Cuomo Announces Proposal to Aid Distressed Municipalities

Governor Cuomo introduced legislation that establishes a financial restructuring board for local governments.   Under this plan, the Board would consist of the State Budget Director, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Comptroller, and one private sector restructuring professional. The Budget Director will establish the standards to determine which local governments qualify as fiscally distressed.  Once identified as fiscally distressed, local governments would be able to request the assistance of the Board, and work together to identify a specific restructuring plan.   This restructuring plan would be an option for the local government to accept or reject, however once the municipality accepts funding for the plan, they can no longer unilaterally opt out.