§ 1277. Station operation and maintenance. 1. The operation, maintenance and use of passenger stations shall be public purposes of the city of New York and the counties within the district. The total cost to the authority and each of its subsidiary corporations of operation, maintenance and use of each passenger station within the district serviced by one or more railroad facilities of the authority or of such subsidiary corporation, including the buildings, appurtenances, platforms, lands and approaches incidental or adjacent thereto, shall be borne by the city of New York if such station is located in such city or, if not located in such city, by such county within the district in which such station is located. On or before June first of each year, the authority shall, in accordance with the method specified herein, determine and certify to the city of New York and to each county within the district the respective allocation of costs related to the operation, maintenance and use of passenger stations within such city and each such other county, for the twelve month period ending the preceding March thirty-first.

a. For the year commencing April first, nineteen hundred ninety-nine, the total payment amount to be billed by the authority for the operation, maintenance and use of each passenger station within the city of New York and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, and Rockland shall be calculated by summing the total amount listed in the base amount table plus an adjustment to such base year amount equal to the base amount times the increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the New York, Northeastern-New Jersey Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area for the twelve-month period being billed.

BASE AMOUNT TABLE

County Base Amount

Nassau $19,200,000

Suffolk $11,834,091

Westchester $13,269,310

Dutchess $ 1,581,880

Putnam $ 618,619

Orange $ 327,247

Rockland $ 34,791

City of New York $61,435,330

b. For each year thereafter, such total payment for each such county shall be the same amount as the total payment during the immediately prior year, plus an adjustment equal to the prior year amount times the increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the New York, Northeastern-New Jersey Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area for the twelve-month period being billed.

2. On or before the following September first, of each year, such city and each such county shall pay to the authority such cost or amount so certified to it on or before the preceding June first. Such city and each such county shall have power to finance such costs to it by the issuance of budget notes pursuant to section 29.00 of the local finance law. For the year beginning April first, two thousand four, the authority, the city of New York and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, and Rockland may, after having reached an agreement, recommend to the legislature modifications to the amounts set forth above based upon changes made to commuter services including but not limited to changes in the number of passenger stations within such counties or the level of commuter rail service provided to any such passenger stations. Failure between the authority and between the counties to reach agreement will be referred to the state comptroller for mediation. If the mediation is unsuccessful, each party and the state comptroller may submit a recommendation to the governor and the legislature for legislative action.

3. In the event that a city or county shall fail to make payment to the authority for station maintenance as required pursuant to this section, or any part thereof, the chief executive officer of the authority or such other person as the chairman shall designate shall certify to the state comptroller the amount due and owing the authority at the end of the state fiscal year and the state comptroller shall withhold an equivalent amount from the next succeeding state aid allocated to such county or city from the motor fuel tax and the motor vehicle registration fee distributed pursuant to former section one hundred twelve of the highway law, or amounts distributed pursuant to section ten-c of the highway law, or per capita local assistance pursuant to section fifty-four of the state finance law subject to the following limitations: prior to withholding amounts due the authority from such county or city, the comptroller shall pay in full any amount due the state of New York municipal bond bank agency, on account of any such county's or city's obligation to such agency; the city university construction fund pursuant to the provisions of the city university construction fund act; the New York city housing development corporation, pursuant to the provisions of the New York city housing development corporation act (article twelve of the private housing finance law); and the transit construction fund pursuant to the provisions of title nine-A of article five of this chapter. The comptroller shall give the director of the budget notification of any such payment. Such amount or amounts so withheld by the comptroller shall be paid to the authority and the authority shall use such amount for the repayment of the state advances hereby authorized. When such amount or amounts are received by the authority, it shall credit such amounts against any amounts due and owing by the city or county on whose account such amount was withheld and paid.