10, 2012) The North Country is seeing some tough times in county government, with Essex County facing a $13 million shortfall, and St. Lawrence County projecting a 20 percent property tax increase.New York State Association of Counties Executive Director Stephen Acquario says counties are caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, counties have to pay for dozens of mandated services, from Medicaid to child welfare, which cost more every year. On the other hand, they now have to keep tax increases within a property tax cap.Acquario told David Sommerstein the situation leaves counties essentially &quot;governing by triage&quot;. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/20638/20121010/counties-quot-govern-by-triage-quot-seek-mandate-relief">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>Cuomo tells counties he&apos;ll meet them halfway on mandates</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19237/20120202/cuomo-tells-counties-he-apos-ll-meet-them-halfway-on-mandates</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Feb 2, 2012) Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the &quot;Battle of Albany&apos;&apos; is on. And in the first skirmish of what’s expected to be a long fight, Cuomo is putting the pressure on teachers and their unions. Speaking yesterday, he said that if negotiations between the unions, the state Education Department and school districts on tougher evaluations for teachers and principals fail, he&apos;ll impose his own Feb. 16. Under law, a governor may try to enact policies in budget bills.The governor spoke at the annual meeting of the state Association of Counties, trying to drum up support for his proposed budget. The county leaders were pressing for relief from state-mandated costs. Cuomo said he would meet them half way in providing mandate relief by helping to defray health care and future pension costs. But, as Karen DeWitt reports, he told the county officials it’s up to them to do the rest. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19237/20120202/cuomo-tells-counties-he-apos-ll-meet-them-halfway-on-mandates">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
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<title>NC reps reactions mostly positive on pensions, Medicaid costs and schools</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19147/20120118/nc-reps-reactions-mostly-positive-on-pensions-medicaid-costs-and-schools</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Jan 18, 2012) Gov. Cuomo now turns his spending plan over to the legislature. Some of Albany&apos;s most powerful interests are gearing up for a fight. During the address yesterday, Cuomo again took aim at what he calls the status quo in Albany, demonizing some of its most powerful labor unions.Cuomo admitted the reforms he envisions will be wrenching, but he said the people will be supportive. He called it &quot;the people&apos;s agenda.&quot;North Country representatives were generally supportive yesterday. Martha Foley has reaction to Cuomo&apos;s proposals on pension reform, relief for county Medicaid costs, and education. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19147/20120118/nc-reps-reactions-mostly-positive-on-pensions-medicaid-costs-and-schools">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
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<title>Little, counties look for mandate reform</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/16963/20110110/little-counties-look-for-mandate-reform</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Jan 10, 2011) It appears that state Sen. Betty Little will play a bigger role in this year’s debates in Albany. On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Little, a Republican, will join his newly created commission tasked with examining unfunded and underfunded mandates imposed by the state.In a statement, Little said unfunded mandates approved by the state legislature “push the financial burden down to the lowest rung of the ladder.”She joins a group of industry, labor and government officials. The panel was established to identify solutions to ways to reduce local taxes by cutting the costs of state programs they’re charged with providing.Many local government leaders have said that cutting mandates, especially on health care programs, is their top priority in the next session.A 2% limit on property tax increases was another of Gov. Cuomo’s key campaign issues. That could hamstring local governments struggling to balance their own budgets. Local officials said they were happy to hear the property tax cap coupled with mandate reform, but that the devil would be in the details. Emma Jacobs has more for the Innovation Trail. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/16963/20110110/little-counties-look-for-mandate-reform">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
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<title>Cuomo pushes property  tax cap</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/16639/20101109/cuomo-pushes-property-tax-cap</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Nov 9, 2010) Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo says New York won’t be buying its way out of a projected  $9 billion dollar deficit next year.In his first speech since election night, Cuomo told a gathering of New York lawmakers in Puerto Rico they&apos;ll have to &quot;get smart&quot; and find other ways to plug the gap.He campaigned on promises of no personal or corporate tax increases, and he says he’s sticking to that promise. Cuomo also wants to cap property taxes. But those taxes are what counties and local governments rely on to fund their budgets, and pay for state-mandated services. Many experts say the tax cap would just be the first step in a long and painful process that would require deep cuts in government spending. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/16639/20101109/cuomo-pushes-property-tax-cap">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
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