GUILDERLAND — The late state budget was the topic on April 21 as about 50 Guilderland residents came to Tyler Station to hear from their Democratic representatives.

But the questions from the cordial crowd — which included four members of Guilderland’s all-Democratic town board — ranged from requests for help with personal problems to expressions of outrage for Trump administration actions.

Supervisor Peter Barber opened the session by describing Guilderland as “an inclusive community” as he fretted over the 186 residents, including 42 children, in town whose housing is supported by federal subsidies.

“I want to make sure we keep these people in our town,” said Barber, stating that the proposed federal budget would eliminate or severely reduce the program.

Senator Patricia Fahy who has been hosting similar budget sessions throughout her district said that community meetings before the pandemic, when she was an assemblywoman, “never had a great turnout.”

Now, the meetings, with the chaos of federal cuts, are well attended.

“There’s a big elephant in the room,” said Fahy, referencing nationwide uncertainty.

First, there’s the federal uncertainty with 40 percent of the governor’s proposed $252 billion budget coming from federal funds.

Then, there’s the economic uncertainty since, in the last fiscal year, Wall Street accounted for 19 percent of state tax collections.

A Siena College poll released on April 22 found that cutting federal aid to states, including New York, was opposed by 76 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of independents, and 44 percent of Republicans.

Fahy referenced the tariff war started by Donald Trump and the resulting retaliations “causing tremendous uncertainty.”

“When Wall Street sneezes, the state catches a cold,” said Fahy.

The same Siena poll found that putting a tariff of more than 100 percent on China was supported by 20 percent of Democrats, 28 percent of independent voters, and 52 percent of Republicans. Similarly, when asked about putting a 10-percent tariff on virtually every country in the world, 19 percent of Democrats were in support as were 38 percent of independent voters while 64 percent of Republicans supported the measure.

Assemblywoman Gabriella Romero said that policy decisions, not fiscal issues, are holding up the state budget, which was due on April 1.

“It’s very frustrating to us,” said Romero. “It holds up our school budgets. It holds up our paychecks.”

Assemblyman Phil Steck gave the crowd a primer on how New York is different from the federal government and from other states in its budget process.

“It’s a governor’s budget. We can only delete,” said Steack of the legislature, noting that the process gives governors their maximum leverage “so they put in items that wouldn’t pass on their own.”

Steck went over the three major policy hold-ups for this year’s budget: the governor wants to roll back some of the criminal procedure reform; she wants involuntary commitment for mentally ill people; and she wants to make it illegal to wear a mask when committing a crime.

“I’m hoping we’ll get through them in the next two or three weeks,” said Steck.

Fahy talked through slides she had prepared on various spending categories like education, health, housing, economic development, and public safety.

Focusing on the $400 million Kathy Hochul has proposed for the Capital Region, Fahy said $200 million would be for downtown economic development in Albany. “When the core of a region rots, the whole area suffers,” she said.

Another  $150 million would be for the State Museum, said Fahy, adding, “We have a dated, stale state museum.”

Thirty-five million dollars would be to continue work on Interstate-787, which Fahy said had been under-utilized since it was built. The thrust of the study is to reunite Albany with the Hudson River waterfront.

Other funding proposals for the Capital Region upgrade include $25 million for Empire State Plaza renovations, $20 million for annual Capital City funding, and $1.5 million for a police “surge” in downtown Albany.

Going over a long series of potential federal cuts, Fahy noted New York is a “cold state” when she cited the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for which federal funds last year covered $360 million.

As she named $2 billion in federal aid cuts to New York state schools that don’t eliminate DEI programs, Fahy said, “We’re suddenly afraid of our diversity, which is really what this country was built on.”

“A trying time”

Questions from the crowd included asking about legislation to prevent private equity firms — “like Pyramid!” someone called out — taking over neighborhoods, and legislation on voting integrity and verification.

“Most of the propaganda …is coming from other places,” said Steck of voting integrity. He asserted, “The system that we use, signature verification, has always worked perfectly.”

While Romero opined that nothing is perfect, she said, “I’ve never heard of an issue personally.”

Asked about absentee ballots, Phil Steck replied he had proposed a bill for voting by mail, similar to the system used in Oregon.

Asked about support for green energy, Fahy said, “We are investing billions upon billions in renewable energy.” She added that, even as the federal government goes backwards, “The Capital Region will absolutely be at the forefront.”

Steck added, “There is no bipartisan effort on green energy,” and termed the Republicans “hostile” to such efforts.

A Siena College poll released on April 23 found that 82 percent of Democrats think climate change is a serious problem while only 49 percent of Republicans do. Independent voters fall in between at 69 percent.

Asked what the state representatives were doing on the federal level, Fahy said, “We start every budget discussion … with the impact.” She noted some of the first Trump cuts were to the United States Department of Agriculture and that a fifth of the entire Veterans Affairs jobs are being cut.

“Tariffs is another term for taxes …,” said Fahy. “It’s a trying time.”

“This world we’re living in is one I’m scared of and don’t recognize," said Romero who added she was also “invigorated.”

Her mission, she said, is “exposing the reality of this administration to others.” Romero said, “This is what people voted in” and urged, “Educate your conservative family members …. Do you know why eggs are expensive?”

Romero concluded, “It’s going to get a lot worse.”

Steck said, “It’s more important to be involved in your state.”

He added that “funds are going to high tech and high finance; everything else is being hollowed out …. When people get economically desperate, they turn to con men.”

Meredith Brière, a Guilderland School Board member who is enthusiastic about her service in the Peace Corps, asked, with AmeriCorps being gutted, how to maintain pathways to service.

Fahy responded by noting that cutting the U.S. Agency for International Development was “shortsighted,” saying, “All that will do is … increase instability in other countries.”

Asked about the effect USDA cuts are having on local food pantries, Fahy said there is a “serious impact” already.

A woman in the crowd called what is happening nationally “a rude awakening.”

“We’re seeing a constitutional crisis,” Fahy agreed, citing random arrests without due process.

Altamont activist Edna Litten cited the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which says, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury …. nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ….”

She stressed the word “person,” meaning it would apply to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador who was living with his U.S. citizen wife in Maryland when he was deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador without due process.

“It’s very disturbing," agreed Fahy, adding that she was “very grateful for the courts.”

George Courtney III, a geologist, spoke to the legislators about his difficulty getting licensed by the State Education Department,  a process he’s been engaged in for 16 months.

Romero, who has been trying to help him, asked him to heft his sheaf of paperwork and said, “It shouldn’t be so hard.”

Steck said the State Education Department is supposed to be independent of politics and called it the “least responsive agency.”

“Independence can sometimes … insulate you from accountability,” said Fahy.

Alexander Gordon, a retired farmer and former county legislator, advocated for the use of biodigestors, which would keep methane from landfills while generating electricity.

He suggested a public-private partnership to, for example, to charge school buses.

Fahy said of the anaerobic digestors, “We’ve been very supportive.”

Another resident asked if New York might follow California’s lead in suing the federal government. He noted reduction in services and noted that New York, like California, pays more to the federal government than it gets back.

“I’m not getting my buck’s worth,” he said.

Fahy said it would be legally difficult. She added that there has been pressure to revisit SALT — Trump’s first-term tax law, capping the State And Local Tax deduction at $10,000 — which “would have to be fought in the courts.”

Steck called the U.S. Supreme Court a “totally politicized body” and said, “There is absolutely no consistency in what they do.”

He advocated for returning the stock transfer tax, which was repealed in 1981, noting that most people who would be taxed — those buying stocks — are from other states and countries.

Steck also quoted Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.