ALBANY — State lawmakers still can’t do their math.
A frightening new report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli yesterday revealed that revenues for the $132 billion tax-and-spend budget approved in April are already nearly a quarter-billion dollars below projections.
DiNapoli said state revenues in April were down by $239.1 million, or nearly 5 percent, from the $5 billion projected by Gov. Paterson and state lawmakers when they prepared the budget at the end of March.
“This was a poor start to the fiscal year,” said DiNapoli.
“It’s been less than a month since the state’s financial plan was released and General Fund revenues are already off nearly a quarter of a billion dollars,” added DiNapoli, who last week blasted the new fiscal plan as a “buy time budget” that “postponed tough decisions on spending.”
DiNapoli blamed the revenue drop on a shaky economy caused by the national recession and he warned that things could get worse.
“We’ve already tapped nearly all of our unreserved funds so there is very little cushion if revenues continue to fall,” he said.
“We need to watch revenues and spending very closely, because the state may be forced to readjust priorities,” he continued.
While state revenues were declining, state spending was up considerably from last year.
DiNapoli said the huge increase in overall state spending for April resulted from jumps in education (up 24.4 percent from last year) and Medicaid (up 18 percent).
Total state spending is up $885.8 million, or 12.1 percent more than during the same period last year, according to DiNapoli.
A spokesman for Paterson insisted that state finances “are in line” with projections and said the revenue drop-off was “largely offset” by decreases in spending.
The spokesman also insisted that it was not uncommon to have “slight variations” in the overall fiscal year on a month-to-month basis.
DiNapoli’s report showed that General Fund spending of nearly $4 billion was up $138.6 million compared to last year.
The increase in spending was due primarily to increased costs for education (up $220.5 million), health and the environment (up $70.5 million).
But the hike in Medicaid spending was supported by new federal stimulus funding.
State officials, who closed a massive, $16 billion-plus budget deficit this year that resulted from a huge drop-off in Wall Street and other business-related revenues, privately say they fear the state will face another massive budget shortfall for the fiscal year beginning next April 1, an election year for the governor and all members of the Legislature.