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An almost full house came out to Irondequoit Town Hall today (Feb. 3) for a presentation by Sam Hoyt, a former state Assemblyman from the Buffalo, now a senior vice president of the Empire State Development Corp.
Hoyt was at Irondequoit Town Hall at 11 a.m. today for regional presentation of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2012-13 Executive Budget.
“This is more than just a budget,” Hoyt said at the beginning of his about 40-minute presentation. “It is also an agenda for reform ... it includes some priorities the Governor has made in his administration.”
The presentation was attended by an estimated 100 people, including Irondequoit and Rochester residents and business people, elected officials, school representatives and other local leaders.
Hoyt fielded questions following his presentation, incorporating a PowerPoint display on a big screen.
Nine attendees took advantage of the opportunity, asking about pension reform, potential grants in support of area projects, and job creation.
Hoyt said the Governor and his staff are hoping to have “an interactive dialog with rank and file taxpayers” at www.NYGetInvolved.com, and encouraged people to visit the website, comment, make suggestions, and even sign up to get on an email list.
“The bottom line is that the old way of budgeting is being rejected,” Hoyt said. “You can’t spend what you don’t have.”
Irondequoit resident and businessman Dan Buerkle said after the presentation that he thinks “very soon there ought to be a small surplus in the state (budget) ... and it ought to be used for reducing debt ... As a business person, that’s what I do.”
David DeRoller, chief of Irondequoit’s Sea Breeze Fire Department, said he doesn’t agree with some of the cuts made in the state budget — particularly with regard to emergency services training — “but other than that, they’re doing a good job with reforms.”
The event was an opportunity to hear, firsthand, what the Cuomo Administration has planned for the upcoming year.
There has been a $225M overall reduction in state spending, Hoyt said, and the governor is taking a hard look at mandate reform and education. In particular, the Governor knows that pension reform is needed, Hoyt said, showing a statistic that says that towns, villages and schools will be facing a 185 percent increase in pension costs in the six years between 2009 and 2015.
There’s also a need for a teacher evaluation system, Hoyt said, the Governor has tied its implementation to a date — Jan. 17, 2013 — or districts could face the loss of any state aid increases.
An almost full house came out to Irondequoit Town Hall today (Feb. 3) for a presentation by Sam Hoyt, a former state Assemblyman from the Buffalo, now a senior vice president of the Empire State Development Corp.
Hoyt was at Irondequoit Town Hall at 11 a.m. today for regional presentation of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2012-13 Executive Budget.
“This is more than just a budget,” Hoyt said at the beginning of his about 40-minute presentation. “It is also an agenda for reform ... it includes some priorities the Governor has made in his administration.”
The presentation was attended by an estimated 100 people, including Irondequoit and Rochester residents and business people, elected officials, school representatives and other local leaders.
Hoyt fielded questions following his presentation, incorporating a PowerPoint display on a big screen.
Nine attendees took advantage of the opportunity, asking about pension reform, potential grants in support of area projects, and job creation.
Hoyt said the Governor and his staff are hoping to have “an interactive dialog with rank and file taxpayers” at www.NYGetInvolved.com, and encouraged people to visit the website, comment, make suggestions, and even sign up to get on an email list.
“The bottom line is that the old way of budgeting is being rejected,” Hoyt said. “You can’t spend what you don’t have.”
Irondequoit resident and businessman Dan Buerkle said after the presentation that he thinks “very soon there ought to be a small surplus in the state (budget) ... and it ought to be used for reducing debt ... As a business person, that’s what I do.”
David DeRoller, chief of Irondequoit’s Sea Breeze Fire Department, said he doesn’t agree with some of the cuts made in the state budget — particularly with regard to emergency services training — “but other than that, they’re doing a good job with reforms.”
The event was an opportunity to hear, firsthand, what the Cuomo Administration has planned for the upcoming year.
There has been a $225M overall reduction in state spending, Hoyt said, and the governor is taking a hard look at mandate reform and education. In particular, the Governor knows that pension reform is needed, Hoyt said, showing a statistic that says that towns, villages and schools will be facing a 185 percent increase in pension costs in the six years between 2009 and 2015.
There’s also a need for a teacher evaluation system, Hoyt said, the Governor has tied its implementation to a date — Jan. 17, 2013 — or districts could face the loss of any state aid increases.
Hoyt said the Governor recognized other mandate reforms needed, too, but, “taking on too much at once will dilute the Governor’s ability to be effective.”
He did say that the state currently has the lowest tax rate for middle-income New Yorkers in 58 years.
The Governor’s aim, Hoyt said, is to retool government so that it “performs better and costs less.”
“Today there is a kind of a momentum and a sense that things have changed in New York ... and people are taking notice even at the national level,” Hoyt concluded.
Hoyt said the Governor is scheduling 150 regional presentations — one in each of the Assembly districts across the state — like today’s.
