Governor increases aid for municipalities by $150 million but not much for Orleans

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 February 2026 at 8:52 am

Photo by Tom Rivers: This welcome sign for Albion is shown along the towpath just east of the Ingersoll Street lift bridge. The village would get an additional $8,145 in state funding through Temporary Municipal Assistance.

The governor has announced a $150 million increase Temporary Municipal Assistance with the lion’s share going to cities of all sizes in the state.

Orleans County doesn’t have any cities and its 10 towns and four villages would receive a total of $80,148 as part of the allocations. The county has a population of 40,343 so the temporary aid amounts to about $2 per person.

The state began offering the Temporary Municipal Assistance in the 2024-25 budget at $50 million. It kept that $50 million in the 2025-26 budget and will triple it in the new state budget.

The temporary aid is on top of the AIM payments of Aid and Incentives to Municipalities, which distributes $715 million statewide to towns, villages and cities outside of New York City. With AIM, the cities get $647.1 million or 90.5 percent of the total, while towns statewide receive $47.9 million, and villages share $19.7 million.

The Temporary Municipal Assistance follows the same percentages with the cities getting nearly all of the money.

Here is the breakdown of AIM and Temporary Assistance for Orleans County municipalities:

Village of Albion – $38,811 AIM, $8,145 TMA, population 5,637
Village of Holley – $17,786 AIM, $3,732 TMA, population 1,754
Village of Lyndonville – $6,251 AIM, $1,311 TMA, population 791
Village of Medina – $45,523 AIM, $9,555 TMA, population 6,047

Town of Albion – $46,944 AIM, $9,852 TMA, population 7,639
Town of Barre – $12,486 AIM, $2,619 TMA, population 1,830
Town of Carlton – $13,680 AIM, $2,871 TMA, population 2,823
Town of Clarendon – $11,416 AIM, $2,397 TMA, population 3,305
Town of Gaines – $21,323 AIM, $4,476 TMA, population 3,226
Town of Kendall – $21,299 AIM, $4,470 TMA, population 2,614
Town of Murray – $44,677 AIM, $9,375 TMA, population 4,806
Town of Ridgeway – $46,273 AIM, $9,711 TMA, population 6,577
Town of Shelby – $45,007 AIM, $9,447 TMA, population 4,878
Town of Yates – $10,421 AIM, $2,187 TMA, population 2,567

The cities get a lot more in assistance from the state. Here are some examples of smaller cities and their AIM and TMA:

City of Batavia in Genesee County – $1,750,975 AIM, $609,978 TMA, population 15,174
City of Salamanca in Cattaraugus City – $928,131 AIM, $323,328 TMA, population 5,929
City of Sherrill in Oneida City – $372,689 AIM, $129,831 TMA, population 3,077
City of Lockport in Niagara County – $2,650,525 AIM, $923,349 TMA, population 20,876

Hochul in announcing the funds on Thursday said the additional Temporary Municipal Assistance will help the local governments minimize the burden on taxpayers.

“Having spent years in local government, I understand the unique challenges our local leaders are experiencing, which is why my Administration has worked closely with municipalities across the state to increase financial support from the State,” Governor Hochul said. “We want all of New York’s municipalities to succeed, and this funding is crucial to putting all of our cities, towns and villages on stronger financial footing and allowing them to keep their residents safe and continue providing the vital services they rely on.”

The New York Conference of Mayors represents cities and villages around the state. The organization praised the governor for the extra money. The organization urged the State Legislature to approve the funding increase.

“This additional aid will deliver meaningful relief not only to municipalities across New York grappling with mounting fiscal pressures, but also to taxpayers striving to balance household budgets amid the rising cost of living,” said NYCOM Executive Director Barbara Van Epps said. “We deeply appreciate the Governor’s recognition of the vital role local governments play in moving New York forward, and we urge the State Legislature to preserve this additional investment in the adopted state budget — because when our cities and villages rise, all of New York rises with them.”

New York State Association of Towns Executive Director Christopher Koetzle said commended the governor for the additional unrestricted aid.

“This funding delivers critical fiscal flexibility, allowing towns to sustain essential public services and reduce reliance on real property taxes,” he said. “This proposal demonstrates a clear commitment to supporting municipalities with meaningful, direct assistance.”