Paterson schedules TV address today on severity of state’s fiscal crisis
ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson is taking his fiscal gloom-and-doom tour to the television airwaves this afternoon in a brief set of remarks warning New Yorkers about the financial challenges facing the state.
For months, the governor has been talking of the dire fiscal times ahead, but so far has not produced a plan to deal with what he describes as a crisis. Whether he will lay out those ideas today remained uncertain Monday.
In a session dealing with New York City’s finances, Paterson again said Monday that he worries some government officials do not appreciate the full extent of the plight facing the state.
“My concern is that people sitting in their homes already know what the pain is. I want to make sure that Albany [knows],” Paterson said.
The statewide address, a rarity for a governor, is intended to illustrate the severity of the state’s economic condition and how it already is affecting the state’s finances.
Paterson officials said they were unsure which stations will broadcast the brief address at 5:10 p. m. WNEDTV (Channel 17) in Buffalo plans to broadcast the speech at 11:30 p. m., while ThinkBright (cable Channel 21) will begin coverage at 5 p. m.
Paterson has been sounding fiscal warnings for months. But so far, he has not called the State Legislature back to Albany to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
Paterson has said the state’s budget for the current fiscal year, which will end March 31, is in sound shape and that the real crisis will hit next year.
But some in Albany have wondered why he has not acted sooner — other than by giving speeches and today’s television address — to cut spending now and avoid even deeper reductions down the road.
Immediately after joining the Legislature in adopting the current $122 billion budget in April, Paterson began warning of a potential $5 billion deficit next year.
Despite the fiscal warnings, the state has backed away from imposing a comprehensive hiring freeze to slow increases in one of the most expensive areas of the budget: government employee salaries and benefits. This year’s budget actually called for adding more than 1,000 workers.
The situation could hit New Yorkers especially hard if the state has to enact mid-year cuts not only in such items as state agency spending and personnel, but also in aid to cities and school districts. The state was forced into such a course during an economic slowdown in the early 1990s, forcing schools to shave programs and cut teachers in the middle of the school year.
In the past week, Paterson has not ruled out such possibilities. Still, just months before an election for all 212 seats in the State Legislature, few expect any truly controversial budget cuts, such as those involving education or health care, will be made anytime soon.
The governor said he will decide by today whether the situation warrants calling the Legislature back to Albany to undo some of the spending approved only three months ago.
“We don’t have to panic, because there’s a way we can respond, but we’re going to have to respond immediately,” Paterson said Monday.
Paterson would not provide any details on the severity of the state’s fiscal situation, saying he would save that for today’s broadcast.
“It’s no secret that this is serious enough that I would like to address the public directly,” he said.
