Most states are concerned about the poor economy and sluggish revenues, but New York is one of only four states that reported a “pessimistic” view about its financial condition, according to a report released Friday by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The other three are  Arizona, Delaware and Washington.

   “Whether or not the national economy is in recession is almost beside the point for some states,” said William T. Pound, executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures. “The fiscal situations have declined so much in some states that they appear to be in a recession.”

   Most budgets for 2007-08 were built on revenue forecasts that are not materializing, so budget gaps have grown, Pound said in a statement. The situation is worse for the 2008-09 fiscal year, he said.

   New York had to close a $4.6 billion budget gap as part of its $121.7 billion budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year, which began April 1. The budget spends 4.9 percent more than last year. However, the spending plan assumes all state agencies, and the State University of New York and City University of New York, will make 3.35 percent in cuts to their budgets.

   Commissioners and the leaders of SUNY and CUNY have until May 16 to submit a plan to Gov. David Paterson on how they plan to make the reductions.

The ongoing scandal of private attorneys getting public benefits, such as pensions and  health care, continued today as Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli yanked the pension of Long Island attorney Albert D’Agostino, who was receiving pension benefits from six—yes, six—public agencies.

DiNapoli suspended D’Agostino’s whooping $106,700 annual pension because he received pension service credits from Nassau County, Lawrence Union Free School District, Valley Stream Union Free School District, North Merrick Union Free School District, the Town of Hempstead and the Village of Valley Stream.

D’Agostino retired in October 2000.

“As we find problems in the retirement system, we’re fixing them,” DiNapoli said.  “We’ll continue to dig until we’re confident that state pensions are only going to those people that rightly earned them.”

Last month, DiNapoli’s office suspended the $61,459 annual pension of Long Island Lawrence Reich after an audit by DiNapoli’s office found five school districts inappropriately reported Reich as an employee.

With the embattled state Thruway Authority set to raise tolls starting in July at this morning’s meeting in Albany, Gov. David Paterson and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli are urging them not to it.

The Thruway Authority meets at 11 a.m. today and is expected to vote in favor of dumping much of an E-Z Pass discount in July and then raising toll 5 percent in 2009 and again in 2010 as part of a $2.7 billion plan to improve the superhighway.

The meeting can be watched online here.

“The Thruway toll increase is unfair to drivers who are being asked to tighten their belts everyday in these troubled economic times,” Paterson said. “I have asked my agencies for across-the-board cuts of 3.35 percent in their operations. I am also undertaking a comprehensive review of the budget to further reduce spending.”

“For the authority to increase tolls now, and also plan 5 percent increases in the following two years without a commitment to take every possible step to reduce spending, runs against the state’s goal of fiscal restraint in the face of a national economic downturn.”

DiNapoli, who issued an audit in January that found the Thruway Authority should review its finances before raising tolls, had similar warnings.

“The Thruway Board should not raise tolls now. The last thing upstate New Yorkers need now that gas is approaching $4-a-gallon is another tax increase disguised as a toll hike,” he said.

“The upstate economy already faces enough challenges without increasing the cost of moving everything from lumber to milk. Our audit released in January revealed opportunities for cost-savings and efficiencies, and we urge the Thruway to act on our audit’s recommendations and do more. My office continues to dig deeper into Thruway operations, and we urge Governor Paterson and the Legislature to do the same.”

After earlier this week calling on state agencies to lower spending, Gov. Paterson told legislative leaders, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith Kaye that means you too.

“The enacted budget financial plan assumes that the Legislature, the Department of Law, the Office of the State Comptroller and the Office of Court Administration will join in this effort and reduce their operating budgets by 3.35 percent,” Paterson wrote to them today. (Here they all are, right, at his swearing-in ceremony March 17.)

“To the extent that your agency does not achieve anticipated savings, deeper reductions will be required in other agencies. ”

The letter may be pouring salt into the wounds of Judge Kaye who is suing the state over a lack of pay raises for judges. But Paterson says tough fiscal times means everyone needs to cut back.

Earlier in the day, he told reporters in Manhattan that he would like to seek mid-year budget cuts too.

“I would not mind if we open this budget process up and address next year’s problem this year,” he said.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced today a settlement with a Syracuse-area mortgage lender that was allegedly targeting seniors with false advertising and offering misleading home-equity linesof credit.

Under the settlement, Upstate Capital, Inc. of Basile Rowe in East Syracuse, must reform its marketing practices and indicate that it’s a registered mortgage broker, not a non-profit group. The company must also pay $20,000 to the state.

