As current deficit looms large, state begins 2010-11 budget process
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- November
- 6
This year’s state $3.2 billion budget deficit is far from settled, but it’s time for the governor’s Division of Budget, the Legislature and the state Comptroller’s Office to start working on the 2010-11 spending plan.
At 9:30 a.m. Monday, the day before the special budget-cutting session called by Gov. David Paterson for the current fiscal plan, the Division of the Budget, the Senate Finance Committee, the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office will hold a public “Quick Start” budget meeting at the Capitol to discuss their revenue and disbursement estimates for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 fiscal years in the areas of projected deficits, school aid, Medicaid costs, public assistance and other areas.
After the meeting, the Division of the Budget and the Legislature have to develop a “Quick Start” budget report and make it publicly available no later than Nov. 15. The date is two months before the constitutionally mandated deadline for release of the governor’s budget proposal. The Budget Division projects there will be a $6.8 billion shortfall in 2010-11.
The Assembly Republican Minority Conference, which released its “Quick Start” report Thursday, thinks the shortfall will be closer to $3.7 billion this year and $7.3 billion next year.
DiNapoli’s office said in its report that the current deficit could exceed $4.1 billion, and the state faces a cumulative gap in its general fund of $27.5 billion through 2011-12, $3.6 billion more than the governor’s estimate.
“Albany has played roulette with taxpayers’ money for too long,” DiNapoli said. “And now, in the face of the greatest fiscal challenge in our recent history, the game continues,” DiNapoli said, adding that the state has to “stop treating New Yorkers like ATMs.”
The state’s Medicaid program will “continue wreaking havoc on state and local government finances,” according to the Republicans. The state’s share of the program will total $14 billion this year and $16.5 billion in 2010-11, the GOP report projects. In the area of school finances, state aid is expected to increase by about $453.5 million in 2010-11, reaching 22.04 billion.
This entry was posted
on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 5:30 pm by Cara Matthews.
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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. 
