STATEMENT OF COUNTY EXECUTIVE ED DAY ON GOVERNOR CUOMO’S 2016 STATE OF THE STATE MESSAGE

“While Governor Cuomo’s grand agenda for New York appears overly ambitious, I am pleased that $1 billion of the state’s $5 billion bank settlement will be spent to freeze tolls until 2020 on the Thruway and the Tappan Zee Bridge, including the new bridge.  As I have said repeatedly, our commuters and businesses simply cannot afford the burden of even-higher tolls.  Additionally, the Governor’s proposal to transfer the state Canal Corporation from the Thruway Authority will help keep local dollars from maintaining a canal system most of us will never use.   I have been especially vocal on both of these issues.  Sadly, there was little focus on mandate relief.  Unfunded state mandates continue to grow, crushing our local governments, with no end in sight.”