Cuomo and Senate Leader Present Cost-Cutting Plans
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Gov. Mario M. Cuomo proposed today a broad package of cost-cutting measures that would cushion local governments from the pain of impending budget cuts but would also lead to reduced services for the poor and disabled. Included in the package, which will be part of the budget Mr. Cuomo releases on Thursday, were proposals to narrow the definition for children who qualify for special education and to require some Medicaid recipients to pay part of the cost of their health care. The Republican majority leader of the State Senate, Ralph J. Marino, released his own proposals for $750 million in cuts in social services today, and many of them mirrored the recommendations of the Democratic Governor. Because Mr. Marino and Mr. Cuomo historically have found little common ground on social issues, many lobbyists interpreted their new kinship as a stark illustration of this year’s fiscal and political realities. ‘Own Levels of Fright’ “It’s striking how similar they are,” said Anne E. Erickson, legislative coordinator for the Greater Upstate Law Project, which lobbies on Medicaid and welfare issues. “Both have their own levels of fright to them, but it’s amazing that we have a Governor and a Senate that are so close.” Mr. Cuomo released his package of initiatives to relieve local governments of costs of mandated services one day before he is to unveil his plan for filling a $6 billion budget gap in the 1991-92 fiscal year, which begins on April 1. He is expected to propose filling three-fourths of the gap through severe cuts in spending that would cost local governments hundreds of millions of dollars in state aid. The Governor said his mandate-relief initiatives, many of which require legislative approval, would save local governments more than $450 million and would save school districts more than $160 million next year. In addition, he said in a statement that local governments could save $400 million through repeal of the state’s Wicks Law, which drives up construction costs by requiring that independent contractors — instead of a general contractor — be hired for municipal projects. He said he was “supportive” of efforts by local government and school board officials to repeal the law. A 1988 Pledge In 1988, when negotiating a school construction law with legislative leaders, Mr. Cuomo declared that he would wait five years before asking the Legislature to repeal the Wicks Law. The Governor’s press secretary, Anne W. Crowley, said Mr. Cuomo’s statement today did not violate his pledge because he was not personally proposing to repeal the law, only supporting a proposal made by others. The primary cost-saving measures in both Mr. Cuomo’s and Mr. Marino’s proposals are in Medicaid, welfare and education, three of the most expensive elements of the state budget. New York has nearly 2.4 million eligible Medicaid recipients and 1.3 million welfare recipients, and caseloads have surged during the economic downturn. |