Budgetary sleight of hand
In the 1960s, the rallying cry was “Power to the people.”
In 2012 Albany, power seems to be slipping away from the people, specifically the state Legislature.
Witness last week”™s budgetary thrust and parry between the forces of the Cuomo administration and the state comptroller and legislative leaders.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo”™s proposed state budget closes a $2 billion deficit with no new taxes or new fees, although that came with an asterisk since there is a new tax on millionaires. His budget also calls for mandate relief for counties and pension reform that he promises will save taxpayers “billions” of dollars. And there”™s also a host of other reforms and tax-saving measures.
Anything that saves taxpayers and businesses money should be considered a good thing. But there”™s always a qualifier, something along the lines of do the means justify the ends?
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli weighed in on the budget with a critical eye toward the people who foot the bill ”“ the businesses and taxpayers of the state.
“With the current year”™s budget, the governor and Legislature made progress toward aligning state spending with revenue on a recurring basis. This year”™s Executive Budget proposal continues that trend and substantially reduces out-year deficits. However, this progress should not be made at the expense of transparency, appropriate checks and balances, and the realistic and necessary safeguarding of public dollars.”
It was more than a backhanded compliment. It appeared the state”™s chief fiscal officer was firing a warning shot over the bow of the administration.
Reducing transparency to achieve stated goals will not be tolerated by DiNapoli.
In his review of the proposed budget, DiNapoli pointed out that Cuomo wants to exempt agency contracts from the comptroller”™s office for review and approval. DiNapoli wrote that he would have none of that, saying that his office “ensures that contracts are awarded fairly and openly and are the best value for taxpayers.”
The comptroller was also unhappy with some of the language in the proposed budget, specifically a plan that would allow the governor to move spending authority from one agency to another “with minimal oversight, or legislative input, and without regard to the original intent of the funding in the enacted budget as approved by the Legislature.”
He was also wary of moving $12.9 billion of the New York Works infrastructure program off budget, meaning any use would not be held up to scrutiny by lawmakers or the public.
Public authorities could transfer money to any other public authority as long as it was approved by the respective governing board. So, DiNapoli theorized that tolls collected for highway maintenance could be shuttled away for an unrelated purpose.
DiNapoli also called into question the proposed budget”™s dependence on federal dollars, which could be reduced as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011. “If automatic federal funding cuts scheduled to begin in January 2013 occur, New York state and local governments could lose $5 billion in federal funding over nine years,” he wrote.
And funding for the new Tier VI pension plan? No costs were noted for its implementation, DiNapoli found.
The Cuomo administration would have none of his criticism.
Budget Director Robert Megna, writing on the governor”™s letterhead, fired back.
“We can no longer abide by the Albany status quo that allows for out of control spending and contracting that wastes taxpayer dollars. To avoid cuts in services, local aid or tax increases, the Executive Budget directs state agencies to be more efficient and focuses resources on their core programs and services. The flexibility language will allow for a range of operational measures and will improve functions such as procurement, real estate, and information technology.”
“Flexibility language,” eh?
As a business owner, imagine drawing up a contract with a vendor that contains “flexibility language.”
Reimagining government is a step in the right direction. Reimagining government doesn”™t mean excluding the proper checks and balances and the people of the state.