Reaching a late-May agreement in Albany, New Yorknacted a roughly $260 billion 2025 state budget that NYSAC officials said preserves most county funding for now but contains a special provision that could let the governor and Division of Budget alter allocations if revenues drop by about $2 billion.

That contingency and looming federal funding reductions, especially to Medicaid and the Essential Plan, prompted Alex Regan and Pat Cummings of the New York State Association of Counties to warn Allegany County officials on May 28 that the county should expect a year of sustained advocacy to protect local dollars.

"And our message to legislators has been do no harm," Alex Regan, legislative coordinator for the New York State Association of Counties, told the Allegany County Committee of the Whole. "And that's what we got in the state budget." Regan said the enacted budget is "very vanilla in a good way," but cautioned that federal action could reopen the state plan.

Pat Cummings, general counsel for the association, said the Division of Budget has signaled that "everything is on the table right now," and highlighted concern about a possible loss of federal Medicaid funding. "We're very worried about the Medicaid cap," Cummings said, noting the cap currently shields counties from large spending shifts.

Key figures and provisions cited by NYSAC presenters include:

- A roughly $260 billion enacted state budget, a $24 billion increase from the prior year.
- A special provision that triggers a state response if finances fall by about $2 billion; if the legislature cannot agree on revisions within 10 days, the Division of Budget plan could take effect.
- NYSACestimates of roughly $8 billion in direct county support in the enacted budget and that the state Medicaid cap is saving counties about $8 billion this year.

Regan and Cummings reviewed items the budget did include for counties: a $50 million county infrastructure grant program (each eligible county expected to receive roughly $1 million in the current round), additional CHIPS transportation funding, new money for municipal renewable energy projects, and an increase in aging services funding. Regan described the county infrastructure grant program as broadly usable for tourism, placemaking and infrastructure to support housing creation and said Empire State Development is administering the program.

The presenters listed several notable line items and allocations: $50 million for county infrastructure grants; approximately $92 million for 18-b assigned counsel reimbursement continuation; an increase in CHIPS funding; $200 million in new money for municipal renewable energy projects (part of a larger $1 billion "sustainable future" program); $45 million in new funding for aging services; $500 million for clean water infrastructure projects (including lead pipe replacement and sewage work); and smaller pots for municipal thermal networks and EV charging stations.

Regan and Cummings repeatedly emphasized uncertainty tied to federal budget actions. They cited two federal risks: proposed cuts to Medicaid funding and to the Essential Plan. Cummings said loss of federal Medicaid funding would be "devastating" to providers and would have downstream effects on county public health and social service operations.

Speakers at the meeting asked about local exposures and the county's current Medicaid share. County participants said Allegany County currently carries a Medicaid bill of roughly $70 million annually, with a local share capped at just over $10 million; presenters warned that shifting state policy could increase county obligations.

The presenters urged counties to collect local data demonstrating likely impacts so NYSAC can press the legislature and governor to preserve county funding if federal cuts trigger state-level adjustments. "We'll need you to give us what will happen to you if this happens and so we can make the arguments," Regan said.

No formal county decisions were made at the meeting; NYSACpresenters offered to follow up with detailed slides and written analysis and encouraged county staff to contact NYSAC with questions or local data.

The presentation also touched on several separate policy items included in the budget, including a statewide bell-to-bell cellphone ban in public schools, housing measures limiting certain institutional purchases of single-family homes, changes to criminal discovery rules, funding for community college workforce training for residents ages 25to55, and a transparency requirement for counties to post opioid settlement spending on county websites and to OASAS (the State Office of Addiction Services and Supports). Those items were described as policy outcomes of the enacted budget but did not produce county votes or formal county directives during the meeting.

County officials said they will review the NYSAC analysis and the presentation slides and return to the committee with any follow-up questions. NYSAC said it expects continued activity in Albany this year if federal cuts materialize and urged counties to remain engaged in lobbying and data collection.

Regan closed by urging local officials to stay in contact with NYSAC: "If you hear anything, call us. We will let you know as well if we need you to weigh in with your legislature."