From left are Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas; Corning City Council member Alison Hunt; Olean Mayor William J. Aiello; Corning Mayor William Boland; Senator Tom O’Mara; Rosita Rosas, City of Dunkirk; Senator George Borrello; Corning City Manager Mark Ryckman; and Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist.

ALBANY — Local leaders from across New York state traveled to Albany recently for a meeting of the New York Conference of Mayors and to directly share their concerns with state legislators on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed 2020-21 New York state budget.

The governor unveiled his executive budget proposal in late January and the Legislature’s fiscal committees have been conducting public hearings on the $178-billion plan over the past several weeks.

State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, and Sen. Tom O’Mara, R-Big Flats, met several local officials from their respective legislative districts.

Local officials attending the NYCOM conference from Senator Borrello’s 57th Senate District were: Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas, Olean Mayor William J. Aiello, and Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist. Officials from Senator O’Mara’s 58th Senate District were: Corning Mayor Bill Boland, Corning City Manager Mark Ryckman and Corning City Councilmember Alison Hunt.

“Governor Cuomo’s proposed state budget has sounded alarms at the local level over potential cost shifts in Medicaid, new unfunded state mandates, and funding cuts in numerous areas, including local roads and bridges,” Borrello and O’Mara said in a joint statement.

“We agree that the Cuomo budget plan, as it stands, risks putting a heavier burden on local governments and local property taxpayers, who are already at the breaking point in fundamental ways. Consequently, we appreciate many of the local officials we represent raising their voices and we will continue to work closely with them to protect our local communities and property taxpayers from unreasonable and unfair state efforts to pass the buck on fiscal responsibility.”