ALBANY – Two proposed amendments to New York’s constitution appear to have a good chance of passing, according to unofficial results posted by the New York State Board of Elections.
At about 11 p.m. on Tuesday, more than 60% of statewide election districts had reported results.
Ballot Proposal One, to remove small city school districts from a special constitutional debt limitation, had a “yes” vote of about 58%.
Proposal Two, related to sewage project debt, had a slightly more comfortable 61% voting yes.
Proposal Two was sponsored in the Assembly by Buffalo Assemblyman Bill Conrad. If approved, the amendment would continue to allow municipalities to increase their debt load to finance costly sewer projects.
Dating back to 1963, voters have approved the amendment six times before – once every decade; the seventh extension would remain in effect until 2034.
In a recent statement, Conrad said that experience demonstrated why counties, cities, towns and villages need the ability to borrow money to build or repair sewage treatment facilities, without having to reduce their capacity to finance other essential capital needs.
“At the time, the town had an annual budget of about $110 million, and it was facing a mandated sewer project valued at $90 million,” Conrad said. “This sort of work is necessary to maintain the integrity of our properties, our health and safety and our water quality – but it’s also far too expensive for communities to manage without proper financing.”
The other proposed constitutional amendment, Proposal Number One, would allow small-city school districts – in cities with fewer than 125,000 people – to be eligible to have the same debt limit as other school districts.
Neither proposal has generated any serious opposition.
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