NEW YORK STATE RURAL ADVOCATES

Those of you thinking that Federal Programs will fill the gap in your activities created by the sparse housing budget proposed by our Governor of NY…. think again.  News of decreases on the HAC website seen here

Handouts are being prepared. Please note the links above to RPC talking points and Legislative Agenda talking points, etc.  The meeting agenda for the 23rd is as follows:

NYS Rural Advocates Annual Legislative Conference

February 23- Feb 24, 2010, Albany, NY

Tuesday,  February 23, 2010

Holiday Inn Express Albany Downtown,  First Capital Meeting Room

• 9 AM NYS Rural Advocates Board Meeting and Bagels Continue reading →

On Feb 3, 2010, Blair Sebastian, Executive Director of the Rural Housing Coalition and Nancy Berkowitz, Rural Advocates, presented NYS RHC and RA Budget Testimony_02_03_2010 before the Senate Fiance and Assembly Ways and Means Committee. View the video:   hearing coverage

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer on January 25, 2010 called on the Administration and Congress to target its upcoming “Cash for Caulkers” program to communities that have older, less efficient energy housing stock, to maximize the program’s bang for the buck. Schumer said that such a move would benefit all taxpayers, and would benefit the Hudson Valley because of its many older homes. Schumer will also ask the Administration to send the funding directly to localities, bypassing federal and state middlemen that could slow down the funds’ delivery.  Early reports show that the average homeowner could save up to $500 per year or more on their utility bills, and that homeowners may be eligible to receive up to $12,000 in rebates for weatherizing their homes

How do we continue  a sustainable model for the future? Our community demands that we stay relevant, that our core values  still resonate, but even a no growth budget results in a loss of purchasing power.  Are there different tools we can use to bring our services to our community?

The proposed Executive Budget calls for funding Rural Rental Assistance at $14.8 million. That’s about one million short of what would be required to fully fund all current and extended contracts.  While  some project based Section 8 will help reduce this gap somewhat,  what methods are proposed to implement these cuts?

The Governor’s proposed budget released today  funds RPCs at $ 3.539 million. The budget document calls this a $1.147 million dollar cut but that is based on the amount left after November’s Deficit Reduction cuts.  $3.539 is a cut of $2,231,700 from the level of last year’s enacted budget.  That looks more like a cut of nearly 40% by our calculations

The Governor proposes  to save us all some money through consolidation. “NYHOMES and the Division of Housing and Community Renewal will remain separate entities, but will be consolidated under a single management structure that is expected to achieve synergies in areas such as administration, asset management and grant making, producing annual savings of $3.5 million.”  What impact might that have on upstate housing programs?

The Governor’s Budget will be released next Tuesday and is expected to be within his proposed inflation spending cap, include drastic cuts and yet I believe I read that it may  exceed the budget of last year by about 2%. Stay tuned

Please note that we have rescheduled our legislative days so more people can attend!  Our meeting is now scheduled for Tuesday 2/23 and Wednesday 2/24 in Albany.  We will kick off our meeting at 10 at the Holiday Inn Express Downtown and shuttle up to the Housing Rally in Hearing Room A.   A block has been set aside for an over night so that you can attend the reception on Tuesday night at the Sign of the Tree and be available for additional appointments on Wednesday. Registration materials will be available soon.

Across the board cuts were made to the programs funded under “Aid to Localities” in the Deficit Reduction Bill in order to preserve school aid and health care appropriations. The Governor originally proposed a ten percent across the board cut along with mid year school aid and health care cuts.  The legislature countered with a DRP bill containing a  12.5% cut to undisbursed aid to localities funds

The question of WHEN you will receive payments… has yet to be answered.