No matter how much they tried, Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio couldn’t put a good face on their rift over the city’s universal pre-K plan Monday.
In their first joint appearance since Cuomo said no tax hike was needed for the program — and de Blasio insisted he had a mandate from voters to institute one — the two Democrats couldn’t sidestep their glaring disagreement.
Cuomo — asked about the mayor’s proposed tax With de Blasio seated next to him at a press conference in Albany about the city’s hospital crisis, Cuomo said it is the state that has the power to decide the issue.
“Under our Constitution, the state determines taxation . . . Localities propose. The state has to pass a law,” Cuomo said.
He said he and the Legislature will determine how to pay for pre-K after a review of his budget plan and de Blasio’s proposal.
But the governor reiterated that a tax hike is not in his budget, saying, “My proposal is my proposal.”
“It’s all about the money — how to do it,” Cuomo said of his and de Blasio’s inability to strike a deal. “It’s in the details.”
Political observers said Cuomo would win the fight in the end.
“Nobody I spoke with think there’s going to be a tax increase in an election year,” said former Bronx Democratic Assemblyman Michael Benjamin.
“De Blasio won’t blink six weeks before the end of the process. There will be no losers. Cuomo will say the money is in the state budget and keep his no-tax pledge. De Blasio will say he fought for New York City.”
At an earlier budget hearing, legislators questioned de Blasio’s call for a tax hike for pre-K when the city is anticipating a $2.5 billion surplus this year and $1.9 billion next year.
“Given those surpluses being projected . . . why is a tax increase necessary?” asked Long Island GOP Sen. Jack Martins.
De Blasio said the city is hardly flush, since every municipal union is working under expired contracts that he’ll have to fund.
“We are in a troubled fiscal environment,” the mayor said.
He said the surpluses can’t be used for pre-K because “at some point, there will be a cost to pay” when the contracts are negotiated.
He insisted the city should be allowed to call the shots when it comes to taxing its own citizens.
“The city’s right to self-determination ought to be honored in Albany,” the mayor said.