In case you're just emerging from a coma: The governor delivered his budget address yesterday. Here's the topline info, via Casey Seiler and Rick Karlin at the Times Union:
- Total budget proposal: $132.9 billion
- Reduction in total: $3.7 billion or 2.3 percent
- Deadline to adopt budget: April 1, 2011
- Biggest cuts: $982 million from Medicaid, $450 million from state agencies, $170 million from higher education, $85 million in member items, $14.6 million in aid to municipalities.
And here's a round-up of wonkery from across the state.
Economic development is the most important part of the budget to Cuomo, reports Larry Rulison of the Times Union:
Cuomo's budget takes a simple approach to economic development. It wants to put decision-making into the hands of regional economic development councils across the state that will have $200 million in grant money and tax breaks to provide to the most promising business development projects.
Eric Anderson at the Times Union's Buzz blog notes that Amtrak will continue to get a $16.9 million subsidy from the state, to continue service to the Adirondacks.
NYSTAR, a state agency that funds research and commercialization endeavors like High Tech Rochester, will be folded into Empire State Development as part of the budget (via Larry Rulison, Times Union, Buzz blog).
Tom Precious of the Buffalo News reports that Cuomo left "unanswered questions" about details in his budget related to Medicaid and prison closures (.
Fred LeBrun, in a commentary at TU, agrees. He's skeptical about how Cuomo will actually accomplish the cuts he's outlining, particularly when the commissions he's relying on to find cost savings don't report until pretty late in the budget process.
CORRECTION: Under Cuomo's budget Binghamton schools would lose up to $53 million in state aid. Binghamton schools stand to lose about 8 percent of their aid, which would take them from a $53 million allocation to $48.5 [RMW 2/2/11 11:03 a.m.]. The head of the state school board's association says meeting the proposed cuts will be a "Herculean" task (via George Basler and Cara Matthews for Gannett).
In Rochester, the cuts proposed by the governor would bring the deficit to $50 million. The county executive says the governor needs to share more details about how he'll relieve mandated spending on municipalities (via Jill Terreri, Democrat and Chronicle).
Cara Matthews at Politics on the Hudson has a round-up of reactions from across the state, including AARP and the New York League of Conservation Voters.
Kevin Tampone at the Greater Binghamton Business Journal took the temperature of economic development officials across the state, including:
CenterState CEO President Robert Simpson noted in a statement that for the first time in recent memory, a budget recognizes the state's "dismal" reality and seeks to alter that trend. The plan includes no new taxes or borrowing, according to Cuomo's office. "A New York state budget with no new taxes and no new spending bears so little resemblance to a traditional New York state budget, it's almost hard to believe," Simpson said. "Without question, this budget will be painful for everyone.
Glenn Coin at the Post-Standard quotes Phillip Smith with the United University Professions on the 10 percent cut to SUNY:
“This latest cut would cripple SUNY’s ability to serve its students and to maintain access,” said Phillip H. Smith, president of the United University Professions. “Without question, New York’s 60-year commitment to public higher education is being broken.”
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