4/28/10: Focus on Fixes, Not Governor's Bloated Budget

ALBANY, NY - Unshackle Upstate today called on all 212 members of the Legislature to reject Gov. Paterson's request for an up or down vote on his newly unveiled budget due to its uncontrolled spending and numerous anti-taxpayer provisions.

Instead, Unshackle Upstate is urging the Legislature to review the five-year rightsizing plan and budget cuts list that the coalition issued earlier this year.

The 2010-11 Executive Budget includes a spending increase of $2 billion over last year's enacted budget and adds $1.4 billion in new taxes - including $240.2 million in increased assessments on hospital, nursing home and home care services - as well as increased surcharges on hospital visits and certain medical services.

"The governor's budget is simply unacceptable. New York's families and businesses deserve better than an increased deficit and excessive new taxes," said Brian Sampson, executive director of Unshackle Upstate. "Our plan, which includes an immediate $12 billion in cuts, followed by a five-year plan to right-size the budget to a more sustainable $109 billion by 2015, is a realistic approach that will get New York back on track to become fiscally responsible."

During his press conference yesterday, the governor proposed yet another budget correction, which is intended to close an additional $620 million budget gap. As part of this correction, the governor has advanced a proposal to arbitrarily nix 50 percent of anticipated business-related tax credit claims.

"This proposal is yet another egregious breach of faith that demonstrates that the business community cannot trust commitments from this state," Sampson said. "At a time when businesses are battling to keep their doors open, cutting these tax credit claims will throw a major wrench in the efforts to revive New York's faltering economy. We should be doing everything we can to create jobs, not drive them out of the state."

During the Q&A portion of yesterday's press conference, the governor mentioned the need for a property tax cap. Recent reports have shown that property tax levies increased more than twice the inflation rate between 1995 and 2005. In total, New York's local taxes are 79 percent higher than the national average.

"Property tax relief is one of, if not the major concern for the taxpayers and homeowners of Upstate New York. Unshackle Upstate made this issue one of our top priorities and has even proposed legislation to implement a hard cap at 2.5 percent," Sampson said. "While we were upset that the Senate Democratic Majority blocked a measure introduced on Monday that would have implemented a 2.5-percent cap, we'll continue to fight for the implementation of a property tax cap on behalf of all New Yorkers."

Additionally, the governor announced an ad hoc furlough proposal as a cost-saving measure. Unshackle Upstate has long recognized the need to address New York's generously compensated public workforce and pension system. As part of a list of budget cuts released in February, the coalition proposed a 10-day furlough for nonessential personnel that would save the state $840 million.

Sampson said that the governor should amend his furlough proposal to be more long-term, creating meaningful savings that would lessen the tax burden faced by all New Yorkers.