State budget cuts will be 'deep and painful'
Making matters worse, programs that receive state dollars will also lose matching federal funds
Monday, November 23, 2009
JUDY L. RANDALL
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island state lawmakers say proposed cuts in health care and funding for
not-for-profits will have a "ripple effect" in the borough, reducing services to families in need through staff
reductions while at the same time increasing the unemployment rate here.
And while most Democrats say "painful" decisions will have to be made in Albany to plug the $3.2 billion
budget gap, Republicans, who are in the minority in both houses, say there's plenty of waste that could be
eliminated first.
Meanwhile, despite Gov. Paterson's pleas for action in the latest special session he called, lawmakers hit
the road after four days of failing to reach a consensus on where cuts should be made. However, they could
return to Albany for new rounds of talks.
But that hasn't stopped GOP members in the Assembly from pointing to $1.5 million in what they say are
wasteful budgeted expenses. Assemblyman Lou Tobacco (R-South Shore) said making agency
consolidations alone could save some $925 million.
"By cutting funding to health care and education, you disproportionately affect those who government
should be helping first and foremost," said Tobacco.
Island lawmakers have been lobbied hard by borough families who are served by the state Office of Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), who have visited the offices of local lawmakers here
and in Albany. They say they've also been on the receiving end of a slew of phone calls from members of
Health and Hospital Workers Union Local 1199 urging against any cuts. Other calls have come from the
United Federation of Teachers union.
Said Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-North Shore): "The cry from these groups and others is, 'We don't
want cuts.' But there has to be an understanding that there is a serious problem that we cannot ignore.
There will be cuts."
Others point out that there is "no good place" to cut.
Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island), for one, said students at the College of Staten Island will be
hurt by increases in tuition and cuts to programming.
"In the past, we were always able to hold aside education and health care from cuts," said Cusick.
Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer (D-Mid-Island/Brooklyn) said she is so concerned about the impact
of possible cuts that she's been making the rounds of civic associations in her district to tell residents "the
cuts will be deep and painful" and will be felt throughout the borough.
95 of 104
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102