By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – There's plenty of anxiety hanging in the air today as voters decide the outcome of hundreds of elections across the country. But in Erie County, anxiety is also mounting over an impending budget crisis.
Last week, County Executive Joel Giambra reported he was hopeful. Faced with an impending $130 million dollar budget gap, Giambra said Albany was finally on board with a solution - an extra one percent on the county sales tax.
But getting all state and county lawmakers to agree on the tax - or how to distribute it - looks to be an even bigger gap.
Erie County Legislative Majority Leader Lynn Marinelli said this is going to be a long process.
"That's something that there's been conversations with Senator Volker, Assemblyman Tokasz, and I would assume they're having their conversations with their delegation members, because this has to be a multi-partnered kind of event - should it go that way," said Marinelli.
The County Executive had hoped to present a budget representing the support of the legislature for the additional sales tax revenue. But Marinelli said legislators aren't even prepared to look at a possible new tax until they see Giambra's proposed budget.
And she said the County Executive's threat of a "scorched earth budget" is unacceptable to her constituents.
"They don't want to see a total library shutdown. They don't want to see a loss of public safety in a time when public safety concerns are heightened," said Marinelli.
"They don't want to just see services get gutted without an honest to God look at the expense side of the personnel costs, the patronage positions, some of these areas of government that need to be discussed as being trimmed before you start asking taxpayers what sort of taxes are you going to go for here," she added.
Giambra has until November 10 to submit his proposed budget for 2005. Once it is received, Marinelli said the legislature will hold public hearings before voting on the budget by December 7.