Referred to: The Public Health and Social Services Committee (Chairman Lopez and

Legislators Allen, Belfiglio, Heppner, and Roberts)

Legislator Carl Belfiglio and Legislators Allen, Lopez, Heppner and Roberts offer

the following:

WHEREAS, the 2011-12 State Budget dramatically lowered the State’s fiscal

responsibility in the Safety Net Program by shifting the cost to 71% county / 29%

state, severing the historic 50% state / 50% county partnership; and

WHEREAS, this continues a long line of state legislative actions that has

transferred the State’s constitutional and fiscal responsibility to care for the needy to

county taxpayers, while providing counties virtually no control over eligibility for

services and benefit levels; and

WHEREAS, the Safety Net funding shift also builds upon recent trends where

the State has leveraged significant savings from maximizing available federal

resources largely for state financial plan purposes only, at the expense of local

property taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, the net effect of this state practice forces local property taxes to

be higher than they should because available savings are being spent by the state

rather than being user to lower the cost of state mandates which can provide direct

relief to local property taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, nearly half of the states do not have Safety Net programs and

New York is one of only 11 states that provide benefits to childless adults that do not

have some disability; and

WHEREAS, most other states do not require counties to fund such a large

share of public assistance costs; and

WHEREAS, counties in New York are required to finance the vast majority of

Safety Net costs, putting in twice as much funding as the State; and

WHEREAS, for the first half of 2015, State data indicates that county Safety

Net costs have increased by nearly 9% over the prior year; and

WHEREAS, Ulster County believes that the rising cost of providing shelter

assistance to recipients is a major contributor to this increase; and 

WHEREAS, the reduction of State funding support for Safety Net Assistance

is part of a larger trend where the State has reduced its fiscal commitment for nearly

every public assistance program including child welfare, adoption subsidies, food

stamp administration, Safety Net, Child Support Enforcement, juvenile justice and

programs designed to help recently released state incarcerated offenders return to the

community; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the Ulster County Legislature calls on the State to gradually

restore the historic 50/50 state/county cost sharing for the Safety Net program over a

five year period, starting with an increase in county reimbursement for shelter

assistance in order to lower the local property tax burden for homeowners and small

businesses; and, be it further

RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Ulster County Legislature shall forward

copies of this resolution to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Assembly and Senate Majority

and Minority Leaders, all Ulster County elected Assemblymen and Senators, the

Assembly and Senate Social Services Committee Chairmen, the New York State

Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner and the New York

State Association of Counties,

and move its adoption.

ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES: 22 NOES: 0

(Legislator Lopez left at 7:19 PM)

Passed Committee: Public Health and Social Services on February 29, 2016

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

NONE 

STATE OF NEW YORK

 ss:

COUNTY OF ULSTER

I, the undersigned Clerk of the Legislature of the County of Ulster, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is

the original resolution adopted by the Ulster County Legislature on the 15th Day of March in the year Two Thousand and

Sixteen, and said resolution shall remain on file in the office of said clerk.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of the County of Ulster this 17th Day of March

in the year Two Thousand and Sixteen.

|s| Victoria A. Fabella

Victoria A. Fabella, Clerk

Ulster County Legislature