With the holiday craziness I haven't had a chance to give you my reaction of the state budget Governor Paterson proposed last week. Empire Falls' mayor, Mike O'Brien, stopped in for breakfast on Monday and I grilled him pretty good on what is and isn't in the budget. I've also spent time online checking out what others are saying about the Governor's approach to getting New York out of its fiscal mess.

My feeling about budget-balancing at the government level is that it is not - and should not be - any different than for a small business or a family. It's about choices, sacrifice and priorities. For the StopTheTaxShift web site and for me as its guest blogger, the top priority is protecting the municipal property taxpayer from the state shifting its taxes, costs and financial problems onto local governments. From what I can tell, and considering the size of the state's budget problem, the Governor has done a pretty good job of preventing those kinds of shifts.

Any government, business or family budget that attempts to close a gap of 15% is going to upset people. The proposed state budget has certainly caused such a reaction, but I think the Governor deserves a lot of credit for not passing the buck down to financially strapped local governments. For most cities, villages and towns, they will get the same amount of state aid they received last year. They were supposed to get an increase, and they've shown their ability to use it wisely, but to not get cut in a year like this is a victory and will help local officials avoid disastrous property tax increases.

The Governor also proposes mandate relief that, if adopted by the Senate and Assembly, would finally give local governments a much needed break from costly state requirements that don't help the public and hurt property taxpayers. In a year when the state doesn't have the money to give increased aid to local governments, passing some real relief from mandates will allow local governments to be more efficient and not cost the state a dime. It should be a no-brainer.

Finally, let me say that in the face of the fiscal and economic challenges facing our state, New York remains a wonderful place. All that made New York great is still here...the beauty, the diversity, the natural resources and the creativity of our people. Yes, we've lost our way a bit, but our future can be bright. Have a safe and happy holiday and 2009.

— Joe