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No End in Sight for State Budget Stalemate, David Paterson Says

By DNAinfo Staff on June 15, 2010 10:57am

Governor David Paterson spoke of progress on the overdue state budget, though he predicted that the issue would remain unsettled for at least one more week.
Governor David Paterson spoke of progress on the overdue state budget, though he predicted that the issue would remain unsettled for at least one more week.
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Governor's Office

By Olivia Scheck

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — The state will remain in budget limbo for at least another week, Gov. David Paterson predicted in a radio interview Tuesday morning.

"I think we'll have to do it again next week," the embattled governor said, referring to emergency legislation passed Monday, which provided a week's worth of state funding and narrowly avoided a partial government shutdown.

Monday's week-long budget extension bill was the 11th of its kind, prolonging the months-old battle over how to close the state's $9.2 billion budget gap.

The budget was due April 1.

The governor also announced, in a conference call later that day, that he would propose permanent budget bills covering economic development, transportation, and public safety for the legislature later this week.

If the bills do not pass, Paterson said he would likely attach them to a future extender bill, should one come to pass.

This week's extender cut $326 million in social services, including those for the mentally disabled.

"I didn't want to put the cuts into emergency appropriations bills," Paterson said during the conference call. "I've done it because we need to start saving now."

While the governor noted that he was still deciding what to include in next week's extender bill, he said he did not plan to cut school funding or increase revenue through taxes or borrowing.

Paterson did say, though, he would lobby the legislature for extra taxes on sugar and cigarettes in the future.

Paterson also mentioned a plan to lower the retirement age for state workers.

"I'm trying to get an idea of what the saving would be," the governor said of the idea.

Asked how many more extensions New Yorkers could expect before the legislature finally passes a budget, Paterson said he didn't know, adding that the stalemate would cause problems down the line.

"What is really happening is the more we delay, the more we're cramming the $9.2 billion of savings into a smaller amount of time," the governor warned. "Just like people who don't pay their bills on time."

Still, Paterson said that he saw progress in the conflict that has pitted him against legislators and legislators against each other.

"I do think [there was] recognition by the state legislature that this is the governor's responsibility," Paterson said in this morning's radio interview. "The governor should decide what should be the cuts that we make."