State Budget

Statements on the proposed NYS budget

State Budget: Governor’s proposal would hurt kids, taxpayers
NYSUT Media Relations – January 19, 2010

ALBANY, N.Y. January 19, 2010 – New York State United Teachers today said massive cuts proposed for education would force schools to cut teachers and programs, jeopardizing student progress while stalling the state’s ability to create jobs and revitalize the economy.

“How can you race to the top with an education budget that’s laden with red ink?” asked NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. “NYSUT understands the pain that the state’s deep fiscal crisis has inflicted on so many; our members and our professions have been hit hard too. Yet, slashing more than $1.1 billion from public schools and again hacking away at SUNY, CUNY and community colleges totally contradicts the major investment the Obama Administration is seeking for education through Race to the Top.”

Iannuzzi said Gov. David Paterson’s education budget leaves school districts in the unenviable position of either proposing double-digit property tax increases, or eliminating the programs and teachers that New York’s children need. More devastating cuts to SUNY, CUNY and the state’s community colleges, already reeling from years of budgetary ax-swinging, “would slam shut the door to higher education for many of New York’s students, especially the unemployed seeking retraining and preparation for new careers. This derails the state’s efforts to build a knowledge-based, high-tech economy in upstate New York,” he said.

Iannuzzi said NYSUT, along with its higher-ed affiliates, have grave concerns about the impact the proposed Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act impact would have on access to, and quality at, our public university systems.

“The next generation of New York’s workers must come from New York public schools and universities,” Iannuzzi said. “Employers are going to demand it, and state policymakers must ensure that New York’s education system can meet that demand.

“Promising a knowledge economy without an investment in knowledge is a hollow promise,” Iannuzzi said.

NYSUT Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta noted that, historically, the governor’s proposal is the first word in the annual budget battle. “We are confident that legislators from both parties will understand the impact this proposal would have on the ability of schools – both charter and regular public schools- to meet the needs of students, and the property tax increases homeowners would likely face,” Pallotta said. “As always, we will be working with the Legislature and the governor to improve this spending plan to ensure the final budget – the last word – meets the needs of our public schools and colleges.”

NYSUT, the state’s largest union, represents more than 600,000 teachers, school-related professionals, academic and professional faculty in higher education, professionals in education and health care and retirees. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.

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Statement of CSEA President Danny Donohue
on Gov. David Paterson’s proposed state budget.

“Gov. David Paterson’s unwillingness to address the misuse of $62 million in taxpayer money on temporary state workers should be evidence that there are still better budget choices to be made. Hiring and shortchanging temporary workers in dozens of state agencies for years on end is a misguided priority and a violation of the law. Before the governor asks union-represented state employees for concessions he needs to change his own administration’s practices that undermine working people.

CSEA will address these issues and so many others in the course of the weeks ahead with the objective of protecting jobs and services and their impact on the quality of life for New Yorkers.”

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New York State Nurses Association statement: Executive Budget relating to health care

LATHAM, NY – Jan. 19, 2010 – The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) warns that the Governor’s proposed $1 billion in healthcare provider cuts is a number so large that its impact on facilities will be devastating.

Budget information obtained early Tuesday morning outlines nearly $1 billion in reductions to health care and an additional $240.2 million in assessments and surcharges.

Proposed cuts to hospital services, nursing homes, and home care and personal services will leave providers understaffed and put the public at risk. “These cuts, coupled with a lack of state regulation to ensure safe staffing, provide a formula that will negatively impact patient care and compromise patient outcomes for years to come,” said Tina Gerardi, MS, RN, CAE, Nurses Association CEO.

The Nurses Association urges the legislature to put the well-being of New Yorkers first and reject the Governor’s proposed healthcare cuts that impact patient care.

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Nurses Association opposes budget cut to SUNY nursing education LATHAM, Jan. 20, 2010 – The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA)
opposes Governor Paterson’s recommended $143,100 cut to funding for expanded SUNY nursing programs.

While the SUNY program is just one part of nursing education, it is integral to the larger effort of meeting the long-term needs of the nursing shortage. “While we applaud the Governor’s extension of funding for the Senator Patricia McGee Nursing Faculty Scholarship Program and continued funding of private nursing education, we cannot ignore the need for funding at our SUNY institutions,” said Tina Gerardi, MS, RN, CAE, Nurses Association CEO. “Without sufficient nursing programs, the nursing shortage will worsen and patient care will be severely compromised,” she said.

