Metro

‘No-tax’/big-spend Andy’s $143B budget

Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo (Shannon DeCelle)

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo proposed a record $142.6 billion state budget yesterday that starts Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts, takes baby steps toward school reform and increases New York’s minimum wage to $8.75 an hour.

The plan would increase state-funded spending by 1.6 percent.

“We have brought stability, predictability and common sense to the state’s budget process,” Cuomo said.

He also boasted that the proposal contains “no new taxes or fees” and holds the line on spending.

But he would generate nearly $1.2 billion over the next two years by closing “loopholes” and extending expiring taxes on utilities, Medicaid providers, waste-tire disposal, and earners of $10 million and more through limits on charitable deductions.

“It’s not quite true that there’s no tax increase,” said E.J. McMahon, senior fellow of the conservative Manhattan Institute.

McMahon also labeled as a “gimmick” Cuomo’s plan allowing cash-strapped suburban and upstate counties to defer payment of pension obligations, since last year’s pension reform won’t produce real taxpayer savings for years.

Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos called Democrat Cuomo’s budget proposal for the fiscal year that starts April 1 “a good blueprint.”

But the Long Islander said he wants to make sure school aid — which Cuomo proposed weighting toward mostly urban, high-needs districts — “is done in a fair way.”

Skelos said Cuomo’s decision not to tie the $1.50 minimum-wage increase to annual indexing for inflation “certainly makes it a lot easier to support,” although the GOP leader stopped short of endorsing the hike — and business lobbyists criticized it. The minimum wage would jump from $7.25 per hour to $8.75.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) called indexing crucial.

The city could redeem itself and get $224 million in extra school aid next year with an approved teacher-evaluation plan in place by Sept. 1 under the Cuomo budget.

By failing to meet a Jan. 17 teacher-evaluation-plan deadline this year, the city blew $240 million in school aid for 2012-13.

Cuomo would fund competitive grants to kick-start school-reform programs including full-day pre-kindergarten in high-needs districts ($25 million), longer school days or years ($20 million), full-service “community schools” ($15 million), four-year, $15,000-a-year good-teacher bonuses ($11 million) and a “bar exam” for teacher certification.

Assuming $30 billion in federal aid to help New York recover from Hurricane Sandy, Cuomo proposed $21 billion for recovery and rebuilding.

His plan would require “modern building standards” for rebuilt structures and offer buyouts to homeowners who can’t or don’t want to rebuild. He would provide financial assistance to affected businesses, improve infrastructure — including efforts to make subways flood-proof — and restore and improve damaged beaches, dunes and berms.

He would also give regulators the power to levy bigger fines on, and even yank operating certificates of, utilities, many of which he criticized for poor performance amid Sandy. He would also privatize the maligned Long Island Power Authority.

He would spend $36 million to enforce the gun legislation he recently signed, through safety measures at schools and creation of an assault-weapon registry and new gun databases.

And he recommended suspending the driver’s licenses of major tax deadbeats and making it harder to plead down speeding charges.

Cuomo’s plan would delay scheduled 1.4 percent inflationary raises for health and social-service workers, while saving employers $900 million, he claimed through workers’ compensation reforms.He would also freeze spending on state agencies while merging others.