Santa Claus came early to New York this year and handed taxpayers an unexpected $4.2 billion windfall, via a number of legal settlements.
So we wonder: Will Gov. Cuomo fritter away this sizable pot of dough on election-year gimmicks — or put it to good use?
Budget wonks refer to such windfalls as “one-shots,” because they can’t responsibly be spent on things that require a continuing financial commitment when the money runs out.
In other words, the cash shouldn’t go for cuts in state tax rates or hikes in yearly education spending, as the Alliance for Quality Education demands.
These items need ongoing revenue streams — not one-time cash infusions.
Unfortunately, Cuomo (perhaps calculating the benefits to his bid for reelection) has hinted that he might take the irresponsible route.
And he’s ridiculed anyone who suggests spending the money on something substantive.
Such as his Republican opponent, Rob Astorino.
The Westchester county executive is pushing a more logical and fiscally sounder idea: using the one-shot cash for one-shot projects — in particular, fixing the state’s rapidly deteriorating road and mass-transit infrastructure (as he recently suggested on these pages).
One infrastructure project seems perfect for this kind of cash: the rebuilding of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Cuomo, remember, hasn’t said exactly how much this bridge project, already under way, will cost — let alone where he’ll get the money from to pay for it.
Most notably, he won’t disclose — at least not until after the November election — how much motorists crossing the new span will have to fork over in daily tolls, which some say might have to double.
Instead, Cuomo has resorted to gimmicks, like dubious environmental loans, to raise funds for the bridge. Wouldn’t it make better sense to apply the one-time funds to this one-time use?
Sure, there might be other good uses for the money — such as paying down debt.
But state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli was absolutely right three years ago when he warned that “New York has a growing backlog of unmet public infrastructure needs, with limited public funds to pay for them.”
DiNapoli specifically cited the new Tappan Zee.
Rather than squander $4.2 billion on gimmicks, or commit it to programs that require yearly funding that won’t exist down the road, it seems far wiser simply to use the windfall for something everyone wants — but no one knows how else to pay for.