State Comptroller Criticizes State Budget
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- April
- 25
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who has been critical of the state budget since it was approved April 9, released his preliminary view of the 2008-09 spending plan today—and he doesn’t like what he sees.
He said the budget relies on “risky revenue” that may not materialize and adds $11.5 billion to the state’s burgeoning debt load. DiNapoli warned that future year annually debt could rise to as high as $9.5 billion if cost containments are not made. (The state just closed a $4.6 billion deficit.)
“It’s clear this budget continues New York’s long but not-so-glorious traditions of spending more than the state takes in and borrowing too much,” DiNapoli said. “The reality is that the economy is in rough shape and the worst may still be around the corner. ”
Some of the findings include:
—Increased Reliance on Debt: The state’s current debt of $53 billion is projected to exceed $67 billion by the 2012-13 fiscal year. Debt service payments are estimated to cost the state $7.5 billion annually by 2012-13, a 50 percent increase.
—Risks: The budget contains almost $1.5 billion in revenue that may not materialize, including the conversion of not-for-profit health insurers to for-profit status, sales tax from Native American retailers and VLT revenues.
—Non-Recurring Resources: The Enacted Budget utilizes $2.5 billion in one-shots, including $400 million in “sweeps” from various dedicated funds, such as the Environmental Protection Fund and the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage Fund.
—Off-Budget Spending: The Enacted Budget includes $100 million in new off-budget spending for various housing programs.
This entry was posted
on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 1:50 pm by Joseph Spector.
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Jay Gallagher has covered Albany for Gannett News Service since 1984 and has been Albany Bureau chief since 1989. He`s a native of the Boston area and likes to point out that in this millennium, the score is Red Sox 1 championship, the Yankees 0. 
Cara Matthews has been a statehouse correspondent in the Albany Bureau since August 2005. Prior to that, she covered Putnam County government and politics at The Journal News for nearly five years. Before that, she worked at newspapers in Connecticut and covered the state Legislature for one of them. 
