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Gov. Paterson trims $800M out of $124B state budget proposed by Spitzer

March 19, 2008

Citing a struggling economy, Gov. Paterson Tuesday pruned $800 million out of the $124 billion state budget proposed by ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

He proposed a 2% cut in operating spending for all state agencies, and another 2% reduction in aid for local communities to help offset the Empire State’s $5 billion budget shortfall.

“We’ve got to do, maybe, something we’ve never really done before so that next year we’re not in the same situation,” Paterson said.

The governor tried to get down to business following the uproar caused by announcing his extramarital affairs. He unveiled his lowered spending target after his first public budget talks with legislative leaders Tuesday afternoon.

The session proved far more collegial than the angry atmosphere that marked the 14-1/2-month tenure of his predecessor.

Paterson asked Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate GOP Leader Joe Bruno (R-Rensselaer) to quickly work up an agreement projecting state revenue.

Nearly 20% of New York State’s revenues come from Wall Street. The state is directly affected by layoffs in the financial world and JPMorgan Chase’s acquisition of Bear Stearns on Monday for a fraction of its worth a week ago won’t help matters.

The Senate is resisting a push by Assembly Democrats to impose a personal income tax surcharge on those earning at least $1 million per year to bridge the budget gap.

Lawmakers are under pressure to finalize a budget by April 1.

Source: NY Daily News

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Written by NY Politics · Filed Under News 

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