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Senator Monica Martinez promised the funds back in 2019, according to Bill Theis of the Long Island Firefighters legislative committee, but when she lost her re-election to a Republican, the Democrats who control the state senate failed to allocate the monies leaving local taxpayers holding the bag.
In Great River, the fire department purchased a new pumper truck expecting $365,000 in state assistance, and when it didn’t come through, the district had to raise taxes nearly 8%, according to treasurer Deidra Renwick.
In Patchogue, Fire Commissioner Steve Saper said his district purchased a new rescue boat, based on the promise that it would receive $500,000 from the state. When the money failed to materialize, the district was also forced to raise taxes.
All told, Theis said the state owes upwards of $2.7 million to 10 Long Island districts.
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins blamed the Senate Republicans for the disappeared dollars saying, "Unfortunately, the new Republican representatives failed to fight for this funding.” With the Democrats holding veto-proof majorities in both houses of the legislature and all statewide elected offices, Republicans are infamously powerless in Albany to allocate funding or pass legislation. The issue is yet another example of the Republican-leaning suburbs taking a back seat to the urban Democrats that control the levers of power in Albany.
The senator currently representing some of the stiffed districts, Dean Murray, wrote to Stewart Cousins in March calling on her to "take the necessary steps to release this funding."
Senator Martinez has since returned to the senate in an adjacent district and fire officials are looking for her to set up a meeting with the majority leader to possibly shake loose the funds.