The company targeted elderly homeowners throughout upstate, Cuomo’s aides said, including in Rochester, Victor, Binghamton and Ithaca.

Cuomo said the company called itself the Association for Better Living (ABL) and sent flyers starting in July 2007 to homeowners promoting a “new government program”
that “protects seniors” by providing a monthly, tax-free income with no income or credit qualifications.

In fact the deal was a reverse mortgage, which puts a lien on a home with growing interest that must be paid back when the home is sold.

You can view the mailing here: Upstate.flyer.pdf

“Consumers must remain vigilant in the midst of the national mortgage crisis,” Cuomo said in a statement. “There are unscrupulous individuals seeking to take advantage of homeowners who have worked hard their whole lives to secure equity in their properties.”

Gov. David Paterson, who took over last month from former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, has decided to keep Spitzer’s commissioners of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, mental health, and addiction services, according to the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services.

Michael Hogan is the commissioner of health; Diana Jones Ritter is commissioner of mental retardation and developmental disabilities; and Karen Carpenter-Palumbo is commissioner of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.

Paterson requested the resignation of all top Spitzer administration officials when he assumed his post, a routine action for a new governor.

“We look forward to working with this inspired and visionary team,” Matthew Canuteson of NYAPRS said in an e-mail today.

The Clinton campaign announced today that some local New York leaders are campaigning for her as part of her “Economic Solutions Team.”

It’s interesting that Clinton would turn to upstate leaders as Clinton’s main Achilles heel as New York’s senator was her inability to fulfill her pledge in her 2000 Senate bid to bring 200,000 new jobs to upstate.

Anyway, Kingston Mayor James Sottile will be in Kokomo, Logansport and South Bend, the campaign said. Canandaigua Mayor Ellen Polimeni (right) and North Tonawanda Mayor Lawrence Soos will make stops in New Albany, Huntingburg and Vincennes.

Brighton town Supervisor Sandy Frankel (left) will be in Anderson, Muncie and Fort Wayne.

As gas prices continue to rise, state lawmakers are focusing on a tried and true tradition: lowering the state’s gas tax.

Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco said today that he plans to introduce legislation to eliminate gas taxes on prices over $2 per gallon from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and use the money from other gas taxes on renewable energy initiatives. The minority conference also wants to redirect revenue from car registration fees and license renewals to renewable energy programs.

Meanwhile, some Senate Republicans are also calling for a “gas-tax holiday” from Memorial Day to Labor Day, providing a complete suspension of gas taxes during the summer months.

Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece, said the measure would save New Yorkers 33 cents per gallon in state gasoline taxes, and the savings would double if the federal government also suspends its own taxes, which is being contemplated on Capitol Hill.

Last year, the state Legislature capped sales tax on gas at eight cents per gallon. And some counties limited the sales tax they collect to the first $2 of the price.

No word yet on whether Gov. Paterson or the Democratic-controlled Assembly would come on board.

But Paterson said in a radio interview Tuesday that a gas-tax suspension doesn’t mean that prices will necessarily drop.

“There is no mandate that is making the retailer pass that savings that we created out of the tax along to the consumer,” Paterson said. “And until we find a way to make that happen, we are not going to be able to” lower prices consistently.

Gov. David Paterson hasn’t issued any budget vetoes, but did veto a separate piece of legislation today that would have required local police department with a population of 150,000 or less to have a full-time police chief if the department has at least 15 part-time police officers.

Paterson spokeswoman Jennifer Givner said requiring police chiefs for smaller departments would be an unnecessary expense for municipalities during these tough economic times.

“It’s a significant unfunded mandate that would be imposed on localities during a very difficult fiscal time,” she said.

A law is already on the books that requires a police chief if a department covers a community with less than 150,000 people and has more than four full-time officers. The legislation would have expanded it to the 15 part-time officers, requiring municipalities to hire a chief.

Here’s the veto message: Veto%20msg.dot

Updated: The state Association of Counties is giving Paterson kudos for the veto. From its statement:

“County officials from across the state are encouraged by the tone and the tenor of the governor’s veto message, which states ‘the difficult choices about the appropriate allocation of scarce financial resources at issue in this legislation are best made by the elected representatives of affected towns and villages themselves.’

These are the words of a Governor who understands the policy and fiscal challenges facing local government officials.”

If you’re interested in Gov. David Paterson’s statewide radio tour, you can listen to him live now on North Country Public Radio by clicking here.

He started the talk a little after noon and has focused largely on ways to help the North Country and the Adirondack Park. It’s supposed to go until around 1 p.m.

He’s doing the interview from New York City.