Help Rochester Get a Fair Share

The Rochester Fair Share Coalition brings together organizations from all walks of life in the Rochester area, including Labor, business, construction workers, ministers and teachers.

"The Fair Share Coalition is about fairness and equity for our community. Fairness and equity go to the very heart of the Labor Movement. Labor, business, government, and other community leaders may sometimes disagree on how to address the needs of our community, but I believe we are all committed to solving our problems."
- James V. Bertolone, President, Rochester Labor Council, AFL-CIO

On February 15, 2007, in a display of solidarity, the Mayor of Rochester, Monroe County Executive, CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance, and President of the Rochester Labor Council sent the following letter to Governor Spitzer, House Speaker Silver, Senate Leader Bruno, and the Rochester delegations from the New York State House and Senate.

February 15, 2007

Dear Governor Spitzer:

This is a letter from the citizenry of Rochester, New York. We are one city, the heart of a unified community, fighting for a crticial objective: Equitable AIM funding for our city.

The more than 25 organizations in our coalition encompass Rochester's busiensses, labor unions, academic institutions, faith communities, healthcare organizations, nonprofit agencies and government. Together we employ, serve, teach or minister to virtually every person who calls Rochester home, not just city residents.

Our members have interests of their own in the state budget, and do not always agree on other issues before state government. But, we do agree that a key priority is helping Rochester obtain its fair share of Aid and Incentives to Municipalities.

We very much appreciate the support Rochester received last year, when our city received a 33 percent increase in AIM funds – the largest of any city.

We also appreciate the support you have proposed, a 13.5 percent increase this year, the largest in the state. We are not competing with our neighbors in Buffalo or Syracuse, and we do not want to takeanything away from them. But even with both increases, our city in 2007 would receive $98 less per resident than Syracuse, and $160 less per resident than Buffalo. We need an additional $35.2 million to reach a level footing with Buffalo. At the rates of increase proposed this year, our citizens will not achieve parity with their neighbors until Fiscal Year 2016-17.

Respectfully, we must insist that our city not wait that long.
- Our need is urgent because the problems Rochester is tackling are as severe, or are worse than, those of Buffalo and Syracuse, or any city in New York.
- We need your support because our city has used the state’s investment to make measurable progress against its problems.
- Under Mayor Robert J. Duffy, Rochester will be a model of accountability, linking future state aid increases to continued measurable progress.

Many people outside Rochester are surprised by the urgency of our need. For decades we fared better economically than our Thruway neighbors, and the inequity in AIM funding is largely a penalty Rochester pays for its past success.

Unfortunately, as our largest employers have downsized, it is a penalty we cannot afford.
- Rochester has lost 41 percent of its manufacturing base over the past 14 years
- The U.S. Conference of Mayors ranks Rochester among three cities in America facing the most severe job losses – along with Detroit and Newark
- Our schools lead New York state in dropouts
- We have the highest child poverty rate in the state

Because we love our city, it is distressing to report these facts. But Rochester is making progress.
- Serious “Part I” crimes decreased in 2006, as the city added 20 new police officers and assigned 50 veteran officers to foot and bicycle patrols in high-crime areas.
- Businesses supported a “Summer of Opportunity” program that provided 550 jobs for city youth.
- The city demolished more than 220 vacant buildings in 2006, and will eliminate the demolition backlog of 450 buildings by this summer.
- We are piloting a citywide curfew to keep young people off the streets at night, and an anti-truancy programs to keep them in their classrooms during the day.

Governor Spitzer, you will receive thousands of letters from interest groups about the 2007 budget. But we are not an interest group. We are the third largest community in New York state. Our city is in trouble. We need your help to fix it – and our mayor will earn the state’s investment by being accountable for using it to achieve measurable results.

You will hear from more people in Rochester about our need for fairness. In the meantime, we appreciate your consideration as we urgently request your help.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Duffy, Mayor, City of Rochester
Maggie Brooks, County Executive, Monroe County
Sandra A. Parker, President & CEO, Rochester Business Alliance
James Bertolone, President, Rochester Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Action for a Better Community........................................James Norman
Baber AME Church......................................................... Rev. Marlowe Washington
Builders Exchange of Rochester ..................................... Aaron Hilger
City of Rochester............................................................. Mayor Robert Duffy
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield....................................... David Klein
Greater Rochester Association of Realtors .....................Karen Wingender
Ibero-American Action League....................................... Hilda Escher
Interfaith Action .............................................................. Brian Kane
Episcopal Diocese of Rochester ...................................... Rev. Michael Hopkins
Jasco Tools, Inc. .............................................................. John Summers
Laborers Local 435.......................................................... Bob Brown
Monroe Community College...........................................R. Thomas Flynn
Monroe County................................................................ Maggie Brooks
Nazareth College .............................................................Daan Braveman
Paychex, Inc. / RBA Chair .............................................. Martin Mucci
Progressive Church of God in Christ .............................. Bishop James Wright
Rochester Building & Construction Trades Council....... Dan Conte
Rochester Business Alliance ........................................... Sandra Parker
Rochester City School District ........................................ Manuel Rivera
Rochester Institute of Technology .................................. Albert J. Simone
Rochester Labor Council, AFL-CIO ...............................James Bertolone
Rochester Tooling & Machining Association ................. Kevin Kelley
Small Business Council of Rochester ............................. Anthony Cotroneo
St. John Fisher College.................................................... Donald E. Bain
SUNY Brockport............................................................. John R. Halstead
UNICON Rochester ........................................................ Ron Behan
United Way of Greater Rochester ................................... Peter Carpino
University of Rochester................................................... Joel Seligman
Urban League of Rochester.............................................William Clark