New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says he believes Governor Kathy Hochul is off to a “strong start,” and hopes the Democrat will be realistic in assessing revenue and expenditures during her first budget process before the new fiscal year starts April 1st.
DiNapoli spoke with WAMC in Hudson Tuesday after releasing a report on the state’s lacking broadband infrastructure.
The Democrat says until the proposed $3.5 trillion federal infrastructure bill is finalized, there is no way to predict how it will impact the state’s finances. But DiNapoli says the package is a priority.
“I'll defer to the Washington folks as to how they're going to work all that out. But we need we need an agreement on an infrastructure bill, to help moving forward. There's no doubt about that, in my mind,” he said.
Hochul has promised a new era of transparency in Albany, where budget negotiations have typically boiled down to “three men in a room.”
DiNapoli says while federal COVID relief has helped New York, it is important not to rely on the flow of funds continuing forever:
“Our advice will be as it's always been, which is to be realistic in assessing revenue and expenditures, do a better job of putting money into reserves, that's not something we've done very well in the past. That left us short, particularly when you look at last year, when the pandemic really hit while reserves were so poorly funded,” he said.
Wednesday, Hochul released an updated state financial plan, saying she is directing an additional $1.1 billion in revenue to be placed in reserves. She added the plan is balanced for the next two years, and budget gaps through 2025 are being reduced by nearly $2 billion.
Hochul says the state financial plan, which projects revenue and spending over a four-year period, projects spending for fiscal year 2022 at $209.5 billion, with revenues projected at $215 billion. But the statement also acknowledges risks ahead due to uncertainty over the pandemic.
Earlier this month, Hochul called state lawmakers back to Albany to pass an extension to the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program due to the COVID pandemic. The Cuomo administration received criticism for its failure to distribute those funds properly.
DiNapoli, whose office released an audit in August finding a lag in distributing the money, says breaking through the bureaucratic logjam is key to distributing the funds:
“They just weren't prepared for getting the money out the door. From what I hear, we haven't done a report on it yet, the Essential Worker Program seems to be working better and getting that money out the door to help people, you know, who have been left behind because of the pandemic. So, let's hope that model will typify moving forward how we deal with the rent relief issue,” he said.
