State Sen. Joseph Griffo says the budget compromise unveiled in Albany is “a hard dose of fiscal reality that was necessary.”

“For agencies looking for money, this will not be a good budget. For taxpayers wondering if the state has heard their voices, it’s an encouraging sign,” the 47th District Republican said.

“The budget compromise reduces spending, which makes this a history-making event in recent state finances,” he said.

“For the past two years I have called for budgets that embodied fiscal restraint. The fact that those calls went unheeded meant that this year’s effort was harder than it had to be.”

Griffo said that “unlike the past two years, when decisions were made behind closed doors, this process made use of conference committees and open dialogue.

“The fact that we have been willing to compromise, and the other parties have shown willingness to bend, allowed us to add in some school aid that is sorely needed in our upstate districts and fine tune the governor’s proposal to reflect the needs of the whole state.”

Griffo said the budget is not a final solution to New York’s fiscal problems. “We still need to adopt mandate relief and a property tax cap so that there can be a true relief for all taxpayers at all levels,” Griffo said.

“Although these critical items are not in the budget, they are vital and I will be looking for get these enacted into law in the coming months.

Griffo, whose district includes eastern and southern St. Lawrence County, said that he has “worked to modify the governor’s initial school aid cuts and prison closure process. It’s a good sign that we were able to restore some funding to our upstate schools, and I am relieved that the initial plan to close prisons without legislative input has been modified.”