POUGHKEEPSIE – New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has issued a report that says the state’s deficit could climb to $36 billion by 2027 if lawmakers don’t change their fiscal policies. Governor Hochul’s budget team says the deficit will reach $20 billion by 2027, which DiNapoli says is a figure based on using current reserve funds. The full report can be found here.
“What they’re (Budget Office) factoring includes the reserves that we have, and our position is that you shouldn’t be spending all of those reserves to balance the gaps.” DiNapoli’s deficit report says, “The deteriorating fiscal outlook is rooted in several factors, including anticipated revenue declines from a weakening economy and a volatile stock market, and increases in recurring spending.” He also indicated that revenues are expected to grow slowly over time, outpaced by the rate of expenditure growth.
“You really should have the fiscal discipline to make sure your spending decisions are aligned with your revenue,” DiNapoli suggested. “To take all of the reserves and apply it to your gaps…that’s not showing the kind of discipline that we should have in New York State.”
Weather events, DiNapoli noted, will also impact state resources. The recent storm damage in areas of the state, including the Hudson Valley, is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to repair. “The Governor has made a commitment to help with the rebuilding, but as we often see with these weather events, we need FEMA and the federal government to be the ones to step up.” He is optimistic that there will be coordination between the state and federal governments with regard to resources. “People have been hurt and the way we are going, there are going to be more of these severe weather events, not less.”
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