As budget discussions in Albany rumble towards a conclusion, supporters of the Rebuild New York Now coalition are pressing their case, that surplus money in the state budget should fix roads and bridges and water systems across the state.
For the second time three months, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner joined members of Rebuild New York Now in the lobby of Syracuse City Hall to urge state lawmakers to invest part of a $5-plus billion budget surplus on infrastructure. The arguments were the same: the state’s crumbling bridges and water systems have been neglected and have become dangerous, and this one-shot pot of money is an unprecedented opportunity to modernize and upgrade these infrastructures.
Miner says the difference now is the urgency of a state budget process that’s nearing an April 1 deadline.
"It is important that the people of our community recognize that right now these decisions are being made. That state elected officials have promised to advocate for money for infrastructure,” said Miner. “That the people of our community are seeing what is happening with our deteriorating infrastructure across the city, if not across the state. Now is the opportunity to hold these people accountable for the commitments that they’ve made.”
Miner says the central New York legislative delegation, led by Syracuse area state Sen. John DeFrancisco, supports this. Others, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, suggest spending more surplus dollars on economic development, so extra tax dollars would allow local governments to better fund infrastructure projects on their own.
But Miner and others argue that without spending on infrastructure, the state won’t be able to have an economy that functions in the 21st century.
