LOCKPORT — Niagara County lawmakers are celebrating news that the New York State Legislature has been called back into session to take up an omnibus bill that includes the renewal of 53 counties’ sales tax extenders, which provide additional revenue critical to funding the local share of Medicaid.
The special session in Albany follows a last-minute resolution passed by the Niagara County Legislature last week that called on the state Assembly to reconvene after it had left town without acting on the sales tax extension.
Majority Leader Randy R. Bradt, R-North Tonawanda, who authored the county resolution, which passed with bi-partisan backing, offered the following statement after the Assembly passed the omnibus bill in the early morning hours:
“This is welcome news, and a relief to our property taxpayers. The $31.5 million generated by the sales tax extender ensures that Niagara County’s property owners aren’t alone in financing the local share of Medicaid. It will add that this action by the State Legislature is timely, as our county departments are well into planning their 2018 budgets, and the disruption caused by uncertainty over 2018 revenues could have hampered our ability to responsibly plan a budget. This deal resolves that uncertainty.
“I wish to thank all 14 of my colleagues in the County Legislature. This measure was bi-partisan, and given our unusual time constraints, I’m grateful that both parties in our County Legislature were able to rally around this measure to pass it when it was needed. I’m also grateful to our state delegation for their leadership to break the impasse in Albany. I spent many hours the past week on the phone with Sen. Rob Ortt, Assemblyman Angelo Morinello, and Assemblyman Mike Norris, and I know they kept the pressure on in their respective houses in the Legislature to bring about a solution that protects homeowners in Niagara County and 52 other counties. This is a victory for our taxpayers and for good government.”