NYSNA urges the legislature to address the current nursing shortage and reject the Governor’s damaging cuts to SUNY’s nursing education programs.

Contact: Erin Silk, 518.782.9400, ext 224 The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is the state’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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Albany – The governor’s proposed 2010-11 budget calls for a quarter of a billion dollars in negotiated give-backs from state employees, when the savings could easily be achieved by reducing the state’s reliance on costly private consultants, instead.

The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) applauds the governor for recognizing savings can be achieved by reducing the use of consultants. The governor recently proposed to reduce the use of information technology consultants for an estimated savings of as much as $15 million per year. The governor also identifies a savings in his proposed budget by reducing the state’s use of more costly private contract insurance examiners.

However, the governor’s consultant reduction plan is only the tip of the iceberg and does not go far enough. Our more aggressive proposal to cut the use of consultants across-the-board in state government can easily achieve the quarter of a billion dollars the governor is targeting from the state work force to close the budget gap.

I cannot and will not go to my members and ask them to reopen the contract we negotiated with the state in good faith when many of my members are sitting alongside more costly private contractors doing the same work. However, we are always willing to discuss issues that do not involve reopening our contract.

We await more details on the closures and consolidations the governor is proposing for the Office of Children and Family Services. We will seek to preserve the vital services our members provide to the state’s troubled youths and ensure that troubled and sometimes dangerous youths are not recklessly cast into our communities without adequate support.

PEF has identified significant potential savings for the state, such as the reduction in the use of consultants and reducing workplace injuries and their associated costs and have communicated these proposals to the governor.

PEF is the state’s second-largest state-employee union, representing 59,000 professional, scientific and technical employees.

Paterson Seeks Huge Cuts and $1 Billion in Taxes and Fees

By DANNY HAKIM and NICHOLAS CONFESSORE

ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson proposed on Tuesday what would be the largest cut to school aid in more than two decades and nearly $1 billion in new or increased taxes and fees as he unveiled his budget, a plan that is likely to be the first chapter in a prolonged battle with the Legislature.

Searching for new sources of tax revenue amid a fiscal crisis, the governor proposed legalizing mixed martial arts, allowing the sale of wine in grocery stores, taxing bottled soft drinks, taxing cigarette sales on Indian reservations and deploying speed-enforcement cameras in highway work zones.

He even proposed charging fees to many families that enroll in an early intervention program for children with autism, attention deficit disorder and other special needs, and delaying one of his signature achievements — a plan to increase monthly welfare allowances.

Facing a $7.4 billion deficit this year, the governor is presenting a relatively lean budget by the standards of a state government accustomed to unrestrained spending. His office also delivered more sobering news, projecting that the state’s income will not return to the levels seen before the financial crisis until 2013.

The overall budget, including federal matching funds, would grow to $134 billion, up $787 million, or 0.6 percent, from the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31. State spending would increase $745 million, or 0.9 percent, to nearly $80 billion.

“This is not a budget of choice; this is a budget of necessity,” Mr. Paterson said in a speech to the Legislature on Tuesday morning. “Ladies and gentlemen, the days of continuing taxation and the days of continuous spending have got to end,” he added. “The era of irresponsibility has got to stop. The age of accountability has arrived.”

Several dozen lawmakers skipped the speech, which took place in a large egg-shaped auditorium here, and those who did attend greeted the governor’s remarks with polite, if tepid, applause. Mr. Paterson has had a tense relationship with fellow Democrats, who control the Legislature, sometimes by design as he has sought to capitalize on voter discontent with the array of scandals emanating from Albany.

Lawmakers expressed a mix of caution and skepticism on Tuesday. “Some of the stuff is retreads from last year that never quite made it, and I imagine they’ll probably meet the same fate,” said Senator Diane J. Savino, a Democrat representing Brooklyn and Staten Island, who singled out the soda tax and the proposal to allow groceries to sell wine.

Senator Malcolm A. Smith, a Queens Democrat, said the governor should not have allowed for an even modest rise in spending. “I don’t think we really should be increasing it at all,” said Mr. Smith, the Senate president.

Senator Dean G. Skelos, leader of the Senate Republicans, said, “The greatest danger” was “the one posed by Assembly and Senate Democrats who no doubt will push to further increase spending and taxes just like they did last year.”

The leaders of the Legislature — Senator John L. Sampson of Brooklyn and the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver of Manhattan — said they needed more time to review the proposals.

