Public Employee Press

Fiscal warfare continues in Albany

This year, the usual state budget dance has looked more like a World Wrestling Entertainment match as Gov. David Paterson and the Legislature locked horns for three months over how to close the $9 billion budget gap for fiscal year 2011.

The budget was due April 1. But a new spending plan remained up in the air as PEP went to press in early July.

In the absence of a comprehensive budget agreement, lawmakers attacked the fiscal problems piecemeal by passing 12 extensions to avert a complete shutdown of state offices and operations. In the latest skirmish on July 7, Paterson vetoed nearly 6,700 budget items the Legislature had passed. The union is particularly concerned about the loss of funding for education and health care.

The governor rejected $493 million in additional school aid approved by the Legislature, and so far, legislators have failed to make up for the loss of $1 million in federal aid that caused the recent layoff of 119 Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Specialists in city schools.

State lawmakers hope $1 billion in federal Medicaid funds will come through, but Paterson is pressing for contingency cuts in case the federal money fails to materialize.

Albany cut $775 million from its statewide health care budget for hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities and programs such as AIDS prevention and care. The city Health and Hospitals Corp. will lose $45 million in state aid, which could result in layoffs for some Local 924 Laborers at public hospitals.

The loss of $250 million in matching federal funds triggered a state cut of $72 million from programs that provide health care for the poor, such as Family Health Plus, Child Health Plus, Medicaid and community-based clinics. Albany also reduced aid to state-funded mental health and
hygiene programs by $45 million.