In just six days the deadline for New York to have a budget in place for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, that begins on April 1 will be upon us. While much will be made of the demise of Eliot Spitzer and how it has impacted the time line for adopting a budget, that is just an excuse for a process that looks to be distant from putting a fiscal plan for the state in place, long before the prostitution allegations 16 days ago.
Prior to Lt. Gov. David Paterson#'s ascension to Governor last week, the budget was stymied on a number of fronts that still prevent a deal from being reached #- whether it is “Three Men In A Room#” (Gov. Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno) or in the so called “conference committees#” that, if properly structured, would have been hammering out a budget when first released by then Gov. Spitzer, almost two months ago.
At this point, as has been widely reported, neither the Assembly nor Senate can agree on either expected revenue figures (made all the more troublesome now with the collapse of Bear Stearns last Monday and the complete lack of consumer confidence that will likely result in the self-fulfilling prophecy of creating a recession, if we are not already in one) or where new revenue should come from.
The latter has been a major matter of division, long before the former governor's fall from grace. In simplistic terms the Assembly Democrats want to raise taxes on the rich and the Senate would like to use rosier revenue projections. Both need more revenue to close an expected budget gap of more than $4.6 billion.
That gap led the new governor to immediately propose (while fending off charges regarding his own marital history) several important, if not overdue, budget measures that aren#'t popular and do not go far enough. He seeks to cut some state spending by 2 percent, far from what is needed to solve New York's budget imbalance.
As a result, with the clock still ticking, there are miles to go before a budget can be sent to legislators who, for the most part, will rubber stamp what their legislative conference leaders come up with and adopt a plan.
But in the end, this year, with all that has gone on so far, should the issue be timeliness? Maybe not. What should be at issue is what will be in the final spending plan and how it will not only do the work that New York is responsible for, but also make the Empire State more attractive for prospective businesses and to retain those we already have, something that it is not.
Cosentino, a former mayor of Auburn, can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com
At this point, as has been widely reported, neither the Assembly nor Senate can agree on either expected revenue figures (made all the more troublesome now with the collapse of Bear Stearns last Monday and the complete lack of consumer confidence that will likely result in the self-fulfilling prophecy of creating a recession, if we are not already in one) or where new revenue should come from.
The latter has been a major matter of division, long before the former governor's fall from grace. In simplistic terms the Assembly Democrats want to raise taxes on the rich and the Senate would like to use rosier revenue projections. Both need more revenue to close an expected budget gap of more than $4.6 billion.
That gap led the new governor to immediately propose (while fending off charges regarding his own marital history) several important, if not overdue, budget measures that aren#'t popular and do not go far enough. He seeks to cut some state spending by 2 percent, far from what is needed to solve New York's budget imbalance.
As a result, with the clock still ticking, there are miles to go before a budget can be sent to legislators who, for the most part, will rubber stamp what their legislative conference leaders come up with and adopt a plan.
But in the end, this year, with all that has gone on so far, should the issue be timeliness? Maybe not. What should be at issue is what will be in the final spending plan and how it will not only do the work that New York is responsible for, but also make the Empire State more attractive for prospective businesses and to retain those we already have, something that it is not.
Cosentino, a former mayor of Auburn, can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com