As he faces an uphill election battle, Mr. Paterson’s budget is also a break from the typical practice of robust budgets in election years. With no money to throw at preferred interest groups, Mr. Paterson is betting that voters will reward him as a responsible steward instead of punishing him as a Scrooge.

His plan would cut school aid by 5 percent in a state with the highest per-capita spending on education. It would also slow the growth of spending on Medicaid, reduce by $1 billion spending on state agencies and eliminate $300 million in undesignated annual aid to New York City.

But Mr. Paterson avoided harsher medicine. He has made no significant cuts to the state’s work force and even assured union leaders that he would not seek layoffs this year, a risky move as the state faces huge deficits in the coming years.

His plan also assumes that there will be a significant recovery this year in the state’s tax collections and relies on a number of recycled proposals. A new tax on sugared sodas, $1.28 per gallon, would yield $465 million, similar to a proposal that Mr. Paterson made last year but dropped amid resistance from the Legislature and companies like PepsiCo Inc., which is based in Purchase, N.Y.

Mr. Paterson is also proposing an increase in cigarette taxes, raising the tax per pack by $1, to $3.75, a change that would bring total taxes in New York City to $5.25 per pack.

One of the most controversial measures is Mr. Paterson’s proposal to slash school aid. Under the plan, wealthier districts would be hit hardest, a strategy that has long been fought by the State Senate, especially by senators from Long Island. Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, called it “a colossal reversal of New York State’s commitment to providing every child with a real opportunity to learn.”

Mr. Paterson is also seeking to shrink the state’s troubled youth prison system, which is facing federal scrutiny and a class-action lawsuit. He wants to close perhaps the most infamous institution, Tryon Boys Residential Center in Fulton County, where a 15-year-old boy died in November 2006 after workers pinned him to the floor. Mr. Paterson also proposes consolidating or shrinking three other youth centers.

Another proposal would introduce fees to a state program that provides early intervention services for about 74,000 special-needs children. Families would be charged on a sliding scale, with fees starting at $180 a year for those with a household annual income of at least $55,126 and topping out at $2,160 a year for those earning at least $198,451.

Mr. Paterson is also proposing new assessments totaling $240 million on the state’s powerful health care industry on top of the nearly $1 billion in cuts in payments to health care providers.

He would close two tax loopholes, including one that allows people earning severance packages to avoid paying state income tax if they move out of the state. And he is proposing to restructure the state’s property tax relief program, known as Star, to make it less beneficial for the wealthy.

Budget watchdogs had a mixed reaction, although most said that the governor’s proposal lacked the gimmickry that had characterized many previous budgets.

“It looks pretty clean,” said Elizabeth Lynam, a deputy research director at the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit organization. “On the whole, I think it makes a reasonable down payment on the problems the state is facing.”

Edmund J. McMahon, director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative-leaning research group, said the governor was still proposing to spend too much.

“What they’re saying is, ‘Look, we’re below inflation now — isn’t that great?’ ” Mr. McMahon said. “The problem is you were several multiples of inflation ahead of personal income during one of the steepest recessions in recent history and you’ve got a lot of catching up to do, so this isn’t good enough.”

Click here for the complete budget presentation: BUDGET

PEF plan reveals millions in cost-savings

Albany – The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) today released comprehensive research that reveals the state can save $656 million over three years by implementing PEF’s cost-savings recommendations. The research also includes examples of irresponsible uncontrolled spending by some state agencies, a complete disregard of state law by others, and sloppy and incomplete record keeping by many.

“At a time when the state is facing severe fiscal constraints, spending on consultants rose to $2.9 billion; a $100 million increase,” said PEF President Kenneth Brynien. “That’s the equivalent of 23,329 full-time
consultants working for the state, over 2,500 more consultants than the previous fiscal year. If that many state employees were added to the payroll during this fiscal crisis, there would be outrage.”

PEF’s research revealed some state agencies incurred astronomical consultant costs. The Racing Association Oversight Board paid a New York City law firm $689,901 for 1,275.40 hours of legal services which breaks out to $541 an hour. The same board paid paralegals even more. The law firm billed the state $51,535 for 93.20 hours of work by paralegals. That comes to $553 an hour! These are just some of the examples of irresponsible spending.

