Erie County Legislator Chris Greene spoke out in favor of a resolution calling on Governor Hochul and state lawmakers to increase funding to address maintenance of local infrastructure. The Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) is a New York State program that provides funding to counties, towns and villages for the construction and repair of highways, bridges, and other facilities. It has proven to be a critical funding source for localities.
“We’ve seen the cost of construction materials skyrocket in recent years due to inflation, but Governor Hochul’s proposed 2026 fiscal year budget does not properly increase road maintenance funding to reflect those rising costs. As a result, local municipal highway departments, such as in Amherst and Clarence, are being asked to do more with less. It only takes one drive down Maple Road to understand that a reduction in road infrastructure funding is unacceptable. If Albany is going to take our tax dollars to operate the CHIPS program, the money needs to come back to us in Western New York and not to try to plug budget shortfalls in New York City. Our bipartisan group of highway superintendents are asking state lawmakers to address this issue. As a matter of public safety, the Governor needs to increase CHIPS funding,” said Legislator Greene.
The New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways is requesting the State Legislature increase the funding by $250 million in the 2026 Fiscal Year Budget. A resolution calling on the state to act accordingly was passed at the February 6th session of the Erie County Legislature by a vote of 10-1, with County Legislator Jeanne Vinal being the lone vote opposing this request.
