Co-chair of state Democrats 'puzzled' by gov's pension plan; Updated

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's admonition of fellow Democratic elected officials last week to pursue a unified party message might not have been evident in Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner's reaction to a portion of his budget message.

Cuomo's proposal called for localities to be able to take in advance some of the future savings from the new, cheaper Tier 6 plan. Miner, who happens to be co-chair of the state Democratic organization, said she is "puzzled" by the proposal and would need to explore it further.

More details of her reaciton are here from the Syracuse Post-Standard.

At the same time, however, Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola), himself a former mayor, said in a statement from his office that he was "pleased to see his proposal included in the Governor’s Executive Budget."

“The long term fiscal contribution option within the budget will give necessary and immediate relief to local governments and municipalities and is a change long overdue,” he said.  

Martins had suggested valuating over 30 years to assure predictable pension payments by local governments.