Former state Sen. Guy Vellela, recently granted early release from prison after being convicted of bribery-related charges, is eligible for a state pension worth about $80,000 a year.

Meanwhile, Shelly Breen, a mother of eight, found her city's childrens' camp program was out of business.

In this installment of State in Decline, Jay Gallagher connects the dots.

He draws a direct connection between the state's public employee pension programs and muncipal budgets, supported by local property and sales taxes, that are being forced to contribute to retiree's benefits. In Ogdensburg, where Breen lives, the city had to shut down its summer camp to free up some of the money needed to meet its obligations to the pension fund.

Ogdensburg is typical of other communities across the state that are struggling to hold down taxes, maintain services and pay skyrocketing pension bills.

While New York's retirement program for public employees may seem generous compared to what is offered in the private sector, it is not out of line compared to the programs in other states. But New Yorkers, already saddled with high taxes, are suddenly finding they also must chip in to subsidize the pension fund.

For many years, investment income provided enough revenue to pay out some $8.5 billion a year in retiree benefits. But when the stock market went into decline, the pension funds found themselves without enough money to meet obligations.

The state turned to counties, towns, villages, cities and school districts to help cover the shortfall. Localities face the hard choice of raising taxes or cutting services to satisfy the new demands; many are doing both.