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Mayors’ annual push for additional funding comes as Trump's federal policies raise stakes

Mayors from Albany, Syracuse, Yonkers, Buffalo and Rochester testified before lawmakers Tuesday in Albany. From left to right: Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan,
Screenshot / New York State Senate
Mayors from Albany, Syracuse, Yonkers, Buffalo and Rochester testified before lawmakers Tuesday in Albany. From left to right: Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, and Buffalo Mayor Christopher Scanlon.

Mayors across New York state returned to Albany on Tuesday to once again ask for more municipal funding.

But their requests this year came with a greater sense of urgency as President Donald Trump’s policies have thrown the future of federal funding for localities into uncertainty.

That concern prevails among some mayors even as a court order rescinded Trump’s memorandum pausing all federal grants last week.

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said while he was “happy” to see the temporary injunction, he warned that even the threat of a freeze on federal funding can have negative effects.

“This is something that is extremely important to cities, something that we think cannot happen because it will affect both municipalities as well as community-based organizations,” Evans said in a call with the New York Public News Network.

A pause on federal funding, Evans said, can “have a splash-back effect on the city of Rochester and its residents.”

Evans’ request also asks for parity, in the form of $32.7 million to get Rochester to the same level of funding for Buffalo.

Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon said the state needs to be proactive in securing funds for local governments — namely Aid and Incentives for Municipalities, or AIM.

“The Mayors across New York State are unified in our belief that any potential cancellations, delays or freezes of federal appropriations would significantly impact our operations, projects and services,” Scanlon said in a written statement submitted to the state. “Therefore, I cannot overemphasize the importance of maintaining and indexing AIM funding for our cities.”

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said a pause in federal funding could affect the city's efforts to lower lead levels in its water systems.

“The big threat is that the federal money is reimbursable,” Sheehan said. “So there’s a lot of threat and uncertainty to that.”

Scanlon proposed that the state set an annual plan to determine how much AIM funding would increase each year, and pushed for it to be adjusted to inflation each year.

Jeongyoon Han is a Capitol News Bureau reporter for the New York Public News Network, producing multimedia stories on issues of statewide interest and importance.