New York’s government has long been the poster child for dysfunction. But low and behold, they’ve managed to pull off the seemingly impossible – they passed a budget before the April 1 deadline.
It has been five years since they’ve adopt a state-wide spending plan on time. It’s the first time since 1983 that they’ve managed it ahead of schedule. And they’ve closed a purported $10 billion budget shortfall without further exploitation of our already overburdened tax base.
Our state leaders deserve kudos for this achievement. Last year, if you’ll remember, the budget was 125 days late and included billions of dollars in new taxes and fees.
Governor Andrew Cuomo should be proud.
Of course, there will be repercussions to what our esteemed governor is calling “a historic and transformational budget.” Not least of all steep cuts to education, only a minuscule portion of which was restored in the final version of the plan. These are the things I’m losing sleep over these days.
I tossed and turned for hours on Monday night, after Norwich’s school board meeting. Silly, I know, since I don’t even live in the district. Nor do I have any kids. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care. I’ve had more than my share of sleepless nights this budget season, not only about Norwich, but the other four districts I cover as well.
No one wants to see anyone lose their job, but our schools – heck, businesses, too – have had to face a new financial reality over the last couple of years. Everyone has had to tighten their belt. Economic conditions have dictated the need to become more efficient in our operations and more prudent with our dollars.
We have no one to blame for this but ourselves, really. Because we spent our way into the problem in the first place. The state just egged us on. They encouraged the spending binge.
Want an example? Look no further than EXCEL building aid, which threw millions of dollars at school districts for capital projects. Were some of those upgrades needed? Did some districts spend that money wisely? Sure. But not all of those bells and whistles were necessary. Schools spent the money with abandon, because they considered it “free” since it came from the state rather than the local tax levy. But it wasn’t free. We as New Yorkers still picked up the tab.