The biggest savings is in replacing Information Technology (IT) and engineering consultants with state employees. This week, the governor announced an effort to in-source IT consultants for an estimated savings of as much as $3 million. While we applaud the governors acknowledgement of what PEF has been saying for years that state employees can do the same work for much less than consultant, the governors plan doesn’t go far enough. PEF’s proposal to cut the use of IT consultants is much more aggressive and can save
the state a minimum of $116.9 million by replacing half of the IT consultants with state employees. Our plan to replace engineering consultants can achieve a minimum savings of $95 million annually.

The potential future savings from PEF’s consultant reduction plan could be even more because only 20 percent of total consultant expenditures are filed properly with the state Comptrollers Office as required by the contract disclosure law. Some reports that were filed are so riddled with errors and typos that the New York State Research Foundation reported paying a consultant less than a penny per hour.

“This out-of-control spending, and improper and sloppy filing is costing the state millions. New York’s professional workforce has come up with ways to change that. Now it’s up to the governor and legislative
leaders to make that change happen,” Brynien said.

PEF is the state’s second-largest state-employee union, representing 59,000 professional, scientific and technical employees.

Education groups file lawsuit to block withholding of school aid

ALBANY, N.Y. December 16, 2009 — A broad coalition of education advocates and citizen taxpayers, seeking to protect school programs from elimination, stop employee layoffs and prevent dramatic property tax increases, today filed suit against Gov. David Paterson, saying he acted illegally and unconstitutionally by withholding state funds allocated by the state Legislature for school districts.

The lawsuit was filed in state Supreme Court in Albany County by New York State United Teachers; New York State School Boards Association; New York State Council of School Superintendents; and the School Administrators Association of New York State. Other education partners, including the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the New York State Association of School Business Officials and the state PTA, signaled their strong support.

The suit states the governor is violating the separation of powers doctrine of the state Constitution — and the constitutional guarantee of “a sound, basic education” for students — by ordering the withholding of millions of dollars in state aid payments to school districts when the Legislature not only approved those payments, but specifically rejected proposed education cuts by not enacting a bill submitted by Paterson on Nov. 25 as part of his deficit reduction plan.

“The governor may not agree with the Legislature’s spending priorities and may indeed have profound concerns about the results, but once he signed the state budget in April and approved the deficit reduction plan, he is constitutionally and legally bound to follow the law,” said NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. “The governor is overstepping his bounds. He clearly lacks any legislative, statutory or constitutional basis to withhold funds from school districts and, by doing so, he is harming children and their schools.”

“School districts cannot provide educational programs to students in an unpredictable and chaotic funding environment,” said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer. “The governor’s unilateral midyear cut to schools has already created havoc and uncertainty in many districts, as they study their options – all of which have adverse consequences for taxpayers. We are deeply concerned about the governor’s action to withhold or delay payments to schools in the future.”

Kremer added, “School boards are bracing themselves for the tough fiscal challenges that lie ahead, when federal stimulus funds expire and costs continue to skyrocket. What we expect of our leaders is long-term financial planning and greater fiscal certainty, not chaos and doubt.”

“The law is the law,” said Dr. L. Oliver Robinson, president of the New York State Council of School Superintendents. “In seeking to delay school aid and STAR payments, Governor Paterson is choosing to ignore laws which require the state to pay certain amounts of aid to schools by certain dates. We are taking legal action today in part to prevent any governor from ever ignoring those same laws to permanently withhold aid.”

Robinson added, “As it is, Governor Paterson threatens that he may seek to turn these delays into permanent cuts. This puts school leaders in an impossible position. We cannot tell students, ‘Potentially, we will keep your teacher on the job,’ or ‘Potentially, we will continue the extra help you receive.’ We cannot tell employees or suppliers, ‘Potentially, we will pay you what we owe.’”

Kevin Casey, executive director of the School Administrators Association of New York State, added, “The governor’s action will deprive children of educational programming that many will not have the opportunity to make up. It also eviscerates the school district budget approval process, rendering meaningless the district budgets approved by district taxpayers.”

“The opportunity for a sound, basic education is a state constitutional right that ensures that our children are given the tools to thrive and drive the economy. Despite a court order and a legislative agreement to honor this commitment, the governor continues make proposals that turn back the clock on providing adequate school funding to achieve this goal. This delay will necessitate layoffs, as well as program and resource cuts,” said Geri D. Palast, executive director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the education advocacy organization that led the successful constitutional challenge to New York state’s school finance system. “The governor’s decision to withhold education aid ignores a clear constitutional mandate, and it will have a profoundly negative impact on this state’s most valuable asset, its children.”

