Before Gov. Andrew Cuomo began banging his tin cup for greater federal aid, a group of government watchdogs wrote state leaders asking for greater transparency on the budget.
April’s last-minute $177 billion budget law made no cuts to help cover the $10 billion-or-more shortfall. Instead, the Legislature gave Team Cuomo the power to trim any outlays it chooses in modifications at multiple checkpoints, the first coming this month. If it disagrees with Cuomo’s cuts, the Legislature has 10 days to offer its own plan.
Now Cuomo is saying that unless New York gets $61 billion in aid, he’ll have no choice but to slash state aid to schools, hospitals and local governments by a fifth.
That goes to the heart of the watchdogs’ concern: As soon as possible as each checkpoint approaches, the gov’s minions should share exactly what shortfall they see, what they’re cutting and why — especially as it affects local governments and school districts taking their own revenue hits.
Cuomo backs the bill from House Democrats that earmarks $67 billion for New York, including $34.4 billion to the state, $17.2 billion for the city and $15.1 billion for other localities. But that measure is no-go for the Republican-controlled US Senate.
None of this is a surprise — yet the enacted budget didn’t even fully address the $6 billion gap the state faced pre-lockdown. Lawmakers just handed Cuomo unprecedented power to cut — and they’re unlikely to agree on better answers in just 10 days.
Two million New Yorkers have filed for unemployment; state revenues are in free fall thanks to business closures — yet Cuomo still won’t specify budget cuts and savings.
Demanding that Washington rescue you while refusing to spell out your fallback plan is no way to run a state. Local governments need a sense of what could be coming.
Cuomo and the Legislature must work together to slash spending now: Even if Uncle Sam sends some help, the state economy and tax revenues will be years recovering. The sooner state spending plans admit that reality the better.