“If the governor’s actions are allowed to stand, and this aid payment guessing game is allowed to continue, school districts will have no choice but to make management decisions that are counterproductive to sound financial practices,” said Deedrick Bertholf, NYSASBO’s executive director.

New York State Congress of Parents and Teachers President Susan Lipman added that the governor’s decision “presents serious fiscal implications on the ability of local school districts to continue to provide necessary educational services to children. Lipman said the state PTA “supports the efforts of NYSSBA, NYSUT and other education advocates in seeking injunctive relief to stop the governor from taking these steps.”

NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan B. Lubin agreed that the withholding of school aid would likely mean larger classes and the inability of districts to fund programs — such as speech therapy and extracurricular activities for children — and pay teachers and staff.

“Schools rely on state education funding and local property taxes to provide New York’s children with the sound, basic education they are guaranteed under our Constitution,” Lubin said. “The governor’s decision to withhold school aid has already led to layoff notices and worries that school districts will not be able to fund important programs, make payments to vendors and, in some cases, even meet payroll.”

The lawsuit seeks to stop the governor from usurping the constitutional policy-making authority of the Legislature, and asks the court to order the governor to release the appropriated funds immediately. The suit notes that, if the court does not stop the governor’s actions, “He will only be emboldened to take other … unilateral action, further unbalancing the three coordinate branches of government (and) silencing the voice of the people.”

“The governor is well-aware that his actions violate the Constitution but he seems intent on carrying through with them regardless of his constitutional obligations,” the suit states.

Among the suit’s plaintiffs are NYSUT through its President Iannuzzi; NYSSBA through its President Wayne Schlifke; NYSCOSS through its President Robinson; and SAANYS through its President Peter Kruszynski. CFE, NYSASBO and the state PTA are strongly backing the groups’ lawsuit.

Other individual plaintiffs include Doug Becker, a math teacher in Churchville-Chili; Brian Boyd, a fourth-grade teacher from Yonkers; George Heidcamp, president of the board of education in Saugerties; Paul Hetland, a social studies teacher from Rochester; Florence D. Johnson, a member of the board of education in Buffalo and president-elect of NYSSBA; Kimberly Petramale, a math teacher in Saugerties; and Harry B. Reeder, a member of the board of education in Herkimer.

In addition to Paterson, the suit names as defendants the state Division of Budget and Budget Director Robert L. Megna, as well as state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Read the full legal filing here:  LEGAL

GOV SENDS $EIZIN’S GREETINGS

by Sally Goldenberg

Gov. Paterson yesterday ordered his budget staff to withhold $750 million in payments to municipalities for school aid, property-tax exemptions and other services to keep the state afloat for the rest of December.

The governor blamed the cash-flow problem — which affects the city to the tune of about $84 million — on the Legislature’s failure to close the budget gap.

A teachers union has threatened legal action to stop him.

“We’re disappointed in the tack that the governor has taken, especially after the Legislature expressly chose not to reduce school aid, and we are reviewing our legal options,” said Carl Korn, spokesman for the New York State United Teachers.

A grim Paterson said he was confident his action would hold up in court.

“This is tragic that we’re put in this situation, but we did not get the resources from the special [legislative] session that I have been saying for the last three months that we actually need,” the governor said at a press conference.

“If the Legislature won’t act, then I will. I will not let this state run out of money on my watch.”

He said New York is $1 billion short of cash this month and will make up the remaining $250 million with anticipated revenues and a rainy-day fund.

During the special session, the Legislature agreed to only $2.7 billion worth of cuts to plug a $3.2 billion budget hole for the fiscal year, which ends in March.

The delayed payments announced yesterday will hit the city especially hard, with a loss of nearly $24 million in municipal aid payments and about $60 million in school aid from checks that were to arrive tomorrow.

Mayor Bloomberg declined comment, saying he was awaiting more information, but state lawmakers panned the move.

“From the governor’s own statements, he already knows that any attempt to singlehandedly impound money that has been allocated by the Legislature is unconstitutional,” said Senate Finance Chairman Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn).

Austin Shafran, spokesman for the Senate Democrats, said, “Constantly attacking the Legislature is easy, but it doesn’t solve people’s problems. New Yorkers don’t want political rancor or self-indulgent theatrics. They want their leaders to get things done.”

Paterson is directing the state to withhold 10 percent of payments for a slew of services, and said he would re-evaluate the fiscal situation next month to determine when municipalities will actually get the cash they are counting on.

A state budget official said it was unclear whether the state must make these payments by the end of its fiscal